How Much Water Does An Aloe Vera Need

Aloe vera is an easy-to-intendance-for delicious with renowned healing properties.
Waiting for your aloe's soil to dry out in betwixt waterings is essential.
Propagating an aloe vera is simple once infant plants start to accept root.

The beloved aloe vera found has long been known for its versatile, medicinal properties. Many keep an aloe around to soothe sunburns and cuts, but it besides makes for a corking indoor and outdoor succulent. Aloe vera, like most succulents, is relatively low maintenance and with the proper intendance tin can terminal for several years.

Kierslyn Kujawa, plant expert and founder of Planted in Pots, shares her best tips on how to intendance for your aloe vera and how it tin can intendance for you, too.

Aloe vera at a glance

Identifying aloe vera

Aloe'due south spiky stalks are its telltale feature.

"There are over 300 dissimilar aloe varieties!" says Kujawa. "The best way to identify your aloe is by the stems, shape, size, growth patterns, and the bloom if you lot run across one."

Aloe vera (or "true aloe") is the most common variety and the one you're likely most familiar with. It'due south identified past its long, grayish-dark-green plump succulent stems, most with a spiky texture on the edges and white dots on the surface. Many varieties too come in dissimilar shades of scarlet and purple, can have shorter leaves, and can take several clumps of stems.

Water

Permit the soil dry. Similar to nigh succulents, the aloe vera requires exceptional watering. Kujawa recommends, as a rule of pollex, to ensure the soil is completely dry before soaking information technology thoroughly and making sure the h2o drains out from the bottom of the pot.

Depending on how much lite your aloe gets, this watering schedule would be about every two to three weeks in the spring and summer, and every three to 4 weeks in the fall and winter.

Soil

Use a succulent mix. A succulent potting mix, usually sandy and chunky and containing perlite or pumice, will piece of work perfectly for your aloe.

Fertilize monthly. Fertilize in one case a calendar month during the jump and summer using a liquid fertilizer for succulents, following the directions on the label.

Repot infrequently. Aloe vera is a hardy constitute that can thrive in quite poor conditions, making it perfect for self-proclaimed black thumbs. Every bit long as you make sure the h2o properly drains out, your aloe can be repotted every few years and stay in a slightly overcrowded container.

Light and temperature

Aloe likes bright indirect light, only picket out for scorched stems.

Aloe likes lite. Your aloe vera will do all-time in either artificial light or bright, indirect low-cal for six to eight hours a day. Low light or too much shade will cause your aloe to become leggy and limp.

Aloe vera plants are a great pick to grow both indoors and outdoors. If your aloe is an indoor plant and you lot're moving its location, "slowly acclimate it to more dominicus, don't just move it straight to full lord's day all day long," says Kujawa.

Too much directly sunlight, however, tin scorch the stems, turning chocolate-brown and dry. Aloe vera plants will thrive in temperatures between 55 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit, but remember to never leave your aloe outside at nighttime in cold temperatures.

Mutual problems

Overwatering: The most mutual cause of death among all houseplants, including succulents, is overwatering which then causes root rot or fungal and bacterial issues. To avoid this, Kujawa suggests checking on your aloe vera to make sure information technology's never sitting in water.

"A chunky, well-draining succulent mix tin can too help preclude these problems," says Kujawa.

Underwatering: Go along in mind that while your aloe has infrequent watering needs, water is notwithstanding essential to its growth. "Ironically, underwatering tin can also be an outcome for aloe," says Kujawa. "Wrinkling in stems tin exist a sign that it is time to give it a proficient beverage!"

Diseases and pests: The Aloe vera establish tin too suffer from fungus, which appears equally pocket-size brown or blackness spots throughout the stems, as well as common houseplant pests like mealybugs. Kujawa recommends keeping an eye on your plant and using sprays to preclude any disease from spreading.

"Using organic disease command sprays like those from Earth's Ally volition exist less harmful to your plants than other sprays while still being constructive," says Kujawa.

Propagation

Pups can as well exist propagated every bit shortly as they.
Eleonora Grigorjeva/Getty Images

One of the aloe vera found's all-time qualities is its ease of propagation. If your aloe has been well taken care of, it volition reward you with pups — baby plants that sprout up side by side to the base of the mother plant.

"In order to dissever them, wriggle them abroad from the base of the original plant, while keeping it planted," says Kujawa. "If the roots are too tangled, remove both plants and gently untangle them earlier repotting them separately."

Insider's takeaway

The aloe vera plant is an easygoing succulent that only needs a good delicious potting mix, enough of bright light, and a biweekly soaking. Taking care of your aloe means it can also care for yous, given its many home remedy uses.

Daniela is a freelance writer and editor who has written for The Kitchn, Flat Therapy, and local San Diego lifestyle publications. She is a Chicana from Los Angeles living in San Diego.