From The Rock

As Aloe plants consist of 95% water, they are really frost tender. If they are grown outside in temperate climates, they must stay planted in complete sun, or else light shadow. The soil ought to be moderately fertile, and rapid draining. Established flora will endure a lack of water reasonably well, but for the advantage of the plant, water should be provided.

Because of their reputation, Aloe vera plants are obtainable at nearly all garden shop or garden centers. Unless you reside in an area with an extremely balmy environment, it’s best to leave your Aloe plant in the pot and position it close to a window that gets a lot of sun. You can move the pot to the open air during the summer months.

Aloe vera is a succulent, and as such, holds a considerable quantity of water inside its foliage and root structure. Throughout the wintry weather months, the plant will grow to be inactive, as a consequence use very little moisture.

Through this period watering must be kept to a bare minimum. Its best to let the soil become really dry out before watering again. During the months of summer, best practice is to completely soak to soil and then allow it to become completely dry again before giving another drenching.

When it comes time to re-pot your Aloes be mindful that that they have a shallow, spreading root structure so select a wide planter, rather than a deep-seated one. Using a planter with a drainage opening, or you will need to lay a 1-2 inch tier of gravel inside the base of the planter to make sure there is adequate drainage.

Use a decent commercial potting mix with additional perlite, granite grit, or coarse sand added. It is also a good idea to use a packaged ‘cacti mix’ top soil. Fertilize every year, during the spring with a weak (half strength), bloom type fertilizer (10-40-10).

Aloes are propagated by removing the offsets or pups which are formed in the region of the base of established plants, when they are a couple inches tall (or larger). They can also be grown from plant seeds.

As to the claims of the medicinal properties of the Aloe plant, I can merely talk from my personal experience. I have made it a practice of keeping an Aloe plant around for years, mostly for burns. Whenever I have burnt myself in the kitchen, an immediate application of gel from a freshly picked leaf has instantly removed most of the pain, and stopped blistering, many times over.

Additionally I found Aloe gel was relatively effective at alleviating itching from stings, bites along with numerous ‘stinging’ foliage, such as nettles and poison ivy. It is very helpful for pets when they encounter the matching problems.

When you want to use it medicinally, just remove a lower leaf from the plant, slice it open, putting the gel on to the affected area.