Help me save my aloe

11 years ago

Hi,

about a week ago I replanted my aloe vera plant. Being novice I watered it after replanting. That not being enough the temperatures suddenly dropped to a little above freezing and my plant started to turn brown. I moved it inside but I guess the damage was too great. Today when I came back from work I saw the plant was like broken in half. The bottom part of the stem is brown and feels soft - although it can still stay upright. The top leaves also seem relatvely fine - excluding the fact thet they face the floor now. Around the place the plant is bent inhalf the leaves are nasty - brown, soft and smelly and there are streaks of something like sap on few of them.

I really want to save it. After reading about caring for aloe from this site - I should have found it few weeks earlier - I am considering breaking the top part which seems healthy, letting it dry and hoping if I plant it it will grow again. Is that reasonable or I should do something else instead.

Thanks in advance

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Comments (6)

Microthrix
11 years ago
A picture would be nice but the way you describe the mushy it is most likely rot ... take ALL mushy brown pieces of anything off the plant, once there is rot you cant stop it until all traces of it are gone ... put root growth/cinnamon powder on all cut areas and let callous over for a few weeks
Kalina199
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you for the advice. I removed the brown leaves and dusted it with cinnamon - hopefully it survives, because the stem is also damaged by the rotting.
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pirate_girl
11 years ago
Sorry Kalina, but if the central stem is also damaged by rot, your plant is likely a goner (the rot will spread & the central stem largely holds the plant together so it'll spread). Smelly is a particularly bad sign, speaks to rot.

The particular combination of cold & wet that your plant experienced is usually the kiss of death. Aloes CAN survive the cold (when dry) or the overwatering (sometimes), but the combination of both is usually too much, sorry.
Beachplants
11 years ago
I am also fearing the worst Kalina, like Karen said, info you give spells doom. If it is a stemmed aloe and you have a part of the stem left maybe it can be re-rooted, but if stemless, not so good news. Sorry.
wantonamara Z8 CenTex
11 years ago
If it is rotted at ground level and there is a good portion of the stem and the rosette is still good above. I would cut off the rosette and root it. One needs the good portion of the rosette stem to root. I would cut it off where the flesh is good and absolutely no discoloration or softness, and dust that with cinnamon and put it in a shady space and wait for it to send out roots. It will take awhile but it will. Sometimes I put the rosette in with a bunch of rocks that I mist and that keeps the atmosphere a little damp. I use limestone , but I live in limestone. The leaves will not root. One must have stem to root.
Kalina199
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for all the advices. I was also thinking of using the top and I clipped it today. There is not much stem , less than an inch but I will keep it. Do I need to kind of plant it, or just place it on the top of the soil? I also left the bottom of the stem just to see what will happen.