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Aloe problem


Question
I have an indoor Aloe plant that is quite large.  I just repotted it and it seems to be doing fine.  I noticed brown spots on some of the "leaves".  I don't see any bugs.  It is on the inside of a couple of leaves.  I only water it once a week.

Answer
Dear Harriet, I think your aloe has gotten a fungal leaf spot.  While fungal and bacterial infections rarely cause aloes much problem, they are unsightly.  The main things to do are to cut off the infected section of the leaf, sterilizing the cutting tool with bleach water or boiling water or alcohol.  If you have a lot of brown spots near the center of the plant, this may be very hard to do.  You can spray the plant or apply to the soil a systemic fungicide (almost any brand will be fine) and use according to directions.  This will keep the plant from getting more spots but will not make the existing spots go away.  You will also want to reduce water to this plant, and when watering, make sure that if it has a saucer under it, being an indoor plant, that you drain any standing water in it.  Be sure when watering to water the soil and avoid watering the middle of the plant.  Fortunately, even if you do nothing, the plant will probably be fine, but for best results, cut off the infected sections, apply the systemic fungicide, remove standing water, water less often and try to give it more light.  I hope this information helps.  If not, please feel free to contact me again.  Good luck, Melissa

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