CactiGuide.com

Hello !

Two months ago I acquired an aloe and since then it has significantly changed shape.. originally it had many babies (top left photo) that I cut and am attempting to propagate. Then I gave it plenty of TLC and sunlight and it was turning from red to green and looking great.. (top right photo). Then I noticed it started twisting and the leaves became oddly bent and thin. I thought it may be the little garden accent I had put in the pot. So I removed that, centered in the pot more and gave it a few weeks. But it has only gotten worse! There are a few concerning white spots that I am worried might be scale and could explain the deformation. But I have jumped the gun on these kinds of things in the past having never seen them outside this forum. The bottom two photos were taken today and show it’s current state. Is this normal? Am I doing something wrong? Watering weekly and using a mix of half cacti soil and half perlite. The bottom of the pot is lined with rocks to make it a little more shallow. We are living in Las Vegas where the temps are between 90 and 110 everyday. Any advice is appreciated! Thank you.

-Miranda

I think it's just not getting enough water.

greenknight wrote: ↑Thu Jun 27, 2019 4:34 am I think it's just not getting enough water.

Agreed. A sunny spot in a small pot in a Las Vegas summer is a pretty extreme place for a plant to grow. It may prefer light shade during the hottest months of the year.

In Vegas heat you could water this plant every other day all summer. It'll be fine.

Should it be in a larger pot? And does anyone know what these red and white spots may be? Scars? Pests? New growth? They keep popping up in clusters and I’m not sure if it’s something I should worry about.

White spots are normal, many Aloes have them (though there are a few minor scars, which are more of a tan color with a dark border). The red is a protective response to strong sun - various kinds of stress can also produce reddening, but where it's seen just on the parts that are most exposed to the sun, as on this plant, it's definitely from the sun. As long as there's no sunburn it doesn't hurt the plant - red is not sunburn on plants, sunburn first appears as pale areas where the sun hits most strongly. When you see that you should get the plant out of direct sun until it recovers.

That pot will be fine if you just water whenever it gets dry.