It's been in a place with lots of light full direct sun during mornings and indirect but still very bright all afternoon and evening. I doubt it's the light.

Where is the "place with lots of light full direct sun during mornings..." location matters. If indoors, the light may not be enough.

I borrowed photo from this site: click here

Can you see how much closer the leaves are? If etoliated, they would be as far apart as your plant.

Agreed that it is an etiolated Aloe juvenna or squarrossa (hard to check on my phone).

Needs even more light than it already gets! =)

Looks healthy otherwise.

it's out in the balcony. It has big glass panels that prevent wind but the sun is direct all morning and just bright daylight the rest of the day. I live in the northern emisphere (finland) so daylight is from 4am to midnight. If the light is a problem then this plant would need to live in the sun literally. Although during winter I keep it inside with a plant light bulb. That could be the reason why is elongated. Doesn't really bother me. I just wish I knew how to properly take care of it since it's branching and the weight might make it fall to one side. Should in give it support or let it be?

Rina Thank you, i see it now. Its probably the long winters here.. funny that it only got long this summer. Anyway thank you all.

I cant seem to find any pictures or info about branching though.

There are many trailing aloes and some have leaves packed very close together, while others may be little more apart.

In winter, it is so much more difficult to give succulents enough light and in your location there are some other challenges.

Look up info/photos for aloe squarrossa, here is photo of a. juvenna I have:

It also trails, and after the winter some branches are really long. I just cut piece off and stuck it into new pot - have another plant growing. Here it is before (same plant in both photos but 1 year apart):

Now that I had access to my laptop, I'm fairly sure it's an Aloe juvenna. Normally it grows just 10-30cm tall (source). How tall you let it grow is up to you! It can be supported by rocks (as you have) or by dowel if you so prefer. If it is going to collapse from being too tall... then something should be done.

If you want shorter plants, you can cut them apart and propagate/plant the cuttings. If you do so, make sure to carefully remove several of the bottom leaves of each cutting, as they will rot if buried.

I'm not doubting that it is outside all day in the sun for you! Everybody has different sun and growing conditions. My experience is that light is very hard to quantify without specific measurement tools. Even then, footcandles/lux is a bad measurement tailored to the human eye and is totally different from PAR DLI (photosynthetic active radiation, daily light integral). Which is a less intuitive measurement that does matter a lot to plants.

That's great. I'll try to give it more light during the six months we spend with no sun.

That branching is interesting - I really don't know if that's typical - sometimes they do 'funky' things :)

I have photot of sort of similar branching, but it only happened when I pruned the plant - thec cut is where the black square is, red circles indicate new growth.

I am not sure which one is your plant; there is lots of resemblance to Aloe juvenna. It could be different growing conditions.

If it is getting too tall (I am surprised it is so upright), you can prune it.

Here is one of the branches that was pruned off the main plant and also the tip:The new growth at the lower end of plant is new, as is the top next to the cut area. It is dark color now since it is outside - outdoors light is more intense than indoors.

an update. after having sort out the species (aloe squarrosa) and having modified the amount of light it gets I have managed to make it a little happier. in just a couple. of weeks this aloe has grown a lot. So much so that is now too heavy and leaning to one side, and is branching successfully. Also mew babies appeared..

Alyssa

You may be right in ID, but should double-check to make sure. A. squarossa is apparently not-so-often-seen plant, and majority of ppl think they have squarossa while they have juvenna. They are supposedly slower growers too, and juvenna rarely blooms. Here is something I found describing the difference:

Despite having the same white-spotted, bright green leaves, these aloes have VERY dissimilar shapes and growth habit. Squarrosa is a rock climber with long, recurved leaves that feel smooth to the touch; Juvenna is a small, clump-former with prickly, triangular leaves that grow upward in columnar fashion.

read more here

Here is photo from a member of this forum and this post:
-squarossa in bloom-click here

ah yes, I meant juvenna. I was thinking if the other I guess. Thanks!

I have had major issues keeping my A.juvenna from stretching during winter, this aloe seems to savor lots of sun. During the summer I sit it outside in direct baking sun, and it develops a charming tan, just to lose it during winter :(

a likely story. But apparently etiolation doesn't do real harm other than in looks.

For starters, my plants are outside all year round, so I don't have to deal with lack of light in the winter that some of you battle. So maybe that is why I disagree with the statement that Aloe juvenna rarely flowers. Mine have bloomed.

This shows an inflo on the upper left column.

And here's the same plants - stressed from the sun and looking almost brown - and the flower is visible from the lower left plant. (I just noticed the lizard in the middle of the plant!)

Maybe it has to be a certain age or size before blooming. Maybe I have better conditions for it to bloom - because I haven't done anything special to it. And maybe I've been lucky!

Here we are today. The clump is bigger because of pups and I have lopped of the long scraggly plants and planted them above the original clump.

I don't think my plant looks better. Just different!

they look cute. I could not have mine out for most of the year as I live near the arctic circle and temps here get ridiculous during winter. I use a growing light which obviously is not enough but is all I have.

I admire those of you who can keep plants alive during harsh winters. When I lived in Toledo and later in Rockford, I killed every plant I brought into the house. Too much water and too little sun.

The only thing that survived was a big asparagus fern -- and those are weeds here in SW Florida! So when I say all I could grow up north was weeds, I'm not lying! LOL

Keeping them cooler and giving less water during the dark months is supposed to help arrest the growth to avoid the etoliation.

can you get a CFL bulb and shine it directly on the plant (only maybe 3-4 cm away so as not to burn it, maybe start off further away and gradually move the lamp closer).

yes, I actually have it under a growing lamp on winter, as you said just a couple of cm away as to not burn it, it doesn't seem to help with the etiolation. although I don't mind the stretched look, what I worry for the most if that they could fall due to weight if they get too tall, one of them is already leaning a bit too much, but maybe that's normal?

you mentioned cutting the top leafs and replanting them, I might have to do that at some point.

I wonder if it's okay to separate the pups since they seem to be attached to the main plant under the soil, kind of like a branch.

I would not remove the babies below the soil, they are still too tender and immature to male it on their own.

if it were MY plant, I'd cut it way back so only maybe 10 cm is left planted in the ground. You must allow the cut portions to dry before any moisture is added to the equation. You can coat them in cinnamon to "stop the bleeding"bleeding as well as its being reported as a fungicide.

What kind of lamp are you using? Is it a special plant lamp? Does it have the light temperature listed on the box anywhere?

uhh, I dint remember about the temp or any specifics, but it was recommended to me by the people on the plant store. it served its time though. I'll get a new one for this winter.