How To Grow Aloe Vera Indoors?

Aloe variety selection, soil, pot size, sunlight, watering, and all things considered

Grow Aloe Vera Indoors

Nenov/Sutthiwat Srikhrueadam/Firdausiah Mamat/Nenov/gettyimages

Given the right conditions, aloe vera plants can thrive indoors. All you need to do is ensure that it gets a few basic things, including:

Bright, indirect light.
Infrequent, deep watering
A light, aerated, and well-draining soil.

While fertilizing isn’t necessary, doing it as infrequently as once a year can help boost your plant’s health. When you learn how to grow aloe vera indoors, another thing you need to focus on is to ensure that the plant is repotted once it becomes root bound.

How to Grow Aloe Vera Indoors: Step-by-Step Guide

Lucky for you, growing aloe vera indoors is not a difficult task. This succulent is pretty easy to grow, sturdy in nature, and low maintenance.

You have to do nothing but just choose the right indoor variety, correct container size, fill it with well-draining aerated soil and plant your aloe. Then just place it in an airy location with indirect light. Your aloe won’t require watering every day. Once every two weeks is enough.

So, that is just the gist. Let’s break it down further and focus on each aspect of growing aloes as houseplants right from selecting the correct variety to repotting.

Type of Aloe: Aloe has over 400 varieties and the basic rules for caring for most aloe plants are the same. However, there are some varieties that thrive indoors. Make sure you pick one of those. Lace Aloe is one such variety.

Pot Size: Consider planting your aloe indoors in a ceramic or terracotta pot 2-3 inches wider than the plant. If the size of the container is proportionate to the plant’s size, it will allow the soil to dry out after the watering session and prevent root rot. Larger pots may hold more moisture and not allow proper drainage. More about aloe pots here in detail.

Light : The next thing to know about how to grow aloe vera indoors is their sunlight requirements. To promote the growth and health of your aloe vera plant indoors, you will have to provide ample bright indirect light.

A bright spot near a window that receives enough indirect sunlight will be ideal for keeping your pot. Lack of light will cause it to become leggy and develop fragile, wrinkled leaves. However, too much direct sunlight can burn the skin of your plant so keep a balance.

Soil: When it comes to soil, aloe vera is impressively adaptable. You can use cactus potting mix or any other succulent mix. Mix it with perlite and coarse sand. The most important thing you need to take care of is – to ensure the soil you use offers proper drainage.

Water: Aloe vera plants prefer infrequent watering. While growing an aloe plant indoors, ensure the soil dries out entirely between two watering sessions. When the plant is dormant in winter, it’s better to reduce watering frequency.

Temperature A temperature between 55-85 degrees Fahrenheit will be ideal for your indoor aloe plant.

Humidity: Aloe plants do well in dry air and have no extra humidity requirements. Your plant will thrive in about 40% relative humidity.

Fertilizing: Wondering can aloe vera grow indoors without fertilizing? To be true, you don’t need to feed your aloe too much aloe fertilizers to do well. To boost its growth, consider adding fertilizers once a year (in spring). Use a liquid 10-40-10 NPK houseplant fertilizer after diluting it to half its strength.

How Often Do You Water Aloe Vera Indoors?

Watering the plant deeply about every 2 weeks is sufficient for your aloe. However, make sure to let the soil dry between watering sessions. During winters, water your plant even more sparingly like once in 3 weeks.

Can Aloe Vera Grow Indoors Without Sunlight?

Bright, natural light is one of the essential requirements of this otherwise low-maintenance plant. Lack of light may end up damaging the plant. So, no, aloe cannot grow well without sunlight indoors.

Which is The Best Soil For Aloe Vera Plants Indoors?

Aloe vera prefers well-draining, slightly acidic soil. You can use cacti and succulent potting mix for your plant. An aerated potting mix with lava rocks, perlite, and bark will work best for your indoor aloe vera plant.

How Much Light Does Aloe Vera Need Indoors?

Aloe vera plants like ample indirect sunlight. Consider placing the pot at a spot that receives at least 6 hours of bright, indirect sunlight per day.

Do You Need To Repot Aloe Vera Plants Indoors?

Repotting aloe may not be that URGENT, even if you think your aloe is getting a little big for its pot. But that does not mean you can leave it like that.

Repotting the plant before it gets rootbound is a good idea. Repot when you see the roots of the plant coming out of the drainage holes of the container. This will happen once in a few years.

Problems Your Aloe May Face Indoors

When you know how to plant aloe vera indoors correctly, it does not require much effort, there are still several issues your houseplant may face if not taken care of properly. Here are a few of them:

Not getting enough light: Your plant needs bright natural light for its healthy growth. If you do not have an indoor spot that receives enough light, it will be hard to keep aloe as a houseplant. When not given enough light, aloe plants may grow leggy and weak with pale bending leaves.

How to grow aloe vera indoors to keep this problem at bay? Simple, make sure to keep your aloe vera plant in a sunny spot. Also, don’t forget to rotate the plant once in a while.

Overwatering: Aloe vera plants need irregular watering. Overwatering can lead to problems like root rot, which is quite common in indoor aloe vera plants. A sign that you are giving your plant too much water is when its leaves become brown and soft. Make sure to allow the soil to dry out between 2 waterings.

Wrong soil: Although aloe is very adaptable when it comes to soil, it still has a few basic requirements. If it is not planted in a mix that is aerated and well-draining, your plant may suffer. A heavy mix with zero aeration will increase the chances of root rot. If you think that’s the issue with your aloe, replant it in a cactus or succulent mix.

Too much light: The leaves of aloe vera are filled with gel, making them prone to sunburn. If kept near a window sill that receives direct sunlight, your plant can suffer damage. If your aloe leaves are turning brown or yellow or if you see large brown patches on them, it means the plant is getting more sunlight than it needs.

Related: Aloe Care Guide

FAQs

Q. What’s better – growing an aloe plant indoors or outdoor?

Ans. Aloe works well as an indoor plant as well as an outdoor plant. If the weather conditions are favorable, grow your aloe as an outdoor plant. If the region where you live experiences cooler microclimates, it’s better to grow your plant indoors.

Whether you grow your aloe indoors or outdoors also depends on the variety you buy. Usually, smaller aloe plants, like lace aloe, guido aloe, sunset aloe, spiral aloe, and carmine aloe, are grown as indoor plants.

Larger species like French aloe, flexing aloe, snake aloe, torch aloe, and aloe Africana are generally grown outdoors.

Q. What are the benefits of growing aloe vera plant?

Ans.Other than looking magnificent, aloe vera has many beauty and health benefits. Growing an aloe plant indoors means you have full-time access to the goodness of pure and fresh aloe. It is also believed to possess air-purifying qualities.

Aloprogen, found in aloe, has anti-allergenic properties. The gel inside the aloe leaves can be used to treat minor cuts, minor burns, sunburns, dry skin, etc. Aloe which is rich in magnesium also helps in hair growth. It can also be effective in reducing dental plaque, reducing constipation, treating canker sores, lower blood sugar levels, and more.

Q. Should I cut the brown tips off my aloe plant

Ans.Occasional pruning can help your aloe vera stay healthy. If you spot any yellowish-brown leaf tips or entire leaves, you can trim them off. This can help your plant stay healthy and prevent further drooping.

Q. What is the lifespan of aloe vera?

Ans.Indoor Aloe vera plants can live for 12 years or more, depending on the growing conditions. In most cases, the plants will have a longer lifespan when grown as outdoor plants.

Now that you know the answer to can aloe vera grow indoors, it might be a good time to bring home this popular succulent.