I think it may be 'climbing' aloe - Aloiampelos ciliaris - if not, someone will correct me. Their growth habit is no like some other aloes, but I believe it is sill etiolated. Leaves should be bit closer to each other, so maybe it doesn't get enough light. ..."To the right of the plant is a giant bay window "...- plant is probably too far, and needs to be receiving as much direct light as possible thru the window. It will always try to grow long branches, even if you cut it.

Btw, the container should have drainage hole, and potting mix should be fast draining.

Hi Heather,

Thanks for sharing the picture, overall your plant is beautiful. She reminds me of a Bird of Paradise. Be proud in have gotten this far.

Below are my questions and some of my opinions. Do not let them overwhelm you. If the question is confusing, skip it. Answer as many or as few as you want. I am not always the clearest on the best of days.

If you prefer just to have suggestion on how to proceed, that's fine. Its your plant you decide.

I can't tell what type of Aloe it is from the picture. Some, like Aloe dichotoma do grow up stacking like your, eventually becoming a tree. Normally the space between leave is much closer together.

My initial opinion, is there is more than one issue at hand. The plant colour is awesome, so I do not believe it is a lighting issue. More detail is needed before I or anyone reading this jumps to a conclusion.

Start with lighting;

What is the main direction the windows face? If you don't know, tell me what time of day does light shine the strongest through the bay windows

Is there anything blocking the light coming in the window, such a tree, or a over hanging deck, etc...

Is the window tinted or have any other light blocking materials, such as being frosted. I assume you put the blinds down to take the picture.

Water;

How often do you water? Do you allow the soil to dry before giving it more water? If so, how dry? Do you water 2 weeks after you first notice it is dry? Or just mostly dry?

The Pot:

Does it have holes in the bottom

Soil:

Do you put it in this pot, with additional soil? Do you remember the type? If you bought soil, did it advertise fertilizer was already in the soil?

Fertilizer;

Do you fertilize? If so how often? What type of fertilizer? Did it say all purpose, cactus and succulent, orchid.... Do you remember the combination of numbers on the package N-P-K, such as 20-20-20 or 24-8-16? If you don't know, that's okay. If you remember the type, even the brand name, or applicator. Do you dilute with a dropper? What size your bottle, watering can, glass, etc. How much do you put in? Most granular synthetic fertilizers (Blue or green stuff that looks like brown sugar) have the same ratio for mixing. 1 tbs per gallon of water for outdoor plants, 1/2 tsp - 1 tsp per gallon for indoor plants. The most popular indoor uses 7 drops of liquid.

Most important of all,

Do you baby your plant daily or check on her every so often, when you think about it?

Thanks for reading this far.

I want you to be able to 'Garden with Confidence'

Mark C Dickerson

Garden Coach Solutions

& Specialty Plants

I would go with the same id as Rina. These “ climbing Aloe” type have been put into another genus now it’s Aloiampelos. Names are always changing;). There is a variety of A. ciliaris called A. ciliaris var. tidmarshii that’s more spindly like yours, but regardless I do think your plant could use more light because the bottom third of the plant is more compact, and the higher you go up the plant the space in between the leaves gets wider and wider apart. The leaves also get longer and more narrow the higher up. I guarantee if you give this plant more light it will have different growth. It’ll look more like the bottom third. Since it’s a climbing type Aloe (it’s hard to get use to new names) it will always have space in between the leaves, but with more light that space will shrink and the leaves will get more robust.

You could turn it into a cutting, but if it gets the same amount of light your outcome will be the same;).

Light coming in thru the windows is of less intensity than same light outside. Also depends on type of windows. I have to keep some plants in SW, unobstructed window (never enough space under lights...:), and they still get slightly etiolated. I try to put lower-light plants there, like sans or even some haws. Too much fertilizing will only make plant grow even more, and if light isn't sufficient, plant will grow more skinny and weak. During low light situation, it may be better to keep plants much drier, cooler and not to encourage growth.

Heather

We don't know what you do with plant in way of watering and temps it is kept in. Many ppl that grow many succulents successfully and have to bring them indoors to overwinter, will stop watering and fertilizing and keep them cool (not cold) if they can.

Adding your general location and/or growing zone would often help to give better advice. Why don't you add it - see how others do.