How big can aloe plants get is a question to ask if you are thinking of adding aloe plants to your garden but wonder how big aloe plants get. The size of the aloe vera plant usually depends on various growth factors.
This post will help you know more about growing aloe and them reaching the average plant size and what you need to do to succeed in growing this plant indoors or outdoors.
Contents
How Big Can Aloe Plants Get Growing Right?
Aloe plants can get three feet tall when they grow right, but most of the time, they can also grow around one to two feet tall. Although the varieties that you grow indoors may grow around 12 to 24 inches big with the right requirements.
– Indoor Variety
Aloes growing indoors will grow to about 24 inches when provided with the right conditions. The advantage of growing your aloe indoors is that they are manageable. Moreover, these succulents will help purify the air around your home.
For example, the aloe barbadensis miller plant grows to about 12 and a maximum of 24 inches when provided with an optimal growing environment as they grow indoors. Plants indoors should be well-maintained to ensure it doesn’t take up too much space.
– Outdoor Variety
Some varieties, like the smaller kinds like aloe aristata, can grow about six to 12 inches when left to grow outdoors. Typically, aloe plants should take about three to four years to reach maturity. However, they might take a shorter time when grown outdoors.
On the other hand, when it you consider the varieties, the African Aloe can grow about six to eight feet tall, when it is growing in the right conditions, such as having full sun, but this growth range would take around four to five years to grow this much.
How Can You Maximize The Aloe Plant Size?
You can maximize the aloe plant size by regularly pruning the plant, and providing the right light intensity to the plant. Moreover, you can also use the right amount of fertilizer, and properly water the plant. Ensure to use the right potting mix and the appropriate container.
– Regular Pruning
Pruning is an integral part of aloe plant care especially when they are growing and developing to their best potential. When your plant matures, you should have a pruning schedule to ensure you can maintain its size so that you remove the dead leaves and keep aloe vera plants healthy.
Regular pruning helps to contain the plant and ensure it’s manageable, so before you start the pruning process for your aloe vera plant, you must look at the whole plant. Check whether your plant has more pups on one side of the plant.
Remove a few of these pups, but not all of them, and getting rid of all the pups can make the plant unstable, and weaker when growing because they would take up space. Make sure you sterilize the pruning tools you have thoroughly so that it doesn’t hinder the growth.
Once you’re done pruning, but the aloe still seems too big for your indoor spaces, consider repotting and propagating the pups. Use a smaller container to repot the pups and use it as a replacement for the large aloe plant. When the pup reaches an ideal size that suits your indoor space, you can discard the larger aloe or move it outdoors.
– Light Intensity
Aloe vera grow well under bright, indirect light, but position the plant where it doesn’t get direct light from the sun. Consider planting them along the east and west-facing windows. You simply need to ensure that your aloe plants don’t get direct sunlight, as this could lead to several complications.
Low-intensity light will also make the plant stretch out, so this will make your aloe vera too big as it stretches out to get enough light. In short, what happens now is that the plant is searching for proper light source, which is why it aims to stretch itself.
However, when aloes stretch, they become structurally weak and collapse. Position your aloe plants where they will get plenty of sunlight and ensure temperatures range between 60 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit, where it will be in facing the full sun around six to seven hours in a day. During the hot summer months, the plants should only get indirect light. The hot sun can easily scorch your plant leaves.
As indoor plants, they do well where they get indirect sunlight. Growing these plants where they don’t get enough sunlight makes them grow tall and spindly instead of having healthy leaves and a more compact structure. They will not grow as much and stretch as big or wide when they are receiving indirect light indoors.
– Fertilizer Properly
How you fertilize aloe vera determines how fast it can grow in your garden. You can always use a liquid variety of the 10-40-40 fertilizer to help it with the appropriate nutrients. Make sure that you dilute the ones that you have because if the salt content is too much, it may add excess salt in the soil and this would cause stress.
To ensure it grows to the optimal aloe vera height and width, only feed the plant with fertilizer when it’s actively growing, and when the season is warm enough for them to thrive as much. While aloes will get nutrients from the potting soil, supplementing with fertilizer will boost their growth. Use the right fertilizer that’s specifically formulated for succulents and cacti.
Note that too much fertilizer will make the plants grow faster than required. In short, to limit such growth, applying fertilizer moderately is highly recommended.
– Proper Watering
Watering is a vital aspect of vera plant care, so one of the main things you should avoid when watering succulents is providing them with excess water than they require. You should know that this is the plant that will not thrive when the conditions are too wet, and it’s easy to notice the signs that you’re overwatering your aloes. Usually, you’ll notice mushy leaves or leaves with brown tips.
Never allow your aloe veras to sit in water. Allow the soil mix to dry out between watering. This gives the plant ample time to take up water from the soil. During summer, water your plants after two to three weeks, and as for winter, watering once every three to four weeks will do.
So, do you water aloe vera from top or bottom? The best way to water your aloes is from the bottom. This allows you to focus more on watering the roots. It also helps to make sure you don’t end up overwatering your succulents.
– Potting Soil
Apart from choosing the right container for your plants, you also need to use the right soil to provide the plant with the nutrients it requires.
Aloes prefer well-draining soils where water will be draining away from them and the content will not remain wet around the roots of the plant. If you’re getting soil from your local garden store, decide on the soil that works well with succulents.
– Use the Right Container Size
You can control the growth of your aloes by using the right container size. Aloes are succulent plants, meaning they don’t need frequent repotting. Growing in small containers prevents overwatering aloe and limits their growth.
Since these plants have a relatively slow growth rate, growing them in small containers works well for small indoor spaces. Growing your plants in a large container isn’t a good idea since you risk overwatering them, because you will lose track of how much water they require, and this is why they tend to get excessively irrigated.
The larger the container, the more water it will hold, leading to an overwatered aloe. Your plants will easily succumb to common problems like root rot. If you must use a large container, ensure it has enough drainage holes. Alternatively, you can use the larger container as a decorative pot and plant aloe vera in a smaller container inside it.
If your aloes are too big, the best way to propagate them is from offsets, or the pups. While most people think about propagating aloe vera from leaf cuttings, this isn’t the best method of propagating them, so propagate the little pups that grow next to it.
Conclusion
With regard to the issue of how big can aloe plants get, it’s important to maintain your aloe plants at the right height. Here’s a quick recap of what you need to remember about these plants:
- You can maintain aloe vera’s growth through regular pruning, providing optimal light intensity, fertilizing as recommended, and using small containers.
- Make sure that you do not deprive the plant from light, although it will stretch, but this will make it weaken and feel dense.
- These beautiful plants grow slowly, but you can speed up their growth by providing optimal growing environment, such as bright sunlight.
- Consider propagating and replacing the big plants if you have large aloes in your garden or indoor spaces.
Aloe veras are easy to grow, and if you’re thinking of adding them to your garden or indoor spaces, use this aloe very care guide to ensure you can manage the plant’s growth effectively.
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