Why is my aloe plant drooping?

Aloe drooping is usually wet roots in a pot; outside, drooping more often follows heavy rain in slow-draining ground, cold, or sudden harsh sun.

Answer what you can see

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Push a finger two inches into the soil. What does it feel like?

Which leaves are affected?

Where does it live?

How fast did this happen?

Gradual, all-over drooping can be overwatering, low light, or pests; use the wet-root check, the light history, and a close pest inspection to tell them apart. Sudden drooping on the window side can be sun or temperature shock or spray burn; the difference is whether a spray or fertilizer was used recently.

The causes in full

Overwatering or root rotMOST COMMON

How to tell
Check for a heavy pot, soil that stays wet for days, a soft or wobbly base, and brown or mushy roots instead of firm pale roots.

What to do
Tip the plant out of the pot, cut away mushy roots, repot in a fast-draining cactus or succulent mix, and do not water again until the whole potting mix is dry all the way through. If it is planted outside, improve drainage or move it to a raised, gritty spot if rain keeps the root area wet.

Too dry for too longCOMMON

How to tell
The pot feels very light, the mix has pulled away from the pot edge, and leaves look thin, folded, or wrinkled rather than soft and mushy.

What to do
If the whole potting mix is dry all the way through, water deeply until water runs out the drain holes, then let it drain fully. If the dry mix repels water, soak the pot in a basin for 20–30 minutes, drain it, and do not water again until the whole potting mix is dry all the way through.

Too little lightCOMMON

How to tell
Leaves lean outward, new growth is long and weak, and the plant is set back from the window or in a room where you would not comfortably read without a lamp.

What to do
Move it gradually to a brighter spot with strong indirect light or gentle morning sun. Because low-light aloes use water slowly, water only when the whole potting mix is dry all the way through.

Temperature or sun shockLESS COMMON

How to tell
Drooping started suddenly after a hot window, a move outdoors, a cold draft, a frost, or leaves touching cold glass, often with damage worse on the exposed side.

What to do
Move the aloe away from hot glass, cold glass, heaters, air conditioners, or frost, and reintroduce stronger sun over several days. Do not try to fix shock with extra water; water only when the whole potting mix is dry all the way through.

Mealybugs or scale insectsLESS COMMON

How to tell
Look deep between the leaves for white cottony clumps, tan or brown shell-like bumps, sticky spots, or ants visiting the plant.

What to do
Isolate the plant, wipe pests off with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol, and repeat weekly; for a heavy problem use a labeled insecticidal soap, not dish soap. Do not compensate with extra water unless the whole potting mix is dry all the way through.

Fertilizer or spray burnRARE

How to tell
Drooping or spotting began soon after fertilizing, using a leaf spray, neem or oil spray, or spraying while the plant was in sun, especially on the treated or window-facing side.

What to do
Rinse the leaves with plain water and move the plant out of direct sun through glass until no new damage appears. Skip fertilizer while it is stressed, and water only when the whole potting mix is dry all the way through.

Will it recover?

Badly soft, creased, burned, or rotted leaves usually will not stand back up; the goal is firm new growth after the cause is fixed.

Stopping it happening again

Grow aloe in a pot with drain holes and gritty succulent mix, or outside in raised fast-draining soil, give bright light with gradual changes, and water only when the whole potting mix is dry all the way through.