Ep. 132 - Aloe vera
Plant Profile
We’re back with another classic that may straddle the world of houseplants and…indoor herbs?
Beyond impressively easy care, we'll explore our own experiences with this ubiquitous plant over the years. Does it have uses beyond soothing burnt skin? Has its efficacy as a home remedy been studied? Will we find any good aloe recipes? And is this the first time we consume a plant as we talk about it?
Mentioned in this episode:
Aloe vera, the classic medicinal and edible succulent, seems to be a plant that transcends houseplant lovers’ attention, but do dedicated plant parents maybe overlook it?
its resilient, adaptable hardiness make it ideal for a wide range of growing conditions, but which are ideal, and which produce the nicest looking home-grown Aloe?
how to avoid floppiness and other less-than-aesthetically-ideal problems common with Aloe vera
we read into the science behind the medicinal benefits of Aloe vera, and might have been surprised by what we found
and because it’s edible, Matthew tasted some on video chat with Stephen
And lastly,
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Matthew’s Aloe vera was uglier than he remembered when the Plant Daddies recorded this episode, but he was sure right that it needed a repot!
While it looked decent last summer, a winter indoors with low light and rare watering left it sad and floppy, so he divided and repotted it. Even though these newly repotted Aloe still look a little sad, they’re going to get lots of light as they acclimate and establish, and will likely be thriving before long - and Stephen is going to get a pot or two for sure. Matthew used one of Stephen’s tips for a few of these - he positioned them so that the plant and soil level was pretty low in the pot, in order to help safeguard against wayward growth tumbling around before the next repot.
This is also a great example of a time that Matthew does choose to divide an old plant instead of maintaining it as the full specimen that it started as, something he touched on last week.
