Soil in aloe vera pot starting to go mouldy.

rosie383

I was given an aloe vera plant a few weeks back. It looks nice and healthy and is around 8" high. I noticed yesterday that there is a bit of white mould-type coating on the top of the soil around the base of the plant.
I have watered it only enough to keep the soil moist, I don't think I have over-watered it.
I really don't want to lose it so can someone tell me what to do? Do I repot?

rosie383

Bump!
I have removed the slightly mouldy bit at the top, but do I need to repot? And should I be giving it a lot of water? The compost seems to be quite dry now.

davemorton

May not be the correct way to do it, but I have had an aloe vera plant for about 10 years now, and it has gone up to 4-5 months inbetween waterings at times. Less is more I believe.

winkfir

Hi, yes I would agree with the above. You want a good free draining soil and let it dry out between watering. If the soil is kept constantly moist the aloe is likely to rot.

I_have_spoken

I'd get a soil moisture probe, they're under a tenner, to check if you are over or under-watering.

rosie383

Thanks all. I just had a feeling it shouldn't be watered too much. My friend has one in her porch which gets a bit of water when she remembers. It is massive!

ALIBOBSY

As far as I am aware AV is very much like a cactus plant, so you should let it dry out completely then soak and dry out again. Pretty much how things would be in the desert/dry areas, lots of dry weather and the occasional heavy shower.

Ali x

atrixblue.-MFR-.

Also if your about to pot on to a 5x larger pot (not deeper same depth as last pot) use only cactus loving well draining compost from your local garden center or the aloe root ball will rot if its kept moist.


soak well in the summer but let soil completely dry out in between watering. (10-15 weeks between watering is good enough IMHO with a little feed).