[Winter Moon]

It's like I've wrenched open the mouth of a pet I've had for a really long time, shoved poison down its throat, and I'm now sitting here and watching it die. Slowly.

My aloe vera's leaves started getting empty and leaves started dying off. And I thought, well, it's been in that pot for 5 years since I got it. Probably it wants a bigger pot. So I got a bigger pot...

While moving it to the bigger pot, one of its three healthy leaves broke off. So I ran to my mom's room sobbing and asked her to help me.

It was traumatic, but we got it in the bigger pot. Which was unneeded apparently since its root ball was almost nonexistant. We came to the conclusion that it needs watered more.

And now a month later I've had to remove 2 dead leaves and cut the dead tips off of two more. And now one of its leaves is dying toward the stem and will need to be taken off in the next couple days. This will leave it with 2 leaves that are almost completely flat, and two healthy leaves.

It gets good heat and light. The thing lives next to the turtle's cage. Not too much heat, not too little. The lights run every single day. There's a heat light and a flourescent. It's now getting more water. And it's still getting worse. It really is like watching a terminally ill pet die.

If you know anything about plants, please help?

[sunsetsunrise]

I am going to pass this information on to a friend who is an herbalist and has a humungous aloe vera. I am hoping she has some good information.

[Winter Moon]

Oh my god. Thank you, thank you, thank you, sooooooooo very much.

[sunsetsunrise]

Hi Winter moon. Here is the answer I got:
"Check if they have ever fed the plant. I recommend Neptune's Secret (liquid fish emulsion). I feed all of my plants the first watering of every month.
Also they should have good plant soil & some compost mixed in.
All of the soil in the pot now should be removed & replaced with good stuff.
Also if the root is tight, slightly pull it apart.
Aloes do not like to be moist, so depending where they live, the plant only needs 1 or 2 waterings a week.
But before watering stick pointer finger deep into pot to see if still moist below the surface - if yes NO MORE WATER."
Well, thats what she wrote. Maybe theres something there that will help. The only other thing I can recommend is to call a local university plant science dept or extension service, if you have one. And ask them. Sometimes you can bring a plant leaf in to them to be tested for disease if you feel that might be a problem

[(JD)]

I agree that the soil is probably depleted of nutrients. Poor thing. Aloe shocks easily unfortunately. Extreme cold, extreme drought, overpruning will all cause plant death as well.

Don't fertilize aloe, and don't water much at all. It loves bright but indirect light.

Repotting the plant into good potting soil is the best treatment, and should be done every 6 months to 2 years. Wait till it's totally dry and then lay it carefully on newspaper, separating the pups (with some roots attached) and replant. You might need to prop it up until it settles in again (be sure to press the new soil down tight around it's roots.)

And...patience.

[lizardlady]

It's now getting more water. And it's still getting worse.

Winter Moon, how's the plant doing now? Be careful you aren't watering it too much. Aloes don't do well if they are over watered.

I agree that having a treasured plant not doing well is like watching a pet be sick. I have a Peace Lily I received as a gift when my husband died. It almost died last year and I was beside myself. Thankfully with some TLC it pulled through.