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A friend of mine has an Aloe Vera plant they found on the side of the road when it was about 6 inches tall. It's now a little over 2 ft. For the most part they had the plant indoors near a window. The first year they had it in dirt. Less than a year ago they put it in regular soil (Miracle Grow).
About three months ago the plant started to die. The bottom leaves started dying first, then the center "stalk" started to die as well. Three or four parts of the plant are still green.
They decided to move the plant outdoors in the front lawn roughly two months ago. They repotted the plant into a larger clay pot with the same Miracle Grow soil. The clay pot has a hole in the bottom but they may have inadvertantly covered it up.
I think the plant is dying from too much water, since the soil can't drain. But I could be wrong.
It could very well be dying from too much water. The Aloe Vera is a succulent plant which stores water. I have a large Aloe in a pot out in my backyard that gets watered once a week when the sprinklers come on or when we have rain ... that's it. It stays on the dry side and thrives. I have a couple of smaller Aloe's in pots on my deck and I only water them every 3 or 4 weeks ... they are doing great. I have always found that Aloe's thrive on neglect - anyway, at my house they do.
I also agree with too much water. And in my experience, Aloes can get pretty touchy once they begin to die. The first one I ever had I overwatered and it did just what you describe. A friend told me to back off on water but it apparently was too late--it continued to decline until I had to admit failure :-( Maybe their Aloe will be an exception though.
