Why is my Aloe dying?
A dying potted aloe most often means the roots have stayed wet too long; outside, aloes more often crash from cold wet soil, hard drought, or sudden hot sun.
If you can already see the symptom
Answer what you can see
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The causes in full
Overwatering and root rotMOST COMMON
How to tell
Look for heavy wet mix, a sour smell, black or mushy roots, and leaves that feel soft, yellow, translucent, or collapse from the base rather than just dry at the tips.
What to do
If the soil is soggy or wet, unpot the aloe, cut away mushy roots and leaves, and repot the firm parts in a dry, gritty cactus/succulent mix in a pot with drainage. Withhold water until the potting mix is dry all the way through, then water deeply and let it drain fully.
Underwatering or heat droughtCOMMON
How to tell
Look for leaves that are thin, wrinkled, folded inward, dull, or curling, with a potting mix that is dry all the way through or pulling away from the pot edge.
What to do
If the potting mix is dry all the way through and the leaves are thin or wrinkled, water thoroughly until water runs from the drainage holes. If the mix is bone dry and pulling from the pot, bottom-soak the pot only until the mix re-wets, then let it dry all the way through before watering again.
Too little lightCOMMON
How to tell
Look for new growth that is pale, narrow, stretched, leaning, or floppy while the soil stays damp for a long time after watering.
What to do
Move the aloe gradually into brighter light, such as a very bright window or gentle morning sun, instead of a dim room. Do not water unless the potting mix is dry all the way through.
Sun scorch or spray/fertilizer burnCOMMON
How to tell
Look for tan, white, brown, or dry patches that appeared fast, especially on the side facing hot glass, after moving the plant into stronger sun, spraying the leaves, or fertilizing.
What to do
Move it back from hot glass or give it shade, then reintroduce stronger sun slowly over 1 to 2 weeks. If burn followed fertilizer or you see white crust on the mix, when the potting mix is dry all the way through, water thoroughly so it drains out, and do not fertilize again until healthy new growth appears.
Cold damageLESS COMMON
How to tell
Look for sudden glassy, limp, dark, or water-soaked leaves after a cold night, a drafty window, frost, or outdoor temperatures near freezing.
What to do
Move the aloe to a warmer protected spot and cut off only leaves that are fully collapsed or rotting. If cold soil is damp, withhold water until the potting mix is dry all the way through because cold wet roots rot easily.
Mealybugs or scale insectsLESS COMMON
How to tell
Check deep between the leaves and along leaf bases for white cottony clumps, sticky shine, brown raised bumps, or tiny insects that smear when touched.
What to do
Isolate the plant, remove visible pests with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol, and repeat checks every few days for several weeks. Keep watering only when the potting mix is dry all the way through, because a stressed aloe recovers from pests more slowly in wet soil.
Will it recover?
Mushy, scorched, cold-damaged, or pest-scarred leaves will not turn normal again; thirsty wrinkled leaves may partly plump back up, but the main goal is firm new growth.
Stopping it happening again
Use a gritty fast-draining mix and a pot with drainage, give bright light with gradual sun changes, protect outdoor aloes from frost and long rain, inspect leaf bases for pests, and water only when the potting mix is dry all the way through.
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