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Repotting Aloe Vera

ByNell Foster Published on

I had an Aloe Vera plant that was not looking good. See how I made it a whole lot happier by repotting it and moving it out of the sun.

I love my Aloe vera and use it almost every day. It’s truly a plant with a purpose! It was in a warm, sunny spot my front garden and both the plant and pot were looking a wee bit sad. It was time to take action and make my beloved plant a whole lot happier. By the way, the pot will get a facelift one of these days.

Here’s the Aloe vera & the pot before the re-do. You can see all the dried & discolored leaves as well as the roots growing out of the bottom. The painted had almost completely peeled off the pot. Not a pretty sight.

A couple of Winters ago we had a 4 day cold (around 35 degrees…brrrrr) and rainy spell, not too common for us here in Santa Barbara. The succulents were saying: “what’s up with this?”

That in addition to the fact that my poor Aloe was getting too much direct sun and needed repotting had caused the leaves to turn pale and orangish. Here’s something you need to know: the leaves of the Aloe Vera will turn orange if they get sunburned.

I’m sure the environmental stress of that cold rain didn’t help either.

Here’s the baby, or Aloe pup, which I removed off the mother plant.
The baby in it’s new pot. It lives under a Coprosma & next to a bromeliad so it’s mostly shaded. It’s starting to green up a bit too.

If you want to watch me repotting this Aloe, see what potting mix I used and learn how to remove the baby, then be sure to watch the VIDEO below. Lucy had to help me pull it out of the pot and quite a few of the roots were lost but no worries, this is a tough plant. Almost 3 months later, it’s firmly rooted in and greening back up like crazy.

Related: Answering Your Questions About Aloe Vera

Here are their fat, fibrous roots. They store a lot of water in those roots & leaves so don’t overwater them.

Repotting Aloe Vera

They’re succulents so use a fast-draining mix. Again, refer to the video to see the recipe I used.

They root deep so don’t use a shallow pot, they need room for their roots to grow down. Wait until the babies are a good size to remove them.

Don’t place in hot sun after repotting. Sun is fine as long as it’s not hot & there’s not too much of it.

Don’t water frequently. I water the baby every 3 weeks because it’s in a small pot. The mother gets watered thoroughly about every 2 months.

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Here’s the new digs for my Aloe vera. It’s a tricked out, painted plain terra cotta pot. I love to use glass chips as adornments. My plants so deserve an artistic home!
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This pic was taken 3 months after the making of the video & the plant now lives at the base of the stairs leading up to my front porch. It gets nice bright light with a bit of filtered sun & has greened up already. I can easily snip a leaf when I need it.

Thanks for reading,

Signed by Nell Foster

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32 Comments

  1. sometimes the sound is not consistent and you are hard for me to understand. But…..having said that I love the fact that you can grow just about anything and love how you share with us ways to propagate plants. Keep up the good work.

  2. Hi Melva – Thank you – I have lots to share! Yes, the sound could be better because I don’t have an external mic. Youtube is not my full time business (it’s just a support to my online business joyusgarden.com) so a new camera is not in the budget right now. Glad you got something out of the video regardless! Nell

  3. XLNT video and blog — to the point, concise & most informative. No difficulties with sound in my corner. Thanks much. Pat

  5. Tried to sign up for your newsletter as I’d definitely appreciate tips on how to look after my aloe Vera but it came up with this

    ERROR: Sorry, there was an error. Please be sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled in your browser and try again.

    You’ve still been added to my bookmarks. I’ve still got a lot to learn as I repotted my aloe Vera to a much bigger pot but I put it in a greenhouse (since I live in the UK and temperature is usually 10 to 14 degrees….) I then went on a three week holiday only to find out the temperature has been at least 30 degrees Celsius! My poor plants were burnt but after chopping off the burnt parts I’m determined to look after it right!

  6. Hi Jake – Thank you, I’ll pass your message on to our web person. Aloes are full of water so they’ll burn in strong sun. I keep mine outdoors year round here in the AZ desert but it’s in bright shade. Yours will eventually come back from their burn, just be patient! Nell

  7. Thanks for all the helpful info I thought that maybe aloe could get too much sun and it’s true ha!! Happy holidays all

  8. Laura – Oh yes, many of the Aloe Veras growing in full sun here in Tucson are brownish-red. In the heat their leaves get very thin too. Happy holidays! Nell

  9. Hi, im in the uk , we are in our winter months, i used perlite , building sand and top soil for repotting, the soil is dry, they are placed next to a heater indoor, do get some sunlight in the morning being next to the french doors, temperature 21’c – 26’c all day long, 3 months down the line, the leaves look pale or dull green, the growth is very slow, pls advise.

  10. Hi Scot – Aloe vera leaves turning pale green is generally due to lower than optimum light levels. Also, they don’t need to be next to a heater at this time of year. You won’t see much, if any growth during the winter because the plant is resting. The mix you’re using sounds too heavy with the building sand & topsoil – succulents need a really light & fast draining mix. Hope that helps, Nell

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