Aloe vera

Home care

The agave is unpretentious in care, but there are some peculiarities. This plant is drought tolerant but suffers from lack of fresh air.

In summer, it is advisable to take it out to the balcony or plant it in open ground - this way the plant will grow powerful.

Transfer after purchase

You can determine the need for a transplant by appearance. If the roots do not have enough space in the pot, then transplanting into a larger container is necessary.

Watering

Watering is done moderately, as the soil dries. The water should be at room temperature and previously settled for at least 10 hours.

Air humidity

Under natural conditions, this shrub lives well in arid desert air, therefore, it does not particularly react to the level of humidity around it. Spraying is not necessary.

Temperature regime

Comfortable summer temperature for the agave is 20-25 degrees Celsius, and in winter - 13-15 degrees

In winter, it is important to monitor the temperature regime, since this flower is thermophilic and dies at temperatures below zero.

Growth per year

Over the course of a year, the aloe tree grows 5-7 leaves, and grows in height up to 50 centimeters. The increase is closely dependent on the conditions of detention. In a favorable environment, a young representative of this type of aloe grows at a rapid pace.

Life span

Despite the intriguing middle name, the agave lives much less than a hundred years. In indoor conditions, it lives from 5 to 20 years. But it is successfully grafted.

Bloom

To call flowering, a dormant period is organized for the agave, which lasts from mid-autumn to the onset of spring. Reduced room temperature of the atmosphere and prolongation of daylight hours with the help of artificial lighting will be important conditions. But this is difficult to accomplish in a city apartment, therefore, with room maintenance, aloe rarely blooms.

Smell of flowers

Aloe flowers give off a strong, fragrant odor that can cause headaches in a person.

Lighting

The centenarian loves sunlight and prefers location on southern windowsills. This is typical for tropical plants of South African origin. In winter, if there is insufficient solar feed, it will be necessary to supplement the light regime with artificial lighting using specially designed lamps.

Top dressing

Aloe needs feeding from early spring to late autumn. Mineral fertilizers are applied every month.

Priming

Agave soil is sold in stores. A composition consisting of sod and leafy soil, sand and humus is recommended.

At the time of planting in the soil, you need charcoal and broken brick.

Reproduction at home

Reproduction is carried out by cuttings. The breeding process begins with the selection of shoots, the length of which reaches 10 centimeters. Twisted shoots will not work. Straight lines only.

Propagation of the agave by cuttings in stages:

• Cutting off shoots only with a sharp knife;
• Processing cut shoots with ash and drying in a cool, dark place during the day;
• Planting in pots with wet sand to a depth of 1.5-2 centimeters;
• Transplanting rooted plants into a pot with a special potting soil.

Circumcision

Within three years, the aloe tree grows to a height of one hundred and fifty centimeters. It is necessary to cut off excess shoots.

If you lose the decorative appearance, you need to root the shrub again.
Interested in the variety of aloe species? Read our materials on the secrets of growing aloe vera, spinous and variegated at home.

Contraindications to the use of aloe

Do not use preparations containing aloe juice during pregnancy.Hypertension, heart disease, oncology, various bleeding, as well as any acute gastrointestinal diseases are also contraindications for the treatment of aloe.

Whatever useful properties aloe has, it must be remembered that this is a medicinal plant, and you cannot take it thoughtlessly. It is best to consult your doctor. But, in any case, treatment should be started with small doses in order to avoid such unpleasant manifestations as allergies.

Aloe is one of those gifts of nature that any of us can use without leaving home. The fields of application of this miraculous plant are endless, with skillful handling, aloe juice will benefit not only as a healer and cosmetologist, but, thanks to its amazing composition, will help to increase immunity and strengthen health.

Description of the plant

The flower reaches a height of no more than 30 centimeters. The leaves of the plant are on rosettes at the roots or small stems. Around the shoot are twisted in rows in the form of a spiral. They grow in length no more than 15 centimeters. They have small thorns along the edges.

In color, the leaves are dark green with stripes and specks of a snow-white shade. A snow-white strip is located along the edge of the plant. Due to this unusual color, the plant was named variegated or tiger. The stem of the flower is wide at the base.

The root system of the flower is very powerful. In length, the flowers reach no more than 3.5 centimeters. In height on peduncles no more than 30 centimeters. The perianth is amber inside, pink-burgundy outside with emerald stripes. It has miniature bell-shaped tubular flowers and an erect peduncle.

Planting should be done in spring or autumn. It is better to choose large containers.

The roots must not be allowed to rest tightly against the walls of the pot.

Land composition: coarse sand / leafy soil / turf soil. The acidity of the soil is neutral. Tiger aloe has a strong root system. Therefore, a young aloe is transplanted into larger containers every spring, an adult aloe - after two to four years. Transplanting after purchase is carried out into matryoshka pots in the soil with a mixture of coarse sand and rotted compost. The two-centimeter top layer should be small stones or expanded clay.

Aloe care

Temperature

In summer, normal, if possible, put the pots in the open air (balcony, veranda). In winter, a slight decrease in temperature is required. Ideally, aloe should be kept in a bright and cool room in the winter at 12-13 ° C, with very little watering. But at home it is quite difficult, and aloe grows at normal room temperature. If at the same time it is light enough, then there will be no problems, and if there is little light, the succulents begin to stretch, the leaves become narrow, not juicy, they begin to acquire a pale, light green hue, and if you increase the watering, the roots rot. Therefore, if there is little light during the heating season, arrange additional lighting.

Lighting

All types of aloe love a sunny place, but in the spring it is necessary to accustom to the sun gradually, shading it on especially hot days. In strong sun, some aloe (tree-like, aloe vera) can burn out strongly - the leaves become thinner at the tips, turn red. Aloe grows better at home on the eastern or western windowsill, on the southern one from 11 to 15 o'clock, light shading. But in autumn and winter, aloe often suffer from a lack of light, especially if there is no drop in temperature, they need to be supplemented with fluorescent or LED lamps.

Watering

Moderate watering, especially in winter. The soil should have time to dry well before the next watering - after the soil dries out on the surface, wait with watering for another 3-4 days if the temperature is not higher than 24 ° C and 1-2 days if the temperature is about 25-28 ° C.Aloe is a stem succulent, it is typical for it to store water in succulent leaves, therefore, waterlogging, prolonged drying of the earth, aloe tolerates worse than prolonged drying.

Fertilizer

From May to August, aloe is fed every two weeks with a complex mineral fertilizer for cacti and other succulents.

Transfer

The soil for aloe is composed of 2 parts of clayey sod, 1 part of leaf, 1 part of humus and 1 part of coarse sand. 1/5 of the vermiculite is added to the substrate, and several crumbs of birch charcoal are added to one pot. Vermiculite and sand can be replaced with well-washed zeolite granules (made from Barsik cat litter). The transplant is carried out in the spring. Young plants are transplanted annually, old ones every 2-3 years. If you are planting in a commercial potting mix, use one made for cacti and other succulents.

Healing properties

The ancient Egyptians were the first to notice the ability of aloe juice to relieve a person from various diseases. Moreover, they used it not only as a medicine, but also as one of the components of the mixture for embalming the pharaohs.

Of course, the juice of not all representatives of this has beneficial properties. Healing aloe is a plant of only a few species.

To obtain useful raw materials, the following types of aloe medicinal are used:

• aloe real;
• aloe tree;
• scarlet frightening.

The unusual properties of the juice of these plants are due to the content in them of a whole complex of various chemicals, the main ones of which are:

• vitamin C, which increases the body's resistance to various diseases;
• tannins with anti-inflammatory and hemostatic properties;
• carotenoids are a group of substances from which our body synthesizes vitamin A, which improves the condition of the skin and the sensitivity of the retina.

Many medicinal preparations are made from aloe juice. The types of medicinal aloe are also used in the cosmetic industry.

In order to satisfy the need of mankind for these preparations, in many countries there are huge plantations of this plant. Moreover, they are located not only in hot climates. So, in Poland, aloe tree is grown in greenhouses, and in the territory of the former Soviet Union it was planted in Abkhazia and Georgia.

At home, aloe tree juice is widely used. It is dripped into the nose with a runny nose or poorly healing wounds are treated with it. For medical procedures, it is better to take aloe leaves older than three years, since by this age the concentration of nutrients reaches a maximum.

Aloe is indispensable for landscaping various rooms in which there are a large number of people, since its leaves emit a large amount of phytoncides, which reduce the concentration of various bacteria and microbes in the air.

Many people believe that the presence of aloe in the house can reduce the number of quarrels between its inhabitants and strengthen their spirits.

In any case, the person who planted this plant does not risk anything, because it practically does not require maintenance, and its unusual appearance is guaranteed to give a lot of positive emotions.

Find out what problems can arise with these plants when growing at home.

Reproduction of aloe at home by children (with video)

The centenary reproduces well not only by seeds, but also by a vegetative way. The meaning of this method lies in the rooting of children developing directly on the main shoots of adult plants; preference is given to children, the size of which is at least 3 cm. In the southern latitudes, they root perfectly in August-September in greenhouses. Indoor and greenhouse conditions, an adult plant is capable of forming from 5 to 30 lateral shoots.To grow high-quality seedlings, it is not necessary to have a large number of land areas: it is quite possible to place 300-400 children per 1 m2, the size of which can vary from 3 to 5 cm. warm room. To carry out this manipulation, it is necessary that the children are in an inverted state, that is, with the cut ends upwards.

The video "Reproduction of aloe at home" shows how to grow an agave:

For the reproduction of aloe, children prepare a planting substrate: a mixture of fertile soil, humus and sand in a ratio of 3: 1: 0.5. This substrate is loaded into pots, boxes, hotbeds, greenhouse racks. The loading layer should be about 22-25 cm. Then it is leveled and the children are planted. Drainage from gravel or sand must be laid under the planting substrate. After planting the plant, it is necessary to water it during the rooting period, the duration of which depends on the temperature regime (on average 25-30 days). It is also necessary to maintain moderate moisture in the upper layer of the substrate. A year later, aloe seedlings are planted in protected or open ground. 10-15 days before planting seedlings of the ridge, it is necessary to fill with organic fertilizers at the rate of 6-8 kg / m2 of rotted manure and 50 g / m2 of granulated superphosphate; nitrogen fertilizers are applied 4–5 times during the growing season in the form of top dressing at a dose of 5 g / m2.

In the conditions of a forcing culture in protected and open ground, the optimal feeding area for grown seedlings is 20x25 cm (20 plants per 1 m2). In the first two months, called the engraftment period, the plant needs frequent but moderate watering every 4–5 days, then the watering regime is formed at long intervals. To achieve a high-quality result, it is necessary to systematically carry out weeding in rows and loosening in the aisles.

Two periods are optimal for the propagation of the agave: mid-spring or late summer. To do this, it is necessary to cut off the basal shoots, stem or apical cuttings of aloe 10-12 cm long and keep them for at least a day in the open air. During this time, the wound dries up, which can be sprinkled with crushed coal, and the shoot is ready for planting. Having prepared a container with wet sand, the agave shoots are planted to a depth of about 1 cm. The distance between the shoots should be 3-5 cm. After planting, shoots should not be watered often, otherwise they may rot. Watering the aloe becomes more frequent after the shoots have taken root. Until the roots form, you can keep the shoots in a small container with water. Then they should be transplanted into a small pot.

What are the varieties of a medicinal plant?

The genus of succulents includes many medicinal types of aloe. Plants are not deprived of interesting external features inherent in this family, and some of them are grown on windowsills for aesthetic purposes. Moreover, they are all able to enrich the human body with useful substances. Having planted several varieties of perennials, you will create an inexhaustible source of useful vitamins, antioxidants, essential oils and other elements in your apartment.

There are the following medicinal types:

• Intimidating. In our country, the variety of this succulent is extremely rare. It is a powerful shrub that grows to about 3 meters. The leaf plates are wide, colored green with slight reddish notes. Differs in size and sharpness of thorns. The bush is erect, the stem is thick, the rosette forms upward. In some countries, it is grown for the production of cosmetics.
• Soapy. It grows as a small dark green bush. Shoots are wide with distinctly pointed edges. Brown thorns form a border along the edge of the leaf plate, the middle of which is painted with white lines.During the flowering period, a long arrow emerges from the base of the plant with bright red flowers, sometimes yellow.
• Sokotrinskoe. A rare plant variety, pushed aside by the more popular succulents. This variety is perceived by many growers as a terrible aloe. In adulthood, a perennial has the shape of a tree. On a lignified main shoot, it forms a crown of thorny leaf plates. In its native places, it is used for medical purposes. Its habitat is Socotra Island.

Decorative varieties of aloe

Succulents are ideal pets for people who cannot devote much time to caring for the house. But simplicity and survival with rare watering is not their only advantage. The huge variety allows you to modulate very interesting decorative groups, and they also bloom beautifully.

Aloe Striped

It is also called gray aloe or coral. It has absolutely smooth, serrated, wide leaves of gray-green color with barely noticeable longitudinal stripes. The decorative look is given by a pink border around the edge. It will be brighter when grown in a sunny location.

The striped aloe has no trunk, the leaves are collected in a rosette. Moreover, it can grow quite large - up to 60 cm in height and up to 45 cm in diameter. But this is when grown on the street, in the house, as a rule, the dimensions are more modest.

Flowering occurs at the very beginning of spring, from March to May. At the same time, dense clusters of coral bloom on long, up to half a meter, peduncles. While this is not easy to achieve at home, it is worth the effort!

Aloe Variegated

This variety is also called brindle for its transverse white stripes. Thanks to the elegant look of the leaves, variegated aloe has become the most popular in Russia. It doesn't grow too big - a maximum of 30 cm in height and 15 cm in diameter, so it is very convenient to grow in pots.

The plant reaches full maturity at 3-7 years of age, depending on the care. For more active growth, he needs a lot of sun, space for development and watering. If all conditions are met, tiger aloe pleases in early spring with orange clusters.

Aloe Squat

This plant looks like it was created for growing in pots. It is also good to "plant" it to other, taller pets, for example, dracaena or palm trees. The squat aloe does not stretch up too much - up to a maximum of 20 cm. However, it actively branches and tends to form a continuous cover.

The leaves of this variety are narrow, thick and covered with small white tubercles and thorns. During flowering, it throws out stems up to 20 cm long with small red or orange flowers.

Aloe Descoings

Aloe Descoings or, in other words, aloe Desquana looks very unusual. It is the smallest variety with a rosette diameter of less than 5 cm. The short leaves have a distinct triangular shape, they are slightly bent along the longitudinal axis and have sharp thorns along the edges.

White specks give a decorative look. They can be rare or frequent, each bush has its own peculiarity. In the spring, a peduncle grows from the middle up to 20 cm long, at the end of which small, bell-like orange flowers open up.

If you are interested in Descoings aloe, you can learn more about it in the video:

It is also worth paying attention to other decorative varieties: spinous scarlet, hedgehog, folded, snowflake, multi-leaved, yukunda

Description

Aloe tree-like - succulent, branching tree 2-4 meters high. Grows in pots up to 1 meter.

The root system is cylindrical in shape, represented by a branch-like long root.

The trunk is upright with a diameter of up to 30 centimeters. Multiple lateral shoots extend from its base, which are later used in reproduction. The bottom of the trunk is covered with annular scar marks from the leaves.

Aloe tree leaves are green with a bluish or bluish tinge, smooth to the touch.A bluish tint occurs due to a waxy coating on the leaves, which reduces moisture evaporation. Moisture is distributed over numerous cells within the leaf plate, which allows the plant to remain viable for a long time in hot desert conditions.

The leaves are lanceolate in shape with sharp-toothed edges, convex at the bottom and slightly concave at the top, 3-6 centimeters wide and 20 to 60 centimeters long. In the upper part, the leaves are collected in large rosettes up to 40 centimeters in radius.

Flowers are large in size, reaching a length of 4 centimeters, bell-shaped in shape. The flowers are arranged in large racemose inflorescences, located on elongated arrows - peduncles.

Fruits are boxes with the shape of a cylinder. They contain many dark seeds inside.

Differences from aloe vera

Aloe arborescens have a trunk and leaves. Aloe vera is a rosette of leaves that differ in shape. Leaves are hard, covered with thorns to prevent moisture loss. This helps the plant survive in the desert.

For medicinal use, the leaves of aloe vera are cut. The centenary is used entirely. However, they should not be confused.

While aloe vera helps fight cancer, aloe vera, on the other hand, promotes the growth of cancer cells.

Composition

The composition of the agave is a storehouse of useful substances: enzymes and vitamins, phytoncides and essential oils.

Application

Aloe preparations are endowed with anti-inflammatory and choleretic effects; have a positive effect on appetite and digestion.

In official medicine, Sabur is used - crystals obtained from the evaporated juice of the agave.

In folk medicine, the juice from such aloe, which should be over three years old, is beneficial.

Contraindications

Any medicinal plant, in addition to healing properties, has contraindications. Aloe is no exception.

The use of tinctures, which include aloe, can promote vasodilation. Therefore, this succulent should not be used by people with low blood pressure.

For the same reason, this plant should be excluded for pregnant women, as carelessness in use can cause bleeding. For wounds and cuts, aloe juice should be used only after the wound itself has been disinfected and washed out of pus

Otherwise, it can lead to the development of an inflammatory process.

Aloe real Barbados, or aloe vera

Aloe real Barbados (Aloe barbadensis) belongs to herbaceous perennials.

The plant, with its broad-lanceolate, bluish-green, almost erect leaves, forms compact rosettes, the peduncle reaches a height of 60-90 cm.

The healing properties of the present aloe have been known for a long time, it was cultivated throughout the Mediterranean, and in many areas it has taken root very well.

Aloe Barbados was brought to the American continent by the Spaniards, especially on the island of Barbados in the West Indies.

It was from there at the end of the 16th century. it got into the English botanical gardens, and then spread to South China, India, Southeast Asia.

Cosmetics made on the basis of aloe vera are especially effective, as they penetrate the skin 3-4 times faster and 4 times deeper than water.

Now that you have learned what types of aloe are, check out the rules for growing these plants.

Medicinal varieties of aloe

Aloe is widely known as a medicinal and cosmetic product. Usually the following properties are attributed to him:

• Moisturizing the skin,
• General strengthening of the body,
• Antiseptic and antibacterial action,
• Improved digestion,
• Decreased sugar levels.

To prepare the medicine, juice is squeezed out of freshly cut leaves, sometimes it is evaporated for a higher concentration of active substances.

However, not all varieties are suitable for medicine.In fact, out of all the variety, only a few varieties are used for food. Next, I will tell you about some of the names of aloe that have healing properties.

Real aloe

Real aloe, also commonly known as aloe vera, is the main variety used in medicine, beauty, and cooking. Its juice contains a large amount of ethers and esters, resins, acids and vitamins, trace elements and other useful substances.

They eat the liquid obtained from the leaves - freshly squeezed juice or one stripped off sabur. It is believed to help with diseases of the cardiovascular, nervous and immune systems, gastrointestinal tract. It is also used externally for disinfection of wounds and dermatitis.

However, there are contraindications for the treatment of aloe, they must be carefully studied before eating it:

• Acute phase of gastrointestinal diseases,
• Hypertension and severe forms of cardiovascular disease,
• Internal bleeding
• Hepatitis A,
• Cystitis and cholecystitis, nephritis,
• Haemorrhoids,
• Age up to 3 years and pregnancy,
• Allergy to any substances in the composition of aloe.

In this video you can watch how to properly prepare aloe vera juice with honey:

But outwardly, this variety is inferior to its decorative counterparts: it is densely branched, with narrow and long leaves of light green color and rare small thorns. It can grow quite high, over a meter, blooms in red clusters, but at home it is very difficult to achieve this.

Aloe Terrifying

The species is named so for its monstrous appearance - dark leaves with a red tint cover large curved thorns, reminiscent of the mouth of a crocodile. On young leaves, "teeth" grow over the entire surface, on old leaves they remain only along the edge.

Another name for the variety is bitter aloe. Its juice may not taste good, but it is used as a natural laxative. The leaves can also be used to make a cosmetic gel to moisturize the skin.

The terrifying aloe belongs to the arboreal type: in nature, it grows up to 3 meters high. At home, the size can be adjusted by choosing a cramped pot - growth will slow down in it. The flowering is not too decorative - “earrings”, similar to birch, of red-brown color, stretch upwards.

Indications for use and contraindications

The healing properties of aloe tree have been used by people since ancient times. Many years of experience of use has proven the undeniable therapeutic effect of the agave on humans.

Indications for use:

• Diseases of the stomach (including peptic ulcer), liver, intestines. Aloe juice will help to regulate impaired digestion and reduce unpleasant manifestations in the form of stomach and intestinal cramps, heartburn, etc.;

Inflammatory processes on the skin, abscesses and boils. When used in the composition of ointments and compresses, the juice of aloe leaves has a powerful anti-inflammatory effect, drawing pus from neglected wounds and various purulent skin formations and closing them;

Diseases of the urinary system. The medicinal components of aloe have a disinfecting effect, and also cause a mild diuretic effect;

Diabetes mellitus and joint diseases caused by serious metabolic disorders in the body;

For bacterial and viral diseases of the respiratory system, such as bronchial asthma, lung diseases of various etymologies, etc. The use of aloe juice helps to thin phlegm and expectoration, and alleviate allergy symptoms;

For inflammatory diseases of the gums. It is applied externally. Helps eliminate acute inflammatory processes;

To improve immunity against the background of various infectious manifestations.

Contraindications to the use of aloe preparations:

• uterine bleeding
• late pregnancy
• diseases of the liver and gallbladder,
• stomach upset.

Aloe tree is a unique plant that combines decorativeness and powerful healing power. In a closed environment, it does not require complex maintenance.

Growing this shrub on your own can provide a natural cure for many ailments.

Conclusion

In floriculture, these succulents are widely used due to the fact that they can withstand the most adverse conditions. The peculiar structure of their bushes allows them to accumulate a large supply of liquid, and then, if necessary, consume it. Photos with aloe species provided in our review illustrate the variety of shapes and colors of these persistent perennials.

Aloe is an unpretentious plant that is able to accumulate moisture in its leaves. The flower can survive in almost any conditions, and the medicinal properties of some species are incomparable to most plants.

Interest in aloe is explained, first of all, by the fact that the overwhelming majority of its species have one or another medicinal properties.

In particular, these plants are characterized by bactericidal, choleretic, laxative, tonic action.

In addition, the drugs are used as anti-inflammatory, immune-strengthening, wound-healing agents, and a medicine for the gastrointestinal tract.