Aloe Barberae - Giant Aloe Tree - Indoors with Black Spots

Hi,

My Aloe Barberae seems to have black spots on it, more at the base where it meets the trunk. How can I treat it? I have not had very good luck hearing from anyone that is familiar with this plant in Arizona AND it is indoors. One person suggested a mixture of Dawn soap & water then hose off. I cannot hose it off as it is in my living room.

I live north of Phoenix, in the foothills (Tonto Forest Area). We tend to run about 5-8 degrees cooler than Phoenix along with more wind.

About 2+ months ago (Sept 2014) I purchased an African Neanderthal Aloe Tree aka Aloe Barberae aka Giant Aloe Tree... from a local nursery. That being said, they didn't even tell me the type of "tree" it was. Had I known how large they get, I would have not made the purchase as it is in my living room.

They called it an "Aloe Tree" and said that it would be "great" for my south facing Living Room with the entire length of the eastern and southern walls being floor to ceiling windows. The tree is about 10 feet tall and 5ft diameter, the ceiling is another 10 feet, so it has plenty of room still.

The nursery I bought it from had just transplanted it into a pot 25 inches diameter & 30 inches tall, saying it should be "fine" for several years". At this point I do not know if even the very limited amount of information I was given, is correct. I cannot move it outside at this point, my HOA will not allow it, so I am hoping that people can assist me with supporting it as an indoor plant.

I do not know how long they had it at the nursery. They had it under the building overhang, in an enclosed courtyard, with heavy screen/netting as a roof.

I thought it was stunning & bought it. Upon delivery I noticed the black spots, I feel that they are not a good sign... but have not been able to confirm from any of the 3 nurseries I have asked.

I am not sure how to do the following:

1- How do I get rid of the black spots?
2-How often should I water? Lately, it seams like a few stems are drying up & twisting - Is it thirsty? Could this be normal? Could it be in shock from moving? Or could be ...?
3- Is the pot large enough for now?
4- Do I need to supplement it with additional lighting? I have a canister bulb directly above it, should I put in a special bulb to increase light?
5- Some of the tips are drying up and turning brown, is this normal or is there another issue?


I love this tree and REALLY want to help it, you cannot see in the photos but that is the extent of the wall for the next 15 feet along it is ceiling to floor windows and then the window-wall angles across the entire length of the room in front of the tree.

Any help and or suggestions would be welcome, I have read about others that have successfully grown these indoors :) Thank you!

This is the first time I have ever heard of anyone trying to grow this species indoors, so I don't have any personal or even second hand knowledge of what to do for this extremely full-sun-needy species in an indoor situation. Those black spots are fungal. Happens when trees are unhappy and weakened for whatever reason (I suspect this one is unhappy due primarily from lack of direct sunlight, among other problems, such as root constriction, aridity (seems kind of dehydrated in some of the photos) and whatever problems may be encountered when trying to grow something in such an unnatural environment. You can try antifungals on it, and watering it more, and have it as close to the window as possible, but I really have no suggestions based on anything other than guessing. Good luck! It is a wonderful aloe and I hope it does well.

Check carefully for a scale infestation. It looks like sooty mold (any one of the Ascomycete fungi) growing on plant exudates or honeydew (excreted by insects like scale, aphids, whitefly, mealybug ....).

Bayer Advanced makes a 3-in-1 Spray for Insects Mites, and Disease. It contains systemic insecticide and fungicide, as well as a miticide. It's approved for indoor plants, but you must do the actual spraying outdoors. You should find it helpful.

Al