Aloe gone wild

14 years ago

My original aloe plant has given birth to 10 pups in the past 3 or 4 years. I keep them all in the windows that get the most light throughout the day. The leaves on all the plants and particularly the mother, start off growing straight up but then either flatten out or curl. The mother plant I used to be able to put outside in the summer but she would double in size within that summer. Not to mention, as much as they love sun, the heat in Texas was too much and she would burn. She is now too big for me to even bring back and forth into the house, literally 4 feet in diameter because her leaves grow flat instead of up. I do use the leaves for medicinal and skin care purposes but not enough for as fast as these plants grow. I'm running out of sunny spaces but I'm more concerned as to why the leaves do not grow straight up. Any advice on that would be appreciated.

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Comments (6)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years ago
pot a few of the babes.. and once you are sure they are rooted well..

GET RID OF MOM!!!

repeat next time mom gets too big ..

you are on the verge of little shop of horrors ... see link ...

i understand the sentimental attachment ... but i always convinced myself that the babe is 'literally' .. a piece of mom.. so all i am doing is resetting the stage.. WITH THE SAME PLANT ...

i do it every other year with my spider plants ... take a spidey.. pot and get it going.. and then throw mom out... its so much more pleasing to watch a vibrant, vigorous child.. grow.. rather than dealing with some geriatric problem ..

good luck
ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link
mixdplate
Original Author
14 years ago
This didn't load the first time for some reason.
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years ago
she emailed me the following:

Cute video..I can actually see a resemblance to my mother aloe..haha! I am slooowly getting rid of her by using her leaves. Right now I'm so concerned about the size as I am as to why her leaves as well as all her pups leaves tend to curl or go flat instead of straight up. I tried to post a pic but for whatever reason it didn't load. I'll try it again.
Thanks tho!

you are welcome ... hopefully others can address your other issues ...

my WAGuess ... its a desert plant [to be simple about it] ... it prefer full blinding sun.. year around ... your window is not full blinding sun ... so it develops excessive greenery and it flops ...

time for momma to go .. if it were mine ...

and the babes can make nice house gifts ... get rid of all but one.. and put it right in that window sill ... 2 to 3 feet away is not good enough.. with these new fangled high efficiency windows...

ken
tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
14 years ago
Ken is right about the light and from what I can see, that soil looks too peaty and holding moisture too long. What kind of soil is it?

tj
mixdplate
Original Author
14 years ago
Mostly cactus soil but may have potting soil mixed in. I only water the younger ones once a week and only if the soil is dry. The larger one, maybe every two weeks. Maybe the soil looks moist because they were recently watered. That window is getting the most sun in the house. I'm sure Ken is also right about getting rid of the mother plant. I won't just trash her though. I'll juice and refrigerate her. Her leaves are the most potent. The others I would be to embarrassed to give as gifts. Maybe next spring I'll stick them outside. If the straighten up, I'll give them away. Thank you for your input!
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years ago
I won't just trash her though. I'll juice and refrigerate her.

==>> that is getting rid of her.. i didnt mean waste her.. USE her ...

ken