Hoovb, thanks for the advice! Yes, I can start putting it outside if that will help it.

I think it may be Aloe juvenna - is there any marking on the leaves?

Old leaves dry out on their own and eventually fall off (or could be taken off). Older stems may become more brownish close to the soil line too. Nothing could be done about chewed-off the leaves, and it will not kill the plant.

I would suggest that soil may be quite water retentive. Succulents don't like to sit in wet soil. Well draining mix is the best. Don't know how 'partial' sun your plants receive is, it may not be enough. I keep my Aloe juvenna indoors in south window (no obstructions, and supplemental lighting during winter), outside in dappled sun. Less light they receive, lighter green they become. In more light the color darkens, could be almost brownish-red.

Aloe juvenna grows very easily. It will have new pups -new plants from roots- if happy. It also grows longer, tends to trail. Here is photo of my plant in 2012 and same plant 3 years later:

Ah, thank you Rina! I believe you're right about it being Aloe juvenna, my plant looks quite similar to yours (which is lovely, by the way!) It is potted in special cactus soil (Miracle-Gro brand, to be specific) so I didn't expect that to be a problem. Is there a soil it should be potted in instead?

I do think lack of sunlight is an issue, so I'll begin acclimatizing it to the outdoors as hoovb suggested. Perhaps I have also been watering it too often for the amount of sun and heat it receives?

In comparison to your plant, it definitely has not grown enough since purchase. Hopefully more sun and a little less water will be helpful.

Emma

Cactus soil is not that great for succulents, unfortunately. Bagged soils usually contain lots of peat that either stays too wet, or could dry out and at that point is very difficult to re-wet.

With soil like that, the pot your plant is in is too large. It contains too much water-retentive soil, so it dries out very slowly if at all (it won't be easily visible, surface will look dry but inside and especially very bottom could be very wet). My plant has been in the same pot for 3years, I only removed larger rocks on top that were supporting newly potted plant until it established itself.

Many of us mix different ingredients such as grit, perlite, pumice, scoria, turface. If you have only few succulents, and don't want to get into mixing these kind of mixes, I would suggest to get at least bag of perlite (easy to find in many stores like Lowe's, Home Depot, Wallmart, garden centers). There is very little visible in your soil (the white 'blobs' - that's what they sell it like, not your fault). Mix generous amount of perlite with existing soil to improve drainage. It means about 50/50 soil/perlite. If you could get some grit (about size of aquarium gravel), it would be good to add some too - at that point about 1/3rd of total volume each.

Improved drainage and more sun will help a lot. What area/zone are you in?

Rina

:0 That is great advice, thank you for being so specific! That could explain why my cacti have been doing so well and this aloe hasn't been. I just checked my garage to see if I have any of the potting materials you mentioned, and I found a large bag of horticultural vermiculite. The bag said that it provides good drainage, do you think that it could work as a good substitute? I'll gladly buy anything my plants need, but using up that vermiculite could be very practical for me if it would work.

I'm from southern Ontario, so unfortunately it's a bit late in the season to start introducing my plant to the outside :(

Emma

I am in Ontario, close to Barrie. All my succulents are still outdoors and will be there until temps drop to constant 10*C (approx.) overnight; I am hoping for min. of 4 weeks (longer would be nice!). Sun is not as intense now, but natural light is still much better than indoors, filtered thru windows. I leave my plants outdoors for as long as possible to give them all light possible - the winter is long, and there is never enough light in my case (and I use supplemental lights).

Personally, I don't use vermiculite at all. It holds too much water and eventually seems to clump up - JMO (if you have garden outdoors, you can 'dump' it on beds! some ppl use it, some for propagating). Perlite would be much better for succulents-it won't hold water.

Many bags of soil & other materials say that it has/provides great drainage. In many cases it may, but perhaps for very short period of time and definitely in 'perfect' conditions - like a greenhouse...timed frequency and amount of watering, temperatures, sun/light exposure, humidity. But at home, these are very difficult to duplicate.

I use lots of chicken grit #2 that is available in 50lb bags in feed stores for just about $10/bag. I quickly sift it using ordinary kitchen sieve, and rinse it. You can do without sifting (there is always some dust!) and just dump it in large container of water. Dust will settle at the bottom, p/u the grit (I like the sieve method better, will not p/u any dust).

I also buy turface in 50lb bags and use it with perlite and grit. Those are my 3 ingredients, I hardly ever use soil anymore.

Rina

I'm from Toronto west and think putting them outside is also a great idea. =)

As Rina mentioned, I can also tell the sun is really not as intense as it was earlier in the month. With cooler temperatures, I find Aloes can adapt to higher light a bit more quickly than when it's sweltering hot all day outside.

If you just have the opportunity to take your plant outside around 5pm until sunset, even that will help (if you don't mind the trouble).

Vermiculite sounds pretty good in theory - hold quite a bit of water, hold a LOT of nutrients from fertilizer, is a bit chunky so it allows drainage, but unfortunately it breaks down over time.

Depending where you are in Southern Ontario, some of us may be able to point you to some good stores for supplies (best quality / cheapest / availability / etc.).

Rina

Aah, so it isn't too late to acclimate my aloe before the start of winter? That sounds great.

Okay, noted. My family also has a vegetable garden, so that's a good use for it. I also heard that vermiculite can do a number on your lungs, but I don't know if that's true. I just bought some perlite at Canadian Tire today, so I'll mix it into my pots tonight. Should I add it to my cactus soil as well? They've been doing fine w/o it, but there's plenty of perlite to go around.

Ooh, okay. At Canadian tire there pretty much was nothing but cactus soil, perlite, and vermiculite unfortunately. I have no idea where I'd find chicken grit. Wow, you buy a lot of turface, you must seriously have a ton of plants! Unfortunately I've never seen turface in store either.

ewwmayo

Ah, I'm also from Toronto! I'm glad to know that aloe can still be put outside at this time of the year right in the city. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll start tonight!

I didn't know that. Looks like vermiculite is a major no-go, I'm glad I could find perlite.

Since you're from Toronto, do you have any suggestions of where I can buy supplies? Cheap would be preferable. I can access Home Depot and Rona easily, I assume that there are good supples there...? Canadian Tire doesn't have much, that's for sure.

Emma

I lived in TO until very recently. I had to drive to get chicken grit - found it at feed store. I buy perlite in bulk too, very large bags (sorry, I don't remember amount in them) for around $35? - not sure how much they are today (used to be $28!!!) Have seen Plant World to carry it, so does Humber. And another place to look would be hydroponic store - never bought from them, don't know the price.

Yes, I have many plants...besides succulents (I don't use any soil for them), I use these ingredients for many other plants.

Rina

Emma, Home Depot is a little better than Canadian Tire normally. I find they have a few more things and better pricing on quality gardening tools. Rona is universally terrible. Garden centers such as Sheridan Nurseries tend to carry a bit more range in pesticides/fungicides and have very nice cheap terra cotta pots. Tools and things are quite expensive though.

Hydroponics stores are the best for Perlite, lights, and those types of things (I went to Homegrown Hydroponics). It's $15 for 9L with tax there. The large bags are even more cost effective, if you think you'll need tons.

Their perlite is bigger in size, which is better for plants. Make sure you sift it with a kitchen sieve or equivalent and don't breathe in the dust. I use a respirator, but a dust mask works too.

Sharpe's Feed Store in Moffat has very cheap white granite chicken grit (grower grit), just $9 for 25kg including tax.

Turface can be bought in large bags from Gro-Bark Organics (Milton) or Plant Products Co (Brampton). A select number of garden centers carry smaller bags of Soil Conditioner, which is re-packaged Turface.