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Re: Aloe Plant Advice Please!!

Hello Lilly!
               I hope I can be helpful here. The replies you got were very
good also.  First of all, you do not prune an Aloe. Aloes get big, very big.
My mother-in-law had one that had at least 1 1/2 long leaves. Just let it
be. People often don't realize that these plants get big quite fast. They
buy them little and end up being surprised after a couple of years. Just let
it be. It makes a beautiful and easy to look after houseplant when it's big.
And if you have the chance to put it outside in summer it might actually
flower.....and that is a sight for sore eyes. On top of a long stalk,
sometimes reaching up to 3ft or more, appears a beautiful yellow flower!
    Aloes can resist to some neglect but it is better to give it proper
care. Aloes need a lot of light and sun is essentiel to the type you have.
(it's latin name being "aloe barbadensis") Water the plant generously during
the growing period (spring to fall) always letting the top soil dry out
between each watering but never leaving the root-ball dry out completely.
These plants can tolerate normal room temperature and dry air.  You should
fertilise it every 15 days during the growing period. (I use a regular
houseplant fertiliser or you can also use a special one for aloe or
succulents...these can be found in most hardware stores or other stores
where they sell plant stuff) During the rest period (late fall to late
winter or early spring) water sparingly and leave the plant in a cool spot.
This will stimulate flowering. I don't give mine a resting period and it's
doing fine, but I do water less in winter because of the temperature drop in
my house. (this being a general rule for most houseplants, water less if
temperature drops)
   Now you know how to treat it let's see what can be done about the
toppling over. That is very normal, by the way. Aloe "brevifolia" is known
to do this and to keep on growing even though half of it is out of the pot
and on the floor!  Someone on the list had given you a good idea about
putting it's pot in a larger outer pot that will support the plant. I have
tutored one of mine, mind you it is not very attractive to tutor a small
aloe but a big one can easily hide the tutor if you take care of tutoring it
in a discreet area. I have also cut 2 bottom leaves off the other one to
balance it. That works fine also if cutting the leaf won't harm the
appearance of the plant. The best idea is the outer pot though.
   Now for the decay. If you can cut out the leaves that have the spots then
do that. I would need more info though but I'll be nice and give you all the
possible treatments for it. If you have brown dry spots: probably
underwatering you don't "have" to cut off the leaves affected. If you have
brown soft spots: probably leaf spot disease......remove all infected areas
and spray with fungicide.........improve ventilating and keep it on the dry
side for a couple of days. Rot at base or on stem: rot disease due to
overwatering.........plant cannot be saved unless it is caught in
time.......if this is the case remove all affected areas. Pests: the only
pest I know of that likes aloe is the mealy bug: you can find it on the
stems or under the leaves.....little white fluffs....they will cause the
leaves to turn yellow and fall. So those are the most likely fungal
diseases, pests and problems due to bad treatment that I know can occur to
aloes. I hope you'll be able to identify your problem with what I have told
you here.
Helga

Lily wrote:

> I wrote several days ago concerning my aloe plant and I have only had
> two people from this entire list serve give minimal advice.  So I will
> state my case once again, and hopefully some more of you will help me,
> because I truly need it.  That is what this list serve is for, right?
>
> WEll, anyway, I bought my aloe plant in September, and it was really
> small then.  Now, it is really growing, and I was wondering how I
> should prune it, fertilize it, and what I should do when its stalks
> are getting too heavy, causing it to topple over.  Also, what should I
> do when there is decay and spots on its stalks?  Cut them out?  or what?
>
> Would someone please come to my aid?  My beautiful aloe plant's
> livelihood is at stake here.
>
> Lily
>
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