What Is Aloe?

I have always known aloe to be a herb that is one you would want to have in your garden. I like to have this one on hand all the time. It is known as  medicine plant because the gel that you will find in the leaves is used externally only to treat many skin aliments. It also has decorative qualities that you can appreciate.

Description

Aloe's life cycle is perennial. It grows two to three feet tall at maturity. Aloes are good for zone 9 and 10, but if you do not live in these hardiness zones, you will need to grow it inside as a houseplant, along with your other houseplants like I do. The flowers of the aloe will be yellow or orange one-inch-long tubular flowers that are borne in a terminal cluster on a three to four foot long stalk. Aloe's leaves are fleshy, sword-shaped leaves that has spiny edges that grow to form a rosette. Aloe is not used internally.

 

How To Grow

Aloes can be planted in zone 9 and 10 anytime in the garden. If you live north of zone9, you will need to  grow your aloe in a container and overwinter it indoors. Aloe likes full sun but they will tolerates partial shade. The soil needs to be well-drained neutral soil of average fertility. The aloe plants allow one to two feet between growing outdoors. Root  mealybugs is the pest that you will have to watch out of. Aloe is susceptible to root rot in a soil that is consistently moist.



Harvesting

Aloe can be harvest anytime during the growing season once they reach to a minimum of five to six inches long. To harvest aloe, all you have to do is, cut off the oldest leaves at the base.

Uses

I  always like to have an aloe in my home because of its skin-healing properties. You will need to split the leaf and rub the gel from the inside of the leaf over minor burns. The gel has compounds that are both anesthetic and antibacterial. If the burns is not  real serve, the gel prevents scar tissue from forming and helps the pigmentation to return back to normal.

Tips About Aloe

You will need to remove an offshoot, shake the plant out of the container and gently pull the young plantlet away from the mother plant. Use a trowel to separate the offshoots from the  plant. The offshoot will have some roots on it, so you can plant it in a container or if you live in a warm zone, you can planted it in  your garden. Aloe require not much attention as long as it is planted in a fast-draining soil and you will only need to water when the top of the soil dries out.