Hi,

I have an ALOE plant, its in gritty compost. When I bought it it
looked green & healthy, but its going brown & looks really sick.

I have no idea what's wrong but it must be me who's killing it.

It was on a nicely sunlit window, by a radiator, so I have moved it to
a sunny windowsill with no radiator. But its still not getting any
better.

It was dry so i have given it a good drink, but still not getting any
better.

Can anyone give me any assistance as to what I am doing wrong?

Thanks

tom wrote:

I have an ALOE plant, its in gritty compost. When I bought it it
looked green & healthy, but its going brown & looks really sick.

I have no idea what's wrong but it must be me who's killing it.

It was on a nicely sunlit window, by a radiator, so I have moved it to
a sunny windowsill with no radiator. But its still not getting any
better.

It was dry so i have given it a good drink, but still not getting any
better.

Can anyone give me any assistance as to what I am doing wrong?


If it has been too warm and dry over the winter it will lose a few leave
by drying out and desicating but will put on new top growth now.

But it is much easier to kill them by overwatering than by any amount of
neglect. Is the stem near the base brown and rotten?

If it is then the roots have gone and you need to chop the top off high
enough to get unaffected stem. Leave it to callous for a couple of days
and then re-root in a very gritty compost. 2 parts grit + 1 part JI #2
and don't give it too much water until it starts to grow again.

Regards,
Martin Brown

If it has been too warm and dry over the winter it will lose a few leave
by drying out and desicating but will put on new top growth now.

But it is much easier to kill them by overwatering than by any amount of
neglect. Is the stem near the base brown and rotten?

If it is then the roots have gone and you need to chop the top off high
enough to get unaffected stem. Leave it to callous for a couple of days
and then re-root in a very gritty compost. 2 parts grit + 1 part JI #2
and don't give it too much water until it starts to grow again.

Regards,
Martin Brown
No it looks a bit brown on one side, but green on the other. he 2
leaves that are coming out from the middle are a lot greener than the
others. It has 6 leaves in total.

I have just watered it though as it was as dry as a bone, but from
what you have said I am known for overwatering things.

How often should it be watered. Any how much water should I give it.

I'm unsure what you mean by chopping it off, because the new leaves
come up through the middle. Should I just strip the brown leaves off?

thanks

On 10/5/05 21:45, in article ,
"tom" wrote:

Hi,

I have an ALOE plant, its in gritty compost. When I bought it it
looked green & healthy, but its going brown & looks really sick.

I have no idea what's wrong but it must be me who's killing it.

It was on a nicely sunlit window, by a radiator, so I have moved it to
a sunny windowsill with no radiator. But its still not getting any
better.

It was dry so i have given it a good drink, but still not getting any
better.

Can anyone give me any assistance as to what I am doing wrong?

Thanks
I'm afraid it's the good drink. I had one on a sailing boat that I watered
once every 6 months IIRC and always allowed to drain very well afterwards.
Even then, it could look a bit sick after watering. Remember, they're
desert plants.
Your reply to Martin is that it's putting out new leaves so DON'T water it
at all! It's trying desperately to survive despite your loving attention
;-) Most house plants don't need watering more than once a week - some need
even less but the really important thing is to let them drain afterwards and
never to leave them standing in water unless they're bog plants!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

tom wrote:

If it has been too warm and dry over the winter it will lose a few leave
by drying out and desicating but will put on new top growth now.

But it is much easier to kill them by overwatering than by any amount of
neglect. Is the stem near the base brown and rotten?

No it looks a bit brown on one side, but green on the other. he 2
leaves that are coming out from the middle are a lot greener than the
others. It has 6 leaves in total.

It is probably fine then and once it starts growing properly you can
wter it whenever it has dried out.

I have just watered it though as it was as dry as a bone, but from
what you have said I am known for overwatering things.

How often should it be watered. Any how much water should I give it.

Let it dry out almost completely between waterings. When you water it
give it plenty but don't leave it standing in water - they don't like
wet feet. And they do like an open gritty free draining compost.

I'm unsure what you mean by chopping it off, because the new leaves
come up through the middle. Should I just strip the brown leaves off?

I would leave well alone. I think what has happened is that its winter
quarters were too warm and it has dessicated a couple of leaves. Don't
worry it will grow enough new ones to be fine.

It is actually rather hard to kill A. vera. But if you do manage to rot
the roots off you have only a short time before the rot goes up the main
stem and kills the plant entirely.

Regards,
Martin Brown

tom wrote:

Hi,

I have an ALOE plant, its in gritty compost. When I bought it it
looked green & healthy, but its going brown & looks really sick.

I have no idea what's wrong but it must be me who's killing it.

It was on a nicely sunlit window, by a radiator, so I have moved it to
a sunny windowsill with no radiator. But its still not getting any
better.

It was dry so i have given it a good drink, but still not getting any
better.

Can anyone give me any assistance as to what I am doing wrong?

Thanks

My Aloe Vera went brown I think it was getting to much sun (sun burn?)
relocated into a bright place with no direct sun and it has now turn
back to its healthy green colour.

Can a desert plant get sunburn?

Paul

On 11/5/05 13:22, in article , "Paul"
wrote:

tom wrote:

Hi,

I have an ALOE plant, its in gritty compost. When I bought it it
looked green & healthy, but its going brown & looks really sick.

I have no idea what's wrong but it must be me who's killing it.

It was on a nicely sunlit window, by a radiator, so I have moved it to
a sunny windowsill with no radiator. But its still not getting any
better.

It was dry so i have given it a good drink, but still not getting any
better.

Can anyone give me any assistance as to what I am doing wrong?

Thanks

My Aloe Vera went brown I think it was getting to much sun (sun burn?)
relocated into a bright place with no direct sun and it has now turn
back to its healthy green colour.

Can a desert plant get sunburn?

If it was on a window sill with the glass concentrating the rays, very
possibly. Outside in the garden, no.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

Paul wrote:

My Aloe Vera went brown I think it was getting to much sun (sun burn?)
relocated into a bright place with no direct sun and it has now turn
back to its healthy green colour.

They can go reddish or bronze through sunburn. It isn't fatal.

Many aloes look better grown in very strong sunlight with a tight
rosette of leaves. They tend to go leggy grown in poor light.

Can a desert plant get sunburn?

Yes. Particularly in the early spring sunshine after a dark winter. You
can get scorch problems usually due to inadequate ventilation.

Many desert plants have clever strategies to protect themselves from the
sun, heat and UV. Some alkaloids and other aromatic compounds are good
sunscreens.

Regards,
Martin Brown