PlantFiles: Aloe Vera, Medicinal Aloe, Savila
Aloe vera

Great plant for desert landscape or container gardening. I've found the leaves look happier with protection from full day sun and regular water. Be careful watering any plants in the desert with high temperatures due to susceptibility to root rot. I've learned the hard way over the years...LOL:) High temperature and lots of frequent water does not equal happy plants. Protect from frost or it will usually come back from roots.

Aloe Barbadensis grows well in the Southwest of the United Kingdom. During a wet winter, the leaves may turn slightly yellow but quickly recover during spring. Plants produce many offsets in one growing season and can fill the surrounding area in a few years.

So far I love my aloe plant. I haven't had it long so I have not yet propogated. I keep reading about aloe vera plants "throwing babies". What does that mean?!

I love this plant and had always tried to keep at least one around.
My "mother" keeps throwing "babies" and this is a big trader of mine in are area.
I use this plant on scraps and boo boos almost daily. I have also frozen the leaves to use at a later date.
Only thing to watch out for is root rot.
This is inside plant for me.
If letting one "baby" take off with thinning ("babies") it does give off a thicker even darker green appearance. At least in my garden. In containers it seams to like to be "snug". I transplant when I see roots growing out the bottom.
I have many of these plants for I use them. I am trying to leave one alone to see how it grows.......see if I can?

This is growing in a controlled environment temps are 80 and reach 90 year round with daily misting. Some of these plants are in direct light while others are in indirect light with 12/12 light schedule. Tested them in 24/0 light and they did not like this and did not like drying out.
Regular feeding monthly of miracle grow which is doing great for these.
Newly transplanted "babies" are in trays with constant water at the bottom of the trays and these are in the indirect light.
These also seam to like the high humidity......

Our aloe survived Hurricane Katrina. When we finally got back to our apartment it was almost completely gray/brown, I think because trees came down and exposed it to too much sun and there was no rain for weeks. I kept it and it has actually rejuvenated to a brilliant shade of green and grown nicely since then. It is a symbol of hope and rebirth to us now.

I've cured an abscess the size of a golfball on the foreleg of a feral cat using a 50/50 mixture of the 'clear' Aloe-vera gel (not juice) and olive oil which was added to it's food twice a day (1 tablespoon each time).

Before treatment, the injury was oozing/not healing for the good part of a year before the severe swelling from infection occured. The wound was healed in '2 weeks' with the aloe laced food and as a side effect all the cats eating this mixture had developed beautiful glossy thick fur.

As a cautionary note: the yellow juice may be poisonous to many animals so use only the 'clear gel' found in the leaves, rinsing the juice off the gel (in a strainer or similar) with cold tap water. The juice is primarily found in the lower portion or base of the leaves.

I live in central Fl and a neighbor gave me an aloe years ago. These plants do well in clay pots. They grow and multiplied quickly in poor soil with minimal care.. When we moved, I took the plants with us. These prolific mutipliers have since taken over. I do mind because they stay in one area. Shallow roots make transplanting easy - my aloes have small sharp spikes along the leaf's edge, so I use gloves when handling them. I use the aloe to treat skin irritation. I snip off a leaf, remove the spikes by running a sharp knive along the leaf's edge, and apply the sap right onto the burn or insect bite. The sap stops the pain immediately. These plants are very handy to have in the garden - they are hardy, beautiful, and useful.

The only way this plant will die is to overwater it. I bought a 3 inch plant at Walmart, now I have 60. Not counting the ones I gave away. Anyone who comes to my house takes one home. I have cut the plant at the root, the root grew the top grew, and a lot of shutes. I cut them off, stick them in potting soil, made the mistake of using Mericalgrow), they are everywhere. The largest one is 2 1/2 ft., needs a larger pot.
I use the sap on bug bites, cuts, sun burns, and any other skin problem. I just cant through any plant away.

This plant grows well in full sun in Southern California. It is easily rooted in potting soil with warmth.

Aloes are hardy. Overwatering is the only danger besides, of course, freezing. Aloe vera is great as a natural firstaid. Aloe plants multiply at an astonishing rate. Aloes make excellent house plants, requiring minimal care and indirect lighting. Propagating aloes so simple a child can do it, they tolerate some rough handling. You can strip a plant down to its bare roots and leave it in a dark corner for several days, then transplant it and it will re-root itself. Very resilliant.

We started off with a single plant several years ago and have given away hundreds since.
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For personal use, we peel, put in a blender and drink mixed with orange juice daily.
Friend swears it cured him of an ulcer. We have used it on open wounds.
We cut the bottom, older leaves.

No one seems to know where this hybrid came from, what the parent plants were, or if its a hybrid at all. According to the book "Landscape Plants for Dry Regions by Warren Jones & Charles Sacamano" they stated that this orange flowered Aloe vera is probably a hybrid.
I've seen this plant sold everywhere by the name of Aloe vera or Aloe barbadensis with out any hybrid indication( an 'x' at the end).

Qutie a large plant with sharp spikes along the edges of the leaves.

I have always kept some as both houseplant and outside plants. I give them no care whatsoever and they still thrive.

Have always keep some around, mainly in case of sunburn, tucked away and ignored unless needed. It can take daily water, rare water, sun, little sun... and be there if needed... good plant.

Aloe vera, one name that appears to cover plants with numerous appearances. I have quite a large plant that spreads out and only holds it centre new leaves vertically. I worried to begin with that this was not healthy but the plant continues to grow.

It is one of few houseplants that release oxygen at night so make a good addition to the bedroom. They dont appreciate cool temperatures and like plenty of light. I have been away for a week so could not give the plant its daily visits to my sunlounge, a few of its leaves are going dark and mussy, any suggestions please?

i have had a lot of success with this plant in coastal southern california. however, i brought some with me in a pot to florida, and i lost most of it due to overwatering in the humid climate. now i have rescued a small bit, and just today repotted it. i hope that it grows, as i love this plants look and the ease at using its gel.

In popular Mexican floklore, it is said that if you can't
be successful in growing common medicinal aloe, then you are hopeless for growing any plant, due to its easy culture.

A spreading succulent which has been used for many centuries and the origin of this plant appears to have been lost.

Has a stemless base which forms rosettes of lance shaped, fleshy, light to grey green, tooth edged leaves often spotted with white when young. Bears spikes of tubular yellow or orange flowers.

Flowers June-August.

Likes a well drained, gritty soil in full sun. It is not hardy and will only stand a minimum temperature of 50F.

This little plant has had a very long history and seems to have returned to its status as a current medicinal/cosmetic plant with the ever increasing search for new and potentially age defying cosmetic products.

Said to be one of the herbs Cleopatra used in her beauty regime, it has found a use in modern day skin creams, suntan lotions and shampoos.

It has had much research into the skin healing properties of its sap and while long known as a burn healer, it may also help in reducing the effects of nuclear radiation burns.

It has a use for people who have dry skin conditions, dematitis and eczema.

The sap should be used fresh as its properties deteriorate if left in a container.