Aloë Vera
Aloë, everybody knows them! You can find them almost everywhere.
They are greatly known for their use in dermatology, if you go your local pharmacy, it is guaranteed that you will find at least 3 Aloë Vera products.
FUN FACT : The Aloë Aristata is pretty much the ONLY Aloë that can survive freezing temperatures!
(even though they are medicinal plants for humans, they can be toxic for pets. When making your own dermatoligy products with Aloë Vera, make sure you use the right one!)
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LIGHT REQUIREMENTS :
Aloë's can handle all sorts of lights : Bright light, direct light, bright indirect, low light and medium.
The only sort of light it CAN'T be in, is no light.
As expected, the more light they get, the better they grow! But because of the flexibility in light requirements, these plants are GREAT for decorating pimping up dark corners!
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WATERING
Now here is where it gets a little tricky : If you get water in the crowns of the leaves, it will cause crown rot, which means that the leaf rots off, you can simply avoid this by blowing/removing water from the crowns. Now this doesn't go for the outside Aloë's, because the wind and the sun/heat will do that for you!
This plant also isn't too pick with humidity.
Now when your Aloë Vera is outside, you can let the rain do the job. Only water it when it is not gonna rain for a very long time. When you have it as a houseplant, it changes in what kind of light it is. If the plant is getting alot of light, in summer i'd say water once a month, and water once in 3 months in the colder seasons. And remember, don't get water inside those crowns!
If the plant is in a dark room/corner/place, in summer i'd say water once in 2 months, and do not water in the colder months
Now this goes for all plants, please check the cache pots/saucers a few minutes after watering! We do not want any root rot!
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BLOOM
Outside, these plants bloom beautiful, green flower stalks with red-succulent-leaf-like flowers in spring or summer (Only in warm climates)
Sadly, they barely ever bloom inside.
STYLING
With the correct light, these plants can grow quite quick. Therefore, they need a bit more water. So i recommend putting it in a cache/cover pot, and in a plastic liner with drainage holes. Personally, i like the look of terracotta pots. These come in various colours and shapes. Now you can always paint them, but that does cause the terracotta to lose its ability to absorp water from the outside of the pot.
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PROPAGATION
Now succulents are the easiest plants to propagate, just break off a leaf, put the wound in soil, wait a month and then it will start to root and eventually, after another month, a baby plant emerges from the soil as the mother leaf slowly dies off and... BOOM! You are a proud parent of a self-grown-succulent! Aloë's also makes shoots, which you can pull from the mother plant, and place it in some fresh soil!
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MEDIUMS
Now a well-draining chunky houseplant mix would be the best, as it provides good airflow to the roots and good drainage which prevents root rot.
And please do not grow these in just dirt, it is almost asking for root rot!, I have a tiny Aloë in LECA (which i bought in Gran Canaria), which is filled to the brim with water.
choose LECA because the plant can sit on the LECA without falling in and rotting.
