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0nametaken0

Is this normal? Semp and Aloe

0nametaken0
9 years ago

Hi guys, new questions.

My aloe is drying up from the bottom up. There is also a black part. Im assuming the blackness came from cold temps when it was outside. It has been inside under T5HO for a while now and it seems the dryness is creeping up. Is this normal? Too little water?

My semp is getting me worried. I bought it past summer. Ever since summer its slowly drying up. Recently, its done more so. Im afraid by the end of winter it will be just dried up, dead. Ive not watered it in a month or two (2 weeks before the first freezing temps).

Comments (11)

  • 0nametaken0
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Heres the semp.

  • zzackey
    9 years ago

    Does your pot have drainage?

  • 0nametaken0
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Yes it has drainage. The soil is 50% lava rock + pea gravel and 50% c&s soil. So the drainage is superb, I have the same mixture for majority of my plants.

  • rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
    9 years ago

    I wouldn't keep semps inside; I think they are much better off outside.
    What I see in the photo may be just natural die off of older leaves - what problem are you experiencing?

    Same with the aloe. All plants eventually lose/shed old leaves. I don't see any black spot you mentioned - where is it?

    Rina

  • 0nametaken0
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    About the aloe, the black leaf is to the right of the plant (bottom right in the pic, separate from the plant).

    All my semps are outdoor, they dont last long indoors. The die off got me worried because it never stopped, it keeps increasing. Same thing with the aloe, the die off keeps increasing which caused a concern. I little bit of die off is fine but its just not stopping with these two. Ill keep an eye on them and see what happens. Maybe Im over reacting.

  • rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
    9 years ago

    Sorry, I still don't see anything black (except tiny bit on tip of the bottom leave).
    Here are few different aloes, showing drying oldest leaves, plants are healthy otherwise.

    {{gwi:2126068}} {{gwi:2126069}} {{gwi:2126070}}

    The semps are probably just starting the 'winter sleep' (I don't think mine are looking any better now, but it's too dark to check). Only comment I would have is to make sure there are drainage holes in that container, the excessive wetness will definitely kill them.

    Rina

  • cooperdr_gw
    9 years ago

    I think the Aloe looks pretty good but it might be leaning a bit too much. That black is on the leaf that already fell of so why would that matter?

  • 0nametaken0
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Rina, great pics, my aloes do the same, this however is darker. Ive taken a better pic, I dug around the aloe to show whats going on. When I get the time I will dig in the pot away from the aloe to see if the soil is wet or dry. It should be dry. The pot is really heavy because of all the pea gravel, so telling if the pot is wet or dry by weight is not possible.

    Cooper, yes that was a piece of leaf but was dug in. My mistake. The aloe is healthy and this summer it gave out all those pups (I wonder how to separate them). Maybe its going from a happy to not so happy state, I want to prevent that from happening.

    I had semps last year as well that went through winter, they however did not dry up like these. At least not to this extent, so it got me concerned.

  • cooperdr_gw
    9 years ago

    Oh, I'd probably put the whole Aloe in a deep, round pot. The base isn't drying up it's just trying to support a heavy, leaning plant.

  • nomen_nudum
    9 years ago

    Same blacker discoloring shows up on mine during transitioning early spring going from warmer lights inside to cooler and later in the day full sun. My opinion which properly doesn't count, it could be a result of your late season cooler to warmer lighting inside.

    Dryer darker discoloring on bottom. It's give and take at best odds are as long as there is green let it remain on I've one of the same type that was near all black early spring during it's transitioning would also say it's not a big deal if you remove one or two leaves if unsightly as it may provide an area for new seasons newer pups to develop ..

    If you hadn't watered for that long and forgotten how much it weighs after you had watered and it's been under T-5 High output lights during that time chances are........ ????

    Pup removal for this one as suggestion. Remove some lower foliage then reach in with a longer narrow shear and cut them off as close as possible the stem Can also root as separates if able to remove just prior to next growth season.

    Pic note: the bare area remains bare from the foliage that I had removed same area has been filling in with pups

  • 0nametaken0
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thank you nomen, removal seems straight forward. Good to hear its a normal. I dont get what you said about the watering but the container is so heavy that even after watering, I cannot tell the difference. And since its a fast draining soil, Ive never bothered to weigh it. But since it was going black, maybe something was up. So Im still going to poke my finger in the soil and check if its wet. Ill pick up the container and double check for drainage, although Im 100% sure there is drainage since Ive been using this container for over a year now.

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