Aloe Vera

[the.fee.fairy]

Help!

My large aloe vera has a problem. It started a few weeks ago when the leaves started drooping - as if it hadn't had enough water. So i watered it well.

Then, i thought maybe it wasn't getting enough lihgt, so i moved it to our office (which used to be a brick built greenhouse and got carpeted...). It seemed to perk up a bit. Then it started drooping again.

I've had a proper look at it today and taken off all the unhealthy looking leaves. I also pulled it out of the post and rinsed the roots off...and there was the problem...the rootball had completely rotted, and about 3" up it was a hollow rotted tube. I've cut off all the rotten bits and appear to have 2 small healthy roots.

Now...do i leave it to dry, like a cactus, or do i prop it in water like any other plant? At the moment, i've left it in the living room, which is fairly even in temperature and is out of direct sunlight, to dry and see if it starts shooting more roots.

Its looking very sorry for itself...

Help!

[Annpan]

OK, from the back pages of my houseplant expert book (D.G. Hessayon)

If water logging is suspected remove the plant from the pot. Examine the roots. Are all the roots brown and mushy?

Are all or nearly all of the roots firm and white?

[CyberPaddy66]

We've got an Aloe Vera here that we are going to get rid of, it's looking awfully scrawny and leaning horrendously, we think it's overreached itself searching for light

If anyone nearby wants it please let us know by the weekend as it'll just end up as compost

[the.fee.fairy]

How far away is Plumstead from Brixton?
I'll be visiting Brixton on Sunday and can probably detour...

Annpan: i have now removed it and cut off all the brown mushy bits. Does it say whether to leave it to dry? or whether to sit it in water to root?

[Annpan]

Grrr... spent a while typing this out, crashed with Fee and Paddy... but I am not deleting it now






If answer is yes to the first question

No treatment. The plant can not be saved, throw it away

If answered No to the first but yes to the second

Leave the plant out of it's pot for 1-2 days. Trim off the brown roots, cut away any stems or leaves showing rot. Replace the plant into its pot with water and carbendazim solution.

If the answer is no to both

Remove all the compost from around the roots by holding the soil ball under the tap. Lay the plant on a table and cut off all the brown mushy roots with a sharp knife. Cut away any stems or leaves showing rot, and remove some top growth to balance the loss of roots.
Repot carefully using a new pot and fresh potting compost Water with carbendazim solution. Keep the pot in a reasonably well lit spot away from direct sunlight. Do not water again until fresh growth appears and then be careful not to overwater

Seems the same rules apply to all house plants.

Good luck

[the.fee.fairy]

So....i've done the right thing by cutting off the brown mushy bits, and i might be doing the right thing by leaving it to dry for a couple of days.

Or it might be a lost cause...

I've cut off the rotten bits of the roots, and i've taken the unhealthy leaves off of the edges and the middle. Fingers crossed...

What's carbendazium solution?

[Annpan]

What's carbendazium solution?

I have no idea... It is a very old book, I dare say it is some old chemical people used to used. I think most people just use baby bio to feed their house plants these days.


Sounds like you are doing the right thing... here's hoping.

[SarahJane]

I brought an Aloe Vera plant back from Tenerife recently, it isnt huge, but is very healthy looking. It has been on my kitchen table since bringing it home. Am I correct in thinking it needs to be kept warm and reasonably dry?
I have never kept one before and want to keep it at its best.

[CyberPaddy66]

How far away is Plumstead from Brixton?

Sorry should have posted yesterday

We are in SE18 2QU and according to multimap it's only 10.01 miles, about 23 mins so expect to take about an hour

Here's a pic of it, sorry but we need to keep the pot as it's a set of 3 but we have some plastic pots in the attic I could put it in so there's no real problem... I hope.

[Millymollymandy]

I've never had an Aloe Vera but as it is a fleshy leafed type of plant my guess is that it has been over watered (especially with the clue of rotting roots!). Plants like that store water in their leaves and don't need much watering. Aren't they desert type plants in the wild?

I'd quite like to get one actually and I did promise myself a new houseplant for my birthday, as I haven't bought a new one in years and just keep on propagating the same old things!

[the.fee.fairy]

Its still drying out. It doesn't look any better or worse yet...

Paddy - i'm not going to be about tomorrow now. Last minute change of plan. I may be about Monday, but ca n't guarantee it, so thank you for your offer, but i don't want you hanging about for me...

Thanks again

[CyberPaddy66]

No problem, if you definitley want it I'll hold on to it for you, I'd rather it went to a home that may benefit from it than the compost bin!

Just let me know either way.

[CyberPaddy66]

I'm going to throw this one out then as it's not getting any care or attention here, such a shame as it was a good looking plant once upon a time

[the.fee.fairy]

Sorry about that Cp - things got a it 'odd' and i have only been back to Brixton this week...

Haven't replanted the Aloe yet, it doesn't seem to have got any better, or any worse...

[CyberPaddy66]

Not a problem, what with one thing and another I haven't gotten round to throwing it out yet either

If you want it I'll keep hold of it until your passing :D