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How to Grow and Care for Your Aloe Vera Plants Indoors and Outdoors

The best way to enjoy the benefits of these succulents at home, whether you have a green thumb or not.

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Known for its lance-shaped leaves with jagged edges, aloe vera is a popular houseplant for many reasons: It's one of the best air-purifying plants (great for the bedroom, bathroom or kitchen) and has an array of dermatologist-approved benefits like helping to reduce acne and wrinkles, healing wounds or easing irritation from sunburns.

Plus, even if you're far from a green thumb, caring for aloe vera is fairly low maintenance — and this guide on how to grow aloe vera will make it even simpler. To keep your aloe plant happy, stick with dry conditions (it can even tolerate infrequent watering) and bright, indirect light (try a sunny windowsill, for example). Keep in mind that overwatering and lack of light are common issues that disrupt this plant's growth. Also, keep the plant away from children and pets — it's toxic when consumed.

Along with helpful care tips, below, we share how to repot and harvest your aloe as well as how to grow aloe vera from leaf cuttings. This means you can enjoy a whole new plant or gift some to friends by simply cutting off and planting aloe vera pups! As you read the following how-to-grow aloe vera guide, we hope you enjoy the plant care process. Because in three to four years, your fast-growing succulent will grow up to three feet in height all because you chose to become a plant parent.

    Types of Aloe Plants

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    There are more than 500 species of aloe, separated into three categories: tree aloes, shrub aloes and stemless aloes. Luckily, in terms of care, what works for one succulent will work for the others. To help you pick the right aloe plant for your home or garden, here are some details:

    • Aloe Vera: This popular stemless plant has thick, greenish leaves that fan out from the central stem. While the leaves can grow 30 to 40 centimeters long, the flower stalk can reach 90 centimeters high.
    • Aloe arborescens: This succulent's candelabra-shaped branches earned it the name: krantz aloe or the candelabra aloe. Due to its bright red and orange foliage, it's one of the most beautiful Aloe species that can grow 6 to 10 feet tall and wide.
    • Aloe aristata: Known for the white teeth attached to the edge of their leaves, these stemless succulents are poisonous and lack health benefits. They can grow 8 to 12 inches tall, making them ideal plants for containers.
    • Aloe polyphylla: Once you see this plant, you'll know exactly why it's called the spiral aloe. Their short leaves are arranged in rows that spiral in the same direction. During the spring and summer months, they produce red to salmon-pink blooms.
    • Aloe ferox: Originally from South Africa, this cape or bitter aloe has matte-green (at times reddish) leaves and a stalk that grows up to 130 centimeters high.
    • Aloe variegata (Gonialoe variegata): Another well-known pick among the Aloe genus, this tiger aloe has eye-catching white and green striped leaves. When young, they produce red flowers on the stems and grow 10 to 15 centimeters high.
    • Aloe mitriformis: A dwarf version of aloe vera, this succulent has long and creeping stems. It'll grow 1 to 2 feet high when exposed to the sun and produces salmon-red flowers in the summer.

      How to Grow Aloe Vera Indoors

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      Aloe has won over many home gardeners with its hardiness and tolerance of infrequent watering. The best way to grow aloe vera and keep it happy: Plant aloe in a terracotta pot with well-drained dirt. Your best bet is to mix equal parts sand and potting soil or buy a special succulent mix. The terracotta also dries faster than other plastic or glazed containers.

      Repot your aloe if the weight of the plant causes tipping, but otherwise, don't worry about giving it lots of space. This plant thrives in snug conditions.

      Place your aloe in a bright, sunny place. Otherwise, it will go dormant and stop growing. Water the plant heavily about once every two weeks, waiting until the soil dries out fully. Since this is a desert species, keeping the dirt moist will cause the roots to rot. Limp or brown leaves also signal you've overdone the water.

      If you like, you can move your potted plant outdoors for the summer, but don't put it in direct sunlight right away. Gradually place it in a brighter spot every few days to prevent overexposure.

      How to Grow Aloe Vera Outdoors

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      If you live in a warm climate year-round (Zone 10 or higher on the USDA Plant Hardiness Map), you can nurture your aloe outside. Freezing temperatures will kill the leaves, but you really have to worry about frozen soil, as that will kill the roots and no new sprouts will grow.

      When picking a spot, look for a well-drained bed. You won't need to water your aloe with the exception of droughts. If it hasn't rained in months, give it a good soaking and then let the soil dry out again.

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      How to Grow Aloe Vera from Leaf Cuttings

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      This may surprise you, but you can indeed grow an aloe vera plant from cuttings. However, it's not a reliable plant propagation method, so there's a low chance of the plants being viable. Before removing the aloe pups (otherwise known as the baby plants part of the root system), make sure it's at least one-fifth the size of the aloe plant. When it's time, remove the dirt from the pup's base. Use a clean, sharp knife to cut the aloe pup from the aloe plant. Plant your pup in a new pot filled with potting mix and allow it to sit for one week before you start watering. In terms of care, you can treat your pup as you would your aloe.

      How to Care for Aloe Vera

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      As a bonus, your aloe will produce a tall stalk of small, bell-shaped flowers from time to time. Once the blooms fade, you can snip the stem off at the base.

      Since overwatering is a common issue with aloe plant care, ensure the soil is completely dry before watering again. While fertilization isn't needed, you can fertilize plants once a year in the spring. When picking your fertilizer, choose one that contains phosphorus, a nutrient found in fertilizer to help plants grow.

      How to Repot Aloe Vera

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      It's important to repot aloe vera plants when they've outgrown their pots. Upsizing the plant can prevent stunted leaf growth and wilting leaves. According to Home for the Harvest, it's recommended to repot your aloe plants in the spring while they're actively growing. Follow our steps below (and watch our step-by-step video for visuals):

      1. Choose a pot that's heavy enough to support your succulent and drains well.
      2. Water your plant 24 hours before starting. If your aloe looks overwatered (withering leaves), you can skip this step.
      3. Gently remove your aloe plant from its pot. If the roots get caught, slowly cut them.
      4. Place your plant in its new pot with a good-quality potting mix. Don't add too much soil, as the roots need breathing space.
      5. Water immediately after repotting.
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      How to Harvest Aloe Vera

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      Besides providing pretty decoration, aloe leaves contain a clear gel that's a popular home remedy. According to the Mayo Clinic, this substance may shorten the healing of first- and second-degree burns and promote wound healing. Applying aloe gel to the skin could also help reduce acne and redness caused by mild to moderate psoriasis. However, the Mayo Clinic does not recommend ingesting aloe as eating too much could cause kidney damage.

      With this in mind, you can snip off an aloe leaf (as close to the stem as possible) when you need it and rub the juicy end on a sunburn or sore spot.

      Some people also like to use aloe vera juice as a hair conditioner, makeup remover or even brow gel. While there's no guarantee it'll work as well as some of your favorite products, you can get more of the juice by slitting the spike lengthwise and scooping out the contents with a spoon. As long as your plant stays healthy, it'll just keep making more!

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      Katarina Avendaño
      Senior SEO Editor

      Katarina Avendaño (she/her) is the senior SEO editor for Good Housekeeping, where she writes and edits lifestyle content and contributes to SEO strategy. Before joining GH in 2021, she was the digital editor at New York Family, where she was responsible for the website’s content and strategy. Katarina received her bachelor's degree in communications and Spanish from the University of Washington.

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      Mariah Thomas
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      Mariah Thomas (she/her) is an assistant editor for Good Housekeeping, where she covers home and lifestyle content. Mariah has more than four years of editorial experience, having written for TLC, Apartment Therapy, Women's Health and Avocado Magazine. She received her master's degree in journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and published her first book, Heart and Soul: Poems of Thoughts and Emotions, in 2019. She's also the founder of RTF Community, a platform for creatives of color to connect, learn and showcase their work. 

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