How Often Should You Water Aloe Vera Indoors?

One of the easiest plants to grow for anyone who is an aspiring gardener is the aloe vera plant. They have a tendency to be hardy, even when they’re grown indoors. That makes them an almost perfect plant for people that don’t have a lot of experience or for those who have tried growing a number of other different types of plants with little or no success. However, it’s imperative that you do your best to take care of them properly in order to have the healthiest, most vibrant plants. Much of this is centered around the frequency with which you decide to water your aloe vera plant, as this can have a major impact on its overall health.

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How Often Should You Water Your Indoor Aloe Vera Plant?

Ideally, you should only water your aloe vera plant that you’re keeping indoors about once every two weeks. Of course, the exact time frame between waterings will depend on a lot of things, such as how much water you gave your plant the last time.

Over-watering is not particularly good for most plants, but the aloe vera plant has an even lower tolerance for such things. That’s because the plant is designed to thrive in dryer soil. Therefore, giving it too much water can make it very hard for the plant to remain healthy.

By the same token, you are talking about a plant that literally stores water in its own leaves. That means that it always has a reserve but it can use whenever it gets a little too dry and needs more water than you’re giving it. If you give it too much water, it is basically akin to drowning it and then wondering why it doesn’t grow.

Therefore, you should use caution to refrain from watering it too much. At the same time, you should also ensure that you don’t give it too much water at any one time. Typically, you want the soil to be moist immediately after watering, but you don’t want to see water standing under any circumstances.

Caring for Your Plant

There are a number of things that you need to remember when caring for your aloe vera plant. Aside from not over-watering it, it’s also important that you keep the plant in a location where it can receive direct sunlight. This will help to ensure that your plant grows into the healthy, strong plant that you want it to be.

Aloe vera plants don’t do particularly well when they’re placed in areas that either don’t receive a lot of sunlight or that are prone to big changes in temperature, even indoors. That’s because they tend to enjoy the radiant heat that comes from the sunlight.

As a direct result, it’s not usually a good idea to place your aloe vera plant in a location where it only gets a few rays of sun for an hour or two a day. Conversely, it’s also going to be more difficult for your plant to stay healthy if you have it in a part of your home that naturally goes from being very warm to very cold with the changing of the seasons.

These plants like warmer temperatures better, so placing an aloe vera plant in an entry hallway or in a place where it’s constantly exposed to changing temperatures is not usually advisable.

How Do You Know if You’re Over-Watering?

If you are over-watering your aloe vera plant, there will usually be some telltale signs that can clue you in. One of the biggest signs involves aloe vera leaves that are not healthy and green but turning yellow. In addition, these leaves have a tendency to be too weak to stand straight up. Instead, they tend to become rather frail, falling completely over in some cases.

If you’re seeing this, you can almost bet that you’ve been giving your aloe vera plant far too much water. How do you know if it’s time to water the plant again, aside from adhering to a ridgid two-week schedule? Gently insert your finger into the soil of the plant. It’s best to insert your finger all the way up to the knuckle.

If the soil is moist, you should refrain from watering the plant for at least a few days and then check it again. If it’s dry, you can go ahead and water it but be sure not to give it too much.

One thing that a lot of people forget to do is check the soil at the bottom of the pot, next to the drain holes. If the soil is moist on a consistent basis, then your aloe vera plant is getting too much water and you need to cut back.

Aloe Vera Plants Grow Slowly

Remember, aloe vera plants have a tendency to grow quite slowly. Just because your plant isn’t growing quickly doesn’t mean that you’re doing anything wrong. In fact, it’s more important to look for a healthy plant that’s growing slowly than anything else, especially in the case of an aloe vera plant.

Fortunately, you can purchase one that is already more mature if that’s what you want. By the same token, you can purchase a smaller plant and nurture it until it is much larger. The most important thing to remember here is to refrain from overwatering and as is the case with all plants, constantly check on its overall health as it grows.

Before you know it, you too can have a mature, healthy aloe vera plant that can adorn your home with all its beauty. One of the best things about these types of plants is that as long as you keep them free of disease and don’t overwater them, they have a tendency to be quite resilient. That’s just one of the many reasons they’re so popular.

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