Question
aloe plant
ive had this aloe for a few years now. it grew from a small baby to a large plant. ive kept in the bathroom for a while, not watering it too often but then after a while there was rot at the bottom of some of the fronds/leaves and they just fell off (they were brown and squishy at the base). recently i have transferred it out of there and outside. the weather has been wavering from around the 20 degree celsius mark and going back down to the low teens celsius. ive bee nervous about it so i have taken it out, then in, then out, then in and it sits right now on a table near a south facing window that gets sun. also, before i switched the soil to a cactus soil, one of my cats peed in it when i brought it in from the colder temps. i have since poured all that soil out and put fresh new soil in as i mentioned above. Also, some of the leaves have dried up at the tips or curved inwards.
so my question is...how do i remedy all this and what have i done wrong?
thanks
jimi
also i have more images, so if you email me i can give you more pics. this seems to only allow one.
AnswerDear Jimi,
Well what a time you and your aloe have had, in, out, in, out etc. the cat being the final straw I would have thought!
I'm told that most succulents don't mind a drop in temperature at night time so unless it is really cold where you live your plant should be all right outdoors. All my succulents are outside year in year out but then I live in southern Spain where it is warm a lot of the time. Mine have to sink or swim as I have no room indoors for plants of that nature.
However, where you have placed your plant now near a south facing window sounds fine unless it is in fierce sunshine which may be why some of the leaves have dried up at the tips. Succulents do, however, like fresh air so either open your windows or leave it outside in semi sun during the summer. The choice is yours.
It also sounds as if you have overwatered the plant for the leaves to be brown and squishy unless your cat has been at it on occasions which you know nothing about! It's best to let the compost almost dry out before you water it again and in the future.
A friend of mine when exasperated with one of her plants threw it across her garden shouting at it that she was fed up with it and lo and behold a week or so later it was growing perfectly! I'm not suggesting that you do this but sometimes less is more, if you know what I mean! It's like a naughty child - ignore it and it will start to behave, fuss over it and it will think it has the upper hand!
Anyway, all joking apart, I hope that your plant settles down in its new position and no more leaves fall off etc. Good Luck
Diana
