Aloe: growing and caring for it at home, propagation, photos

Aloe vera is a popular indoor plant among home gardeners. Proper cultivation, propagation of different species, proper planting, and regular care will allow you to create a whole collection of these easy-to-grow succulents with medicinal properties.

Types of aloe

Successfully growing aloe indoors depends on creating the right conditions for it. Although it's considered easy to grow, a novice gardener should understand the variety of aloe species to create the right conditions for it.

There are a wide variety of aloe species, photos of which are presented in reference literature on floriculture:

• herbaceous;
• tree-like;
• liana-like.

There are over 500 species of aloe, varying in size, color, and leaf shape. Only a few species are grown indoors, divided into two broad groups: ornamental and medicinal.

Ornamental aloe, which requires very little effort to grow successfully at home, is less common than medicinal aloe.

These include:

• variegated with a shortened stem of 30 cm and triangular leaves;
• fan-shaped;
• Aloe Marlotii with reddish spines;
• squat with grey-green or grey-blue leaves;
• dichotomous;
• highly branched;
• cap-shaped with climbing stems and ovoid leaves;
• pretty;
• rare white-flowered;
• Aloe Jackson;
• Aloe desconigsii, which resembles a rosette of triangular leaves;
• haworthiform, stemless;
• black-spined;
• spreading, with a creeping stem and leaves with a blue tint.

Medicinal aloe species, the cultivation and propagation of which at home are of interest to a large number of indoor plant lovers, include:

• aloe saponaria;
• South African, which is good for treating skin diseases;
• tree-like, or "century plant", with sword-shaped leaves;
• spinous;
• frightening with green or reddish leaves;
• real, better known as aloe vera.

In order to collect a collection of different plant species at home, you need to know how to care for each species, watering and feeding them correctly.

Plant diseases and pests, how to combat them

Despite its unpretentiousness, aloe can suffer from various diseases if not properly cared for. External signs of disease vary:

• the appearance of yellow leaves;
• drying of the plant;
• leaf fall;
• loss of elasticity of the leaf blade.

Leaves usually turn yellow because the roots don't have enough room to grow in the pot, because of sunburn, overcooling from a draft, or because the soil lacks nutrients. Improper watering also leads to plant disease. The following may appear:

• dry rot, which is difficult to detect immediately;
• root rot, which develops due to waterlogged soil;
• pests in the form of scale insects, spider mites, mealybugs.

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Proper care, timely fertilization, and preventative measures to prevent fungal diseases and insects that parasitize aloe will help prevent plant death due to parasitic diseases.

You can combat rot by repotting the plant. Remove it from the pot, shake off the soil, and cut the shoots into several pieces, removing the rotted roots. If the entire root system is damaged, you can try to restore the plant by taking cuttings. If the plant is infested with pests, you can use various products available at flower shops, such as a solution of wood ash or laundry soap.

How to transplant aloe at home?

Any type of adult aloe at growing at homeIt needs to be regularly rejuvenated by dividing the bush into several parts. Propagation and replanting in a new, larger pot ensures increased growth. When repotting, remember to change the young plant's pot to a larger one each spring. This will allow the flower to develop faster.

A plant that has lived for more than three years should be repotted every two to three years, following certain agricultural practices:

• Water the soil in the pot generously a day before replanting to avoid damaging the roots when removing them from the old pot;
• prepare new soil;
• Place a drainage layer in a new pot and only then plant the flower.

When preparing your own soil mix, avoid adding peat, as it increases the soil's acidity, which can lead to root rot. You can buy ready-made soil mix for succulents at the store.

After repotting, water the plant generously and sprinkle dry soil on top. Water again after 5-7 days. Fertilize only after 30 days.

When replanting an old plant, after removing the roots from the pot, they are carefully cut with a knife so that each shoot has its own root system.

How to propagate aloe at home?

Anyone can grow a healthy medicinal aloe plant at home, which is easy to grow and care for at home.

The plant can be easily propagated in different ways:

• cuttings;
• leaf;
• top;
• sockets;
• seeds.

The easiest way to grow this flower is from cuttings taken from side shoots. They root quickly and easily if prepared properly.

The cut shoots should be kept in a dark place without water or substrate for several days. This will help them root more quickly.

After this, they can be placed in water or damp sand, without burying the stems more than 1 m deep. Roots usually appear within a week, and the cuttings can be planted in pots.

When propagating from rosettes growing at the base of the plant's trunk, they can be planted directly in the ground, as they have their own root system. When propagating aloe from the tip, the cut section should be kept in the air in a dark place and then placed in water. After a few days, roots will appear, after which the plant can be planted in the ground. This method is commonly used to rejuvenate old plants with exposed trunks.

If a leaf is used for propagation, it should also be dried, the cut portion treated with charcoal, and placed in water or immersed in moist sandy soil. When growing aloe from a leaf in sandy soil, monitor the substrate's moisture level; otherwise, without water, the leaf will simply dry out.

Aloe is most difficult to propagate by seed. Sow in late winter in sandy soil, creating a special microclimate with increased humidity by covering the container with transparent film. When sprouts with a few leaves emerge, you can begin transplanting them into small pots.

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Aloe Vera Care at Home

Growing medicinal aloe vera and ornamental varieties at home is easy. You'll need to follow simple care guidelines, avoid overwatering, feed it regularly, and repot it into larger pots. It's also important to select the right lighting to protect the plant from direct sunlight, drafts, and low temperatures.

Planting a plant

To ensure the plant grows and develops well, you need to use deep enough pots. The soil should be loose and neutral in pH. You can buy ready-made potting soil. landings succulents, or prepare them yourself using:

• turf 2 hours;
• leaf soil 1 hour;
• humus 1 hour;
• sand 1.5 hours

Watering and fertilizing

Aloe requires a special watering regime. It tolerates drought well, but avoid stressful situations where the soil dries out. By ensuring timely and proper watering, you can protect the plant from diseases and pests, which only appear on weakened plants.

In summer, watering aloe 1-2 times a week is sufficient. In winter, when it enters dormancy, watering should be reduced to once every 15-20 days. During this time, the soil in the pot should be allowed to lose more than 50% of its moisture.

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Aloe should be watered only with clean, settled water at room temperature. It dislikes cold watering, which can cause root rot. Avoid overwatering the pot, as this will cause the aloe roots to rot and the plant to die. There should be no remaining water in the tray. If any does appear, drain it. Loosen the soil occasionally.

In spring, the plant requires more nutrients after winter dormancy, so immediately after winter, it's necessary to fertilize it with special nutrient mixtures for succulents and cacti, which can be purchased at a flower shop. Fertilize once every 25-30 days from early spring to late summer. In the fall, no fertilizer is needed; the plant needs to properly enter its winter dormancy period.

Light and warmth

The tropical aloe plant loves light but doesn't tolerate direct sunlight, so it needs to be positioned appropriately in the home. It's important to maintain a balance of natural light, as insufficient light can also kill aloe. It's best to keep it near a sunny window; without light, it will die.

The plant doesn't tolerate subzero temperatures, so avoid placing it in drafts. Room temperature is the most comfortable temperature for it. However, it can also tolerate temperatures as high as 40 degrees Celsius.

What is harmful to aloe?

Aloe is an easy-to-grow plant that thrives indoors, provided it's not overwatered and kept in a well-lit location. It especially dislikes overwatering, drafts, and freezing temperatures. To develop its root system, it requires a large pot and regular fertilizing during its active growth period.