Can you post either to a link to a site with a picture, or post a pic in
altt.binaries.pictures.gardens, of your "Aloe Vera".

--
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

In article , datsy
writes


I've just done a Google image search on Aloe Vera and the images that came
up included varieties which had the broad leaves and ones with long spikes
at 90 deg. The image which seems to resemble mine is this one:
http://davarree.free.fr/Aloe.Vera.JPG

I've also had a look in the book mentioned above for other possibilities to
get oxygen at night in my north-facing bedroom - seems as though the snake
plant might be the one.

Aren't there lots of possibilities? Isn't this to do with crassulacean
acid metabolism (because it was first discovered in the crassulas)
whereby a great many plants in arid regions have adopted a metabolism
that allows them to do their photosynthesis in effect at night, so they
can shut down their stomata during the day and avoid losing water? It's
a long, long time since I read about this.


--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

Can you post either to a link to a site with a picture, or post a pic in
altt.binaries.pictures.gardens, of your "Aloe Vera".

--

David, just posted two links to pics that look like my aloe vera - here they
are again: http://davarree.free.fr/Aloe.Vera.JPG
http://laurenharman.tripod.com/portf...mages/aloe.jpg
The drawing is very much like mine in that the long spikes at the top bend
over and that's what caused it to get top heavy and flop over. The spikes on
mine, however, are much more at 180 deg to each other so probably don't give
as much counterbalance. The "teenage" one in a south-facing room with lots
of light is exactly the same shape so I anticipate having the same problem
with that as it gets bigger. Actually, I've just had another look at the
teenage one and the later spikes are a bit more evenly spaced so maybe the
answer is that more light will stop the 180 deg. angles.

I've also had a look in the book mentioned above for other possibilities
to
get oxygen at night in my north-facing bedroom - seems as though the
snake
plant might be the one.

Aren't there lots of possibilities? Isn't this to do with crassulacean
acid metabolism (because it was first discovered in the crassulas)
whereby a great many plants in arid regions have adopted a metabolism
that allows them to do their photosynthesis in effect at night, so they
can shut down their stomata during the day and avoid losing water? It's
a long, long time since I read about this.


The book doesn't go into so much detail. It mentions the aloe, snake plant,
orchids and bromeliads as releasing oxygen and absorbing carbon dioxide at
night. Although it does feature a crassula, it doesn't mention the same
properties for it. The snake plant seemed to be the one most suited to a
north-facing room as the others need more light.

"datsy" wrote in message
...


Sounds to me as if your plant is in need of some good light, by
the sounds
of things the poor devil is having to search for light so is not
growing
upright and compact.
Try putting it somewhere where it can get full light.

--

Now this does actually make sense as it's in a north-facing bedroom.
Reason
for this? Because aloe vera gives off oxygen during the night -
apparantly
most plants do this during the day - so aloes are recommended as
bedroom
plants! I'm going to have to forego my oxygen to save my plant!

The amount of Oxygen given off by your aloe during the course of the
whole night will be less than one small puff of breath, so you won't
be losing much.

Franz

"Kay" wrote in message
...
In article , datsy
writes


I've just done a Google image search on Aloe Vera and the images
that came
up included varieties which had the broad leaves and ones with long
spikes
at 90 deg. The image which seems to resemble mine is this one:
http://davarree.free.fr/Aloe.Vera.JPG

I've also had a look in the book mentioned above for other
possibilities to
get oxygen at night in my north-facing bedroom - seems as though
the snake
plant might be the one.

Aren't there lots of possibilities? Isn't this to do with
crassulacean
acid metabolism (because it was first discovered in the crassulas)
whereby a great many plants in arid regions have adopted a
metabolism
that allows them to do their photosynthesis in effect at night,

Impossible. {:-((

As I understand it, the stomata of these plants are closed during the
day and open during the night. At night CO2 is taken in and fixed
temporarily using malic acid. The actual photosynthesis, i.e. the use
of the previously absorbed CO2 to form starch (or is it sugar?) still
occurs during the day

so they
can shut down their stomata during the day and avoid losing water?
It's
a long, long time since I read about this.

Franz

In message , datsy
writes


Now this does actually make sense as it's in a north-facing bedroom.
Reason
for this? Because aloe vera gives off oxygen during the night -
apparantly
most plants do this during the day - so aloes are recommended as bedroom
plants! I'm going to have to forego my oxygen to save my plant!

Actually it will only do this if it gets enough sunlight during the
daytime so you are probably wasting your time growing it in a north
facing window.


Buy a different plant "~)

Here's a book that lists various other options :
http://www.mower-magic.co.uk/amazon/...sin=184188121X

Yes, I've already got this book - it's very good.
Going back to my aloe vera - it looks nothing like the one in this book
which has broad "leaves" growing at 90 deg. to each other. Mine has very
thin spikes growing at 180 deg. It was labelled as an aloe vera! But none of
the pictures I see ever resemble it!

That almost certainly means it is some other species of aloe. Aloe vera
sells itself to the public instantly so there is a temptation to
mislabel.

Perhaps your have A. millotii from your rather short description.

Regards,
--
Martin Brown

In message , Kay
writes
In article , datsy
writes


I've just done a Google image search on Aloe Vera and the images that came
up included varieties which had the broad leaves and ones with long spikes
at 90 deg. The image which seems to resemble mine is this one:
http://davarree.free.fr/Aloe.Vera.JPG

I've also had a look in the book mentioned above for other possibilities to
get oxygen at night in my north-facing bedroom - seems as though the snake
plant might be the one.

Aren't there lots of possibilities? Isn't this to do with crassulacean
acid metabolism (because it was first discovered in the crassulas)
whereby a great many plants in arid regions have adopted a metabolism
that allows them to do their photosynthesis in effect at night, so they
can shut down their stomata during the day and avoid losing water? It's
a long, long time since I read about this.

Yes. Thats the one. Many plants from arid climates have CAM to minimise
water loss. They only open the stomata at night. And make exotic
photosynthesis intermediates in sunlight completing the cycle at night
by grabbing more CO2 and emitting oxygen waste products.

However, it does require that they see enough strong sunlight to make a
decent amount of growth and oxygen. Otherwise they are budget neutral.

Regards,
--
Martin Brown

In article , Franz Heymann
writes

"Kay" wrote in message
...
Aren't there lots of possibilities? Isn't this to do with
crassulacean
acid metabolism (because it was first discovered in the crassulas)
whereby a great many plants in arid regions have adopted a
metabolism
that allows them to do their photosynthesis in effect at night,

Impossible. {:-((

That's what I thought, and why I said 'in effect'.

As I understand it, the stomata of these plants are closed during the
day and open during the night. At night CO2 is taken in and fixed
temporarily using malic acid. The actual photosynthesis, i.e. the use
of the previously absorbed CO2 to form starch (or is it sugar?) still
occurs during the day

I thought it must be a two stage process. Neat idea, anyway. Thanks!
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

"datsy" wrote in message
...


Now this does actually make sense as it's in a north-facing
bedroom.
Reason
for this? Because aloe vera gives off oxygen during the
night -
apparantly
most plants do this during the day - so aloes are
recommended as
bedroom
plants! I'm going to have to forego my oxygen to save my
plant!



Buy a different plant "~)

Here's a book that lists various other options :
http://www.mower-magic.co.uk/amazon/...sin=184188121X



Yes, I've already got this book - it's very good.
Going back to my aloe vera - it looks nothing like the one in
this book
which has broad "leaves" growing at 90 deg. to each other. Mine
has very
thin spikes growing at 180 deg. It was labelled as an aloe vera!
But
none of
the pictures I see ever resemble it!

Might it perhaps be an Agave ???

I've just done a Google image search on Aloe Vera and the images
that came
up included varieties which had the broad leaves and ones with long
spikes
at 90 deg. The image which seems to resemble mine is this one:
http://davarree.free.fr/Aloe.Vera.JPG

I've also had a look in the book mentioned above for other
possibilities to
get oxygen at night in my north-facing bedroom - seems as though the
snake
plant might be the one.

Datsy, let's do a little sum:
Give or take a factor of ten, the amount of Oxygen released in 24
hours will be comparable with the mass of plant material produced in
24 hours.
Your aloe would grow less than 1 gm of dry plant matter in a day, so
it
might be expected to produce less than 1 gm of Oxygen per day. The
density of Oxygen is around 1 gm per litre. So your plant will
produce something less than 1 litre of Oxygen overnight. That is
about one lungful. (All give or take a factor of 10, as I said). You
would
get much more than 1,000 times as much Oxygen into your room by the
simple expedient of sleeping with an open window.

Franz

Datsy, let's do a little sum:
Give or take a factor of ten, the amount of Oxygen released in 24
hours will be comparable with the mass of plant material produced in
24 hours.
Your aloe would grow less than 1 gm of dry plant matter in a day, so
it
might be expected to produce less than 1 gm of Oxygen per day. The
density of Oxygen is around 1 gm per litre. So your plant will
produce something less than 1 litre of Oxygen overnight. That is
about one lungful. (All give or take a factor of 10, as I said). You
would
get much more than 1,000 times as much Oxygen into your room by the
simple expedient of sleeping with an open window.


Many thanks! Maths never was my strong point! I had to smile at this one -
from a previous posting you made, it sounded as though it was only a minute
amount - a lungful is actually quite a lot ;-)) ! Now, yes, I did put the
aloe in the bedroom because of the oxygen properties - but even I know it's
not going to give me enough oxygen for the night ;-)) . My main purpose for
buying the plant was its use in skin care. Having used commercial aloe vera
gel for many years for things like sunburn, insect bites, eczema, etc., it
seemed a good idea to be able to use it fresh. Even if my plant turns out
not to be a true aloe vera, its gel still seems to have the same cooling
effect. A friend of mine has just been through radiotherapy and she bought a
plant to help with skin care after the treatment. In the US some
radiotherapy units have aloe vera plants so that patients can use them
immediately after treatment. This is to get the record straight as to why I
have an aloe vera (or whatever it is - or more to the point, whatever they
are, since they're multiplying so rapidly)!

In message , datsy
writes

Datsy, let's do a little sum:
Give or take a factor of ten, the amount of Oxygen released in 24
hours will be comparable with the mass of plant material produced in
24 hours.
Your aloe would grow less than 1 gm of dry plant matter in a day, so
it
might be expected to produce less than 1 gm of Oxygen per day. The
density of Oxygen is around 1 gm per litre. So your plant will
produce something less than 1 litre of Oxygen overnight. That is
about one lungful. (All give or take a factor of 10, as I said). You
would
get much more than 1,000 times as much Oxygen into your room by the
simple expedient of sleeping with an open window.

Many thanks! Maths never was my strong point! I had to smile at this one -
from a previous posting you made, it sounded as though it was only a minute
amount - a lungful is actually quite a lot ;-)) ! Now, yes, I did put the
aloe in the bedroom because of the oxygen properties - but even I know it's
not going to give me enough oxygen for the night ;-)) . My main purpose for
buying the plant was its use in skin care. Having used commercial aloe vera
gel for many years for things like sunburn, insect bites, eczema, etc., it
seemed a good idea to be able to use it fresh. Even if my plant turns out
not to be a true aloe vera, its gel still seems to have the same cooling
effect.

This is exactly the sort of problem that dodgy dealers selling spurious
plants labelled "aloe vera" to members of the public can result in. Not
all species of aloe are benign and some have seriously caustic sap. It
is extremely inadvisable to use any plant that you cannot positively
identify as the correct species for any kind of medical treatment. It is
pretty hairy using one that is the right species too since you have no
way of measuring the concentration of active ingredients - and the dose
makes the poison.

A friend of mine has just been through radiotherapy and she bought a
plant to help with skin care after the treatment. In the US some
radiotherapy units have aloe vera plants so that patients can use them
immediately after treatment. This is to get the record straight as to why I
have an aloe vera (or whatever it is - or more to the point, whatever they
are, since they're multiplying so rapidly)!

You really need to determine if your plant is aloe vera or not
*URGENTLY* and certainly before you risk using it in contact with your
skin again.

The real aloe vera used at the right concentrations is remarkably
effective as a burns treatment. But there is not much margin for error.

Regards,
--
Martin Brown

My main purpose for
buying the plant was its use in skin care. Having used commercial aloe
vera
gel for many years for things like sunburn, insect bites, eczema, etc.,
it
seemed a good idea to be able to use it fresh. Even if my plant turns out
not to be a true aloe vera, its gel still seems to have the same cooling
effect.

This is exactly the sort of problem that dodgy dealers selling spurious
plants labelled "aloe vera" to members of the public can result in. Not
all species of aloe are benign and some have seriously caustic sap. It
is extremely inadvisable to use any plant that you cannot positively
identify as the correct species for any kind of medical treatment. It is
pretty hairy using one that is the right species too since you have no
way of measuring the concentration of active ingredients - and the dose
makes the poison.

A friend of mine has just been through radiotherapy and she bought a
plant to help with skin care after the treatment. In the US some
radiotherapy units have aloe vera plants so that patients can use them
immediately after treatment. This is to get the record straight as to why
I
have an aloe vera (or whatever it is - or more to the point, whatever
they
are, since they're multiplying so rapidly)!

You really need to determine if your plant is aloe vera or not
*URGENTLY* and certainly before you risk using it in contact with your
skin again.

The real aloe vera used at the right concentrations is remarkably
effective as a burns treatment. But there is not much margin for error.


Many, many thanks for this advice, Martin. It *is* worrying if garden
centres are advising customers to treat their skin with something that is
not beneficial and can even cause harm. I bought mine from a garden centre
where they had a number of these plants and they were in fact giving the
benefits of aloe vera to a customer in front of me who was suffering from
bad eczema.

On Fri, 6 Aug 2004 18:31:21 +0100, "datsy"
wrote:



I've got an aloe vera plant indoors - the type which has the spikes growing
at 180 deg. rather than 90 deg. and the spikes are eventually flat rather
than upright It had been leaning towards the light, I turned it round and
it started growing back. But with a lot of new growth coming through, it got
too top heavy and just flopped over today. It's only a hand's width to the
growing tip but the new spikes are about 9" inches long. I've put a stick in
to support it but it looks a bit silly. Any ideas on how to support it or
strengthen it?

Thanks!


By spikes I presume you mean the leaves. But I'm not sure I understand
this 180 and 90 degree bit. Most aloes produce their leaves all round
the stem, with one or two exceptions (A. plicatilis comes to mind, but
I doubt you have that from the images you gave links for).

My SiL calls all aloes 'Aloe vera'! Aloe vera is a stemless aloe. All
the leaves grow from the base, forming clumps, and it spreads
laterally by side shoots and suckers. What you have is unlikely to be
A. vera, but what it actually is, is difficult to say. There are many
aloes with stems and with broadly similar appearance. Some have a
rambling, scrambling habit where the stems may extend for several feet
(A. ciliaris can reach 20ft). If yours is a scrambling aloe, you'll
always be having to support it if you want it to grow upright, as
that's not it's natural habit.

But as others have said already, they need as much light and sun as
possible. Whatever it is, it's probably being drawn by the lack of
light.

Incidentally, a quick calculation suggests your bedroom already
contains roughly somewhere between 5 and 10 kilograms of oxygen. The
amount produced overnight by an aloe (or any plant for that matter)
would be trivial in comparison, as Franz has pointed out.


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net

"datsy" wrote in message
...




Datsy, let's do a little sum:
Give or take a factor of ten, the amount of Oxygen released in 24
hours will be comparable with the mass of plant material produced
in
24 hours.
Your aloe would grow less than 1 gm of dry plant matter in a day,
so
it
might be expected to produce less than 1 gm of Oxygen per day.
The
density of Oxygen is around 1 gm per litre. So your plant will
produce something less than 1 litre of Oxygen overnight. That
is
about one lungful. (All give or take a factor of 10, as I said).
You
would
get much more than 1,000 times as much Oxygen into your room by
the
simple expedient of sleeping with an open window.


Many thanks! Maths never was my strong point! I had to smile at this
one -
from a previous posting you made, it sounded as though it was only a
minute
amount - a lungful is actually quite a lot ;-)) ! Now, yes, I did
put the
aloe in the bedroom because of the oxygen properties - but even I
know it's
not going to give me enough oxygen for the night ;-)) . My main
purpose for
buying the plant was its use in skin care. Having used commercial
aloe vera
gel for many years for things like sunburn, insect bites, eczema,
etc., it
seemed a good idea to be able to use it fresh. Even if my plant
turns out
not to be a true aloe vera, its gel still seems to have the same
cooling
effect. A friend of mine has just been through radiotherapy and she
bought a
plant to help with skin care after the treatment. In the US some
radiotherapy units have aloe vera plants so that patients can use
them
immediately after treatment. This is to get the record straight as
to why I
have an aloe vera (or whatever it is - or more to the point,
whatever they
are, since they're multiplying so rapidly)!

Why don't you get a medicament for your condition, prepared to a known
concentration, with a determined dosage rate, on prescription from
your doctor? All this messing about with raw plant material is either
pointless or dangerous.

Franz