Question
QUESTION: hello,

I have had my aloe for the past 10 years i would say i grew it from a baby whit four leaves and through the years it has sprouted many different plants and would constantly renew it's self.  But this past year it has been suffering i moved to a different state and at the time i had the aloe in one big pot i think their were four separate plants within.  The plant starting Turing brown so i stop watering it then i thought it was getting to much sun so i moved it away from the window.  Then i happened to move again and still the stem of my the aloes were browning.  so i thought the pot was too big since the separate plants were getting smaller and not sprouting anything new.  So i transplanted all the plants into separate clay pots figuring the clay would hold in heat for the roots. I did make a mistake of watering all of them right after i transplanted them.  I have always put in miracle grow jobe sticks.  On all the plants there are new leaves growing but they are very small, you can only see then in the crease of the top of the plant.  one of the plants the leaves seem to be dried out.  I can't physically separate from this plant so if you have any drastic cures i am willing to try it.  I read something about placing the aloe in pure perlite and then replanting is this something i should i try.  

Thank you!!!!

ANSWER: Hi Rebecca, the only mistake you can possibly make with Aloe is over watering it, it can go Months without watering, because ( like many succulents..) it stores a great deal of water in its tissue; too much water (which isn't much with Aloe!..) will rot the roots and manifest itself with a browning crown. It can be actually grown in gravel; here in Florida it grows everywhere and I find myself digging them up and discarding them because there are so many. The only irrigation they get in my yard is what Mother Nature provides, which can be plenty and then next to none for months on end, the key is to have them in a fast draining medium, like a light sandy potting mix or even (as I stated...) gravel. Let it dry out and resist watering it at all for a couple of weeks and see what transpires, and let me know your progress!  ...good luck..Nick

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Can I use gravel from outside? If so will they receive nutrients from the gravel?  As of right now they are in Scott's potting soil and the soil has dried out since I transplanted them.  I checked them yesterday and removed the leaves that were thin and lifeless.  I didn't cut the leaves instead I pulled them off after doing this I seen brown colored roots, which were connected to the stem.  Seeing the new roots gives me hope.  

Again thank you!!

Answer
Don't concern yourself with nutrients at this stage, the roots need to establish themselves before they will be taken up any. Once the plant turns around and the crown begins to show growth, then in the Spring you will give it a monthly fertilization with a Solube like Miracle-Grow, in the mean time, leave it in the potting mix it is in and watch and wait. Nick