He aloe vera it is an easy-care succulent mainly because it does not need frequent watering. But when you add more water than you need, it starts to struggle: first the roots, then the leaves; and if, on the contrary, we let the earth dry too long, we will also see that it affects it enough to the point that, if we are not careful, it could fall victim to certain pests such as scale insects.
For that, the watering of aloe vera you have to do welltaking into account the season of the year in which we find ourselves and, above all, the humidity of the earth or the substrate in which it grows.
When to water aloe vera or aloe vera?
Image – Wikimedia/David J. Stang
Aloe vera or aloe vera is a filth native to Arabia, more specifically, semi-arid regions. This means that It is a plant that tolerates maximum temperatures up to 45°C (as long as it is punctual), but it needs to receive water with a certain regularity.. It will withstand dry periods of several weeks if you plant it in the garden, but if you choose to put it in a pot, you will have no choice but to water it more frequently than if you had it in the ground. .
I don’t think it’s appropriate to say “you have to add X liters of water to your aloe vera every X days”, because irrigation is not a mathematical thing. There are many influencing factors that must be taken into account when deciding when to water it, such as: location, climate, and whether it is in a pot or in the ground.
But I like to advise the following: if you have any doubts about when you should water it, check if the soil is dry or wet. You can do this with a plastic or wooden stick. Just put it in the ground, then take it out. While you’re doing this, check to see if it’s dry (in which case you’ll need to water) or if it’s wet.
It is also important to know that during the summer you will need to water more frequently than in the cold months. The reason for this is that the soil takes less time to dry out in the warm months than in the fall or winter. Also, if it rains more in autumn, for example, than in summer, you will have to water it much less than during the summer season.
How to water aloe vera?
From above, from below?… I recommend always watering the plants in the following way: pour the water directly on the ground. But also, you have to pour until it is well soaked. If the aloe is in a pot, we will pour it until it comes out through the drainage holes.
Besides, it is very, very important that it is watered when the sun is already low on the horizonsince if it is watered at noon for example, and more in summer, the soil will dry out quickly and the roots will not be able to take advantage of the water.
What kind of water to use for irrigation of aloe vera?
The most suitable water for watering any type of plant, and of course aloe vera, is pure, clean rainwater. But since it does not rain everywhere in the same way, it is sometimes time to use another type of water for irrigation, such as these:
- Tap water: only if fit for human consumption.
- Bottled water: It is the best alternative in case of lack of rainwater.
- Distilled water: on rare occasions, because it has almost no nutrients and with this we would only “wet” the earth, and we would not hydrate the aloe. It can be interesting if combined with a fertilizer or a liquid fertilizer for succulents; Of course, remember to always follow the instructions for use of said product, otherwise an overdose will burn the roots.
How to know if the aloe vera is watered a lot or little?
Finally, we will review the symptoms of excess and lack of irrigation in our plant. We will start talking about the first ones: when we water more, the soil looks and feels very wet and heavy; if you take the jar, you realize right away that it weighs a lot; Otherwise, the leaves will look limp (even rotten at worst) and mildew may develop.
If, on the contrary, what happens is that is dying of thirst, the earth will seem dry and, if you take the pot, it will weigh little. In extreme cases, the leaves can lose their firmness and attract opportunistic insects like scale insects.
Related article:
Aloe vera treatment
What to do? Good, If we have watered too much, what we will do is take the plant out of the pot or the ground, remove the soil and apply a fungicide. Then we left it at home that night, in a dry place, and the next day we planted it in a new pot with holes in its base.
On another side, if you’re thirsty, we’ll just have to consciously water. And in case it has parasites, we recommend treating it with diatomaceous earth.
I hope now you know how to water the aloe vera.