Aloe vera has become popular over the years and with good reasons! The plants thrive both indoors and outdoors and, most importantly, have numerous healing properties. Aloe vera plants have long, slender, succulent leaves often edged with soft teeth.
Many reasons could be responsible for a dying aloe plant, such as underwatering and overwatering the plant. And if your precious aloe vera plant is dying, we're going to teach you how to save a dying aloe plant today.
That said, the first step towards reviving an aloe plant, is to cut down on watering the plant frequently if it seems the plant performs poorly due to excessive watering.
Read more on other essential steps to take to salvage your dying aloe plant. But why is the plant dying in the first place?
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Why Your Aloe Plant Is Dying
Before moving on to save your aloe plant, you need to know why the plant is dying. Aloe plants are most gardeners' favorite because they are easy to grow if you meet a few conditions.
An aloe plant needs well-drained soil and should be planted in a pot with drainage holes, so the roots never sit in water.
Other factors that may affect your aloe plant adversely are overwatering, underwatering, and other environmental. Below are some of the root causes of a dying aloe plant.
1. Too Much or Too Little Sunlight May Adversely Affect Your Aloe Plant
While aloe plant thrives in direct sunlight, harsh and excessive sunlight can be dangerous and damage the plant.
In the same vein, placing your aloe plant in the shade without indirect sunlight will result in the plant roots' rotting and eventual death.
2. Unstable Temperature
The low temperature will make the aloe vera turn brown and die slowly. Similarly, the too hot temperature will cause the same. The trick is moving your aloe plant based on the weather condition,
3. Underwatering
Insufficient watering will make your aloe vera plant seems withered, brown, and dry. Water evaporates more in dry and warm weather, which means that you have to water your aloe plant regularly in warm weather and less frequently in cold weather.
4. Overwatering
Aloe plants are succulent plants, which means that they react badly when overwatered. Overwatering will make the leaves start to develop water-soaked spots.
The leaves will also look saturated and gradually turn to mush, and then the plant dies. To rectify this, pause watering your aloe plant and only water when the soil dries out completely.
5. Insufficient Drainage Holes
Every potted plant needs to have drainage holes in the bottom to let out excess water. Lack of drainage holes will lead to waterlogging, which will lead to the death of the plant's roots. You may need to repot your plants if the pot does not have drainage holes.
6. Poor Soil
As a succulent plant, aloe vera should have extra sand and perlite. This applies to both potted as well as non-potted plants. Fertilize the soil at least once a month to keep the soil healthy
7. Pests Infestation
Is your aloe vera plant turning brown all of a sudden? Well, you might have in your hands a pest infestation situation. Pests like Mealybugs, mites, and scales affect the plant negatively.
To rectify the problem, you can use insecticide or water on the plant. Alcohol-soaked wipes or miticides can also be used to clean the leaves. Remove the affected leaves with scissors before spraying.
8. Too Much Fertilizer
Fertilizing should be done minimally as too much fertilizer can cause the build-up of excess salt in the plant, which burns the roots and causes browning. To treat this, leach the soil with a good amount of water and repot the plant.
9. Chemical Exposure
Browning of the aloe vera can also occur due to chemical exposure, maybe by herbicide drift of the wind or by a splash of cleaning chemicals.
To treat this, remove the few affected leaves and transplant the aloe vera into a vascular system.
How to Save A Dying Aloe Plant
- Too much sunlight is dangerous to your aloe plant; if it looks like your aloe plant is sunburned, move the plant to a shady spot and then diffuse light.
- Stop watering if it looks like your plant is overwatered. You should water your aloe plant just once a week. If you are watering the plant more than once a week, you are overwatering. Water the plant only when the soil is dry.
- The potting soil might lack enough nutrients; thus, you may need to replace the potting soil.
- Drainage holes are essential for every potted plant. Terracotta pots are ideal for aloe plants because they are porous and allow the soil to dry out quicker, which benefits the aloe requirement for dryer soil conditions.
- Aloe plants thrive better under the sun. If your aloe plant has stayed in a humid spot for a long time, expose your aloe vera to more sun. Place the aloe plant in a sunny area with around 4-6 hours of direct sunlight.
- Sometimes your aloe plant is dying as a result of a rotten root. To rectify it, cut off the root system's rotten portions, leaving only the healthy parts.
- Repot the plant with fresh potting soil. The potting soil should have a well-draining substrate. Transplant the plant to the new potting soil and leave it for 3 days without water.
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- How to Save A Dying Oak Tree
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- How to Save A Dying Cherry Tree
- How to Save A Dying Jade Plant
Conclusion
The aloe plant is quite beneficial with lots of healing properties. The good news is that you can easily grow this beautiful and useful plant within your home. Caring for the aloe plant is relatively easy, provided you water the plant properly.
Overwatering the aloe plant and slow draining soils are some of the reasons your aloe plant is dying right before your eyes.
The main topic of this post, how to save a dying aloe plant, has been answered. Also, you know the reasons why your aloe plant is dying and ways to prevent it from reoccurring.
