Indoor Gardening and Houseplants: Aloe Question, 1 by henryr10

henryr10 wrote:
I had to zip off to work quicker than I though so didn't finish my reply. Sorry.
The roots are deeper than most Cactus and Euphorbia.
Though generally Aloe are more shallow rooted than say Agave.
An Azalea pot will work fine but as they are more expensive than normal clay pots I tend to save those for shallow rooted plants.

Also Aloe are very top heavy.
You want a pot that is heavy enough to balance the weight.
I have some Aloes at 18" tall so they tend to fall over a lot when the soil is very dry if not weighted well.
I try to use only unglazed terra cotta pots but that's just my preference.

A few tips I learned from a superior Cactus/Succulent grower:

Put an inch or so of coarse gravel in the bottom of the pot.
Cover this w/ a single layer of brown paper.
The paper holds the soil up and degrades after a season. By this time the roots will hold the soil.
The gravel keeps the dirt out of any water the pot may end up sitting in.
Also put about a 1/4"-1/2" of gravel on top.
This stops splash up of the dirt (which can cause fungal infections) and prevents the dirt from washing away around the Succulents.

Enjoy the Aloes and hopefully you'll try branching out into Agave, Gasteria, Haworthia, etc.
They are fun, cheap and very low maintenance.


I have about 100 different Succulents.
It's addicting. LOL
Here's one of my high light shelves in the hoophouse.

Ric