How to Grow and Maintain Aloe Vera at Home?

Aloe Vera is known for its depolluting properties and its health benefits. Here are our tips for taking care of it.

Aloe Vera is an easy-to-grow indoor plant known for its low maintenance. It is also known for its many cosmetic and medicinal properties (we thank it on vacation when we get sunburned!).

In the south for example, or in regions where winters are mild, Aloe Vera can be planted in open ground. Our advice? Plant it in spring, around April.

1 – GROW YOUR OWN ALOE VERA

To plant Aloe vera at home, you need:

• A clay or terracotta flower pot, pierced at the bottom and preferably wide enough
• Well-drained soil (you can use special cactus potting soil or make a homemade mix of soil, sand and gravel)
• Clay balls
• An aloe vera cutting to grow

Instructions

1. Start by placing clay balls at the bottom of the pot, which will serve as a drainage system so that the plant does not rot.
2. Place the potting soil in the pot, without filling it to the top.
3. Place the chosen aloe vera plant in the center of the pot, then add potting soil until the beginning of the leaves are covered.
4. Add clay balls to the surface for more effective drainage.
5. It is possible to add drainage felt to separate the clay balls from the potting soil at the bottom of the pot.

2 – HUMIDITY

Aloe vera likes moist soil. However, when waterlogged, it does not survive long and rots quickly. This is why it is recommended to make holes in the pots so that the water can drain away. Easy to maintain, it requires very little watering: every two weeks in summer and once a month in winter.

3 – EXHIBITION OF AN ALOE VERA

A very resistant plant, particularly to heat, it will be just as good outdoors in summer as inside your house in winter.

Exhibition of an aloe vera:

Aloe vera requires good light but does not like direct sunlight, which can dry out the plant. Too much sun exposure can quickly dry out the foliage and cause it to turn yellow for a long time.

So choose to install it near a window that lets in the maximum amount of light but avoid it being exposed to the sun’s rays.

4 – TEMPERATURE FOR ALOE VERA

At home, indoors, aloe vera, which comes from hot countries, will acclimatize very well at a temperature between 18° and 20°.

Take it out from May to September, on your balcony, if the climate is mild, but on condition that you bring it inside during cold nights.

Aloe is a succulent plant and because it retains a large amount of water in its leaves it does not tolerate frost, but is able to survive the hottest summers.

5 – FERTILIZERS AND FERTILIZATION

To achieve sustained growth, fertilize with a very diluted “special cactus” fertilizer, once every two to three waterings during spring and summer.

Maintenance and other care

Take the plants outside in the summer months. These summer quarters will benefit the plants, which will then appreciate the sun or light shade.

6 – DISEASES AND PESTS

Scale insects (mealybugs or scale-like masses) sometimes appear on the leaves. Dab with household alcohol to asphyxiate them.