Aloe plant kinda floppy

5 years ago

I'm not sure how to describe this one, other than that the leaves (stems?) are big and heavy to the point that they flop down instead of stand and look healthy. A picture's worth 1,000 words, so...

I have it in a South-facing window. Over the winter I had it slightly way from the window so that it didn't get burnt from the cold glass, but now that it's warmer I slid it over so that it's directly in the window. I rotate all of my houseplants every few weeks so that they get sunlight all around.

I water it on the first of each month. I used to water it every 2-3 weeks but it was too much. The pot is ceramic and the saucer at the bottom is attached. I water it by sitting it in the kitchen sink and then slowly add cold water from the tap to the soil until it overflows the saucer, 3 or 4 times so that it's nice and wet. I let it sit in the sink overnight, then I pour out anything in the saucer and bring it back to the window.

I've had to cut off some of the lower stems that were creased and dying, but I haven't seen any new growth from the bottom... just the middle. Which is fine, but as it continues the bottom is going to start to look like a weird tree! LOL

I have another type of aloe in another South-facing window that's much smaller. It has the same sun and watering schedule, but it's a lot more firm.

Any suggestions on how to make these heavy stems stand up and pay attention? Or is this how this variety is supposed to look?

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Comments (3)

Need2SeeGreen 10 (SoCal)
5 years ago
Did it always look like this? I am not sure that there is anything wrong. Do the leaves actually "flop," or is it just that they don't seem to be at the angle you expected? Is the central stem firm?

I have some aloes, and I once got an aloe book out of the library to try to figure out which one I have. Due to my non-understanding of growth habit vocabulary, I never did figure out which of the 1000s of kinds I have. It was a lovely book though. Long way of saying ... I am not sure there is a problem?

Also, what are you growing it in? what is the soil made out of?
Jason, zone 7A, near Greensboro NC
Original Author
5 years ago
Did it always look like this?

It's actually my girlfriend's. It was a gift when she left a job last February, but it was kinda small then. As it grew the bottom leaves got thick and heavy, though, so it's been like that since "near" the beginning, anyway.

Do the leaves actually "flop," or is it just that they don't seem to be at the angle you expected? Is the central stem firm?

The central stem is firm, yes. The bottom leaves actually just feel like they're very heavy, so they crease near the stem and that ends up killing the leaf.

I've had to remove 7 leaves since I got it, and you can see that it's left the base of the plant looking bare. There are 4 more on there right now that are close to creasing, and once I remove them there will only be 5 left! Is that normal?

Also, what are you growing it in? what is the soil made out of?

It came in a 4" paper container, so I removed that and put it in this 6" ceramic pot. I left the original soil, and just packed regular Miracle Gro potting soil around it (which is all I ever had, and didn't know any better).

I'm pretty sure that it either came from Walmart or a grocery store, so God only knows what the original soil is :-O
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Kara 9b SF Bay Area CA
5 years ago
It’s a light issue. When succulents or plants in general don’t get enough light the new growth will become elongated, leaves will flatten out, and the color will be light in comparison to the older more compact growth. If you slowly acclimate to stronger light the newer growth will look more how you want.

Here’s a couple pics I found online of Aloes that are etiolated.