I have an Aloe plant that my wife left outside without water for 4 months.
Luckily it's still alive, I gave it a little water and brought it inside
to a shady place and it seems to be doing better. Is there anything else
I should be doing, ie fertilize, and in so what type and how much.
Thanks.

"dave" wrote in message
news
I have an Aloe plant that my wife left outside without water
for 4
months. Luckily it's still alive, I gave it a little water and
brought it inside to a shady place and it seems to be doing
better.
Is there anything else I should be doing, ie fertilize, and in
so
what type and how much. Thanks.

I don't know how accurate this is but it sounds right.
http://www.thegardenhelper.com/aloe~vera.html

--

Travis in Shoreline (just North of Seattle) Washington
USDA Zone 8
Sunset Zone 5

"dave" wrote in message
news
I have an Aloe plant that my wife left outside without water for 4 months.
Luckily it's still alive, I gave it a little water and brought it inside
to a shady place and it seems to be doing better. Is there anything else
I should be doing, ie fertilize, and in so what type and how much.
Thanks.
You don't say where you are, but here in Central Florida, your wife's idea
of care has worked for my aloe for the last ten years. It's in the only area
of the yard that I never water, And all I've done to it in that time is
prune it back. I remove about half of the patch about every six months. It
grows like crazy and blooms on occasion.

Go easy on both water and fertilizer during the short days of winter.
Not so sure about the shade because your message never said where you
were but here in CT I can't get enough light.

On Sat, 10 Dec 2005 11:32:13 -0800, dave wrote:

I have an Aloe plant that my wife left outside without water for 4 months.
Luckily it's still alive, I gave it a little water and brought it inside
to a shady place and it seems to be doing better. Is there anything else
I should be doing, ie fertilize, and in so what type and how much.
Thanks.

I'm in Southern California.

Put your Aloe in the sunlight near a window if its cold out avoid it
when plants are young, are there smaller plantlets you can start off /
propagate from the base of the main plant? There may be a soil problem
due to overwatering outside, check the soil condition and try repotting
some of the plant in new soil.
Cool climates do help to burn off some of the overgrowth in warm
temperates, am here in Auckland, New Zealand, where some very rare
frosts can melt large succulents.
www.nzlandscapes.com
www.nzlandscapes.blogspot.com

I been growing aloe vera in containers for years.. I live in SW
Virginia.. I always plant them in a clay pots with an all purpose soil
that drains well..
In the winter time you need to put them by the window that gets the
most sun (high light)... It needs at least a half a day but will adapt
to less..
I set my plants outside in the spring two weeks after the last frost
and water as need..
Be sure not to leave in standing water and let soil dry completely
before watering again...
Best temperatures are 70* days and 50* nights.. Be sure to that the
frost doesn't get to it in the fall
The plant will eventually grow sprouts (offsets) and should fill out
the whole container.. When I transplant, I just pull of small sprouts
(offsets) with roots and transplant in small clay pots.. One
good size aloe can make many plants in a small time under proper
conditions.. The most common problem is overwatering because it causes
the plant to rot.. Aloe plants are like a cactus
It's ok to lightly fertilize in the late summer/ fall..
The leaves may be plain green, variegated, or spotted with white or
gray... The leaves will turn a brownish color if left out in full sun,
during the summer, (8hrs of full sun)... if that happens just relocate
the plant to another location with less full sun.. Sometimes in bright
light plants may produce spikes of orange, yellow, or red fowers in the
fall to winter... Plants can grow 2 ft tall and have thick leaves,
(sometimes 3'' wide) filled with gel-like juice
Aloe will grow if neglected...