Sunday, July 24, 2011

Aloe Care: A Short Guide

By Keola Kawanako


There are several distinct varieties of Aloe plants. They range in dimensions from 1 inch to 2 feet across. Most varieties are from Africa and the most popular species is Aloe Vera, which is frequently used for the treatment of sunburns. Aloe plants are just about 95% water therefore freezing weather is really dangerous for them. Should you live in an place that freezes, you are going to need to grow your plant inside. Allow me to share my straightforward recommendations for aloe care. Should you follow them, you should have little difficulty keeping your plant living.

Pot your aloe in a loose soil that empties nicely. An excellent potting soil to utilize can be a cactus mixture or it is possible to use a regular potting soil with the addition of extra perlite or sand to it. You do not need a huge pot to cultivate an aloe. An eight inch plant really should have little difficulty living inside a four inch container.

Set your plant in a place that gets a lot of sun. It's somewhat of a desert plant therefore it may manage all the sunlight that you are able to throw at it. Either place it around a sun-drenched window or stick it outdoors. But in the event you place it outside make sure that the heat range doesn't fall below freezing. Ice can easily ruin your plant.

Be sure you don't over-water it. It really should go about fourteen days between waterings plus the potting soil should be permitted to dry out. During the winter, your plant's metabolism will slow and you must decrease the volume of water that's supplied. Fertilize it once or even twice a year, however use 50 % of the recommended dose on the label. These plants don't want as much fertilizer as other plants.

When it's time to replant, utilize a broader, rather than a deeper, pot. The roots of an aloe tend to spread out as opposed to go deeper. In case your plant has developed offshoots, it is possible to also use repotting as an chance to propagate your aloe vera by planting the offshoots into containers of their very own.




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