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jrc1963 posted 5/12/2013 18:54 PM

I am a plant murder... I killed an Aloe... I didn't think it was possible to even do this..

It's all limp and sad and wilted... It was in a pot with way tooooo much water for a while... not sure how that happened.

It got to the point where leaves were falling off and going *splat* they were so water logged.

So I repotted it into a bigger pot with fresh soil and now it's just sad and limp and dying.

What did I do wrong?

Lionne posted 5/12/2013 22:14 PM

You said it, too much water...

sad12008 posted 5/12/2013 22:59 PM

Yup; they say more plants are killed by overwatering than drying out. My understanding is that the roots start to rot, among other things. If you can set it outside for awhile (it's warm enough there in FL, if it's not already outdoors), it may be able to dry out enough to rally.

k94ever posted 5/13/2013 09:05 AM

^^^^^^^^ this ^^^^^^^^^

Aloes are pretty tough. Give it a shot and see what happens.

Do we need to put your pictures up in Garden Centers so they won't sell to you?

k9

Lucky2HaveMe posted 5/13/2013 09:08 AM

Aloe grows wild in Aruba - and Aruba is DRY. So yea, dry it out.

TrulyReconciled posted 5/13/2013 10:25 AM

Aloe? Bubbye!

Tred posted 5/13/2013 10:30 AM

I was curious (I like to grow lots of plants but haven't had Aloe in a while) so I looked it up, and it does sound like you over watered it.

1) If grown in a pot, allow the root ball plenty of room to grow; aloes are voracious growers, and having space to do so is necessary. When you (re)pot allow a growing area three to five times the size of the root ball.

2) Use a well-draining soil. The number of soils A. vera will grow in is quite large, but a basic cactus mix available at home improvement centers is quite suitable. You may wish to experiment with other soils, but one thing it needs is to be well draining, so even a home-made concoction of 1/3 sand, 1/3 soil, and 1/3 pumice/gravel is better than straight potting soil. Aloes don't like to be cold and wet.

3) Pot up your aloe in soil up to the root ball. Use top dressing (gravel/pebbles) on top of the soil to give it a finished look, hold down the dirt, and reduce evaporation. Do not water a newly repotted aloe for a few days-this gives it a chance to get used to it's new home, as well as allowing time for any roots that have broken to seal themselves. After a few days, a light watering perhaps with some B-1 in the water is recommended.

4) Most aloes grow vegetatively from April-October so water regularly with that in mind. The rest of the year, watering twice a month is sufficient. Water when the soil is dry-rainwater is the best-so that may mean 2x a month, or once a week, or some combination thereof. Aloes are very forgiving-they can go a long time without water, but they grow best with it.

jrc1963 posted 5/13/2013 11:08 AM

Weird thing is I wasn't watering it at all... it's like it was watering itself...

It's outside now... in a big pot that I haven't watered since I replanted it.

Hopefully it will come back.