Are your Aloe plant leaves getting flat?
Or do they look completely dull?
If you are seeing these issues on your Aloe plant, you should check out the following guide.
In this guide, I have shared some of the reasons why your Aloe Vera plant leaves are getting flat.
So, let's get started!
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4 Reasons Why Your Aloe Plant Leaves Are Getting Flat
Alright, here are the reasons for this issue -
1. You Have Not Watered Your Aloe Vera Plant For A Few Weeks
It is the most common reason why the Aloe leaves turn flat.
If you don't water your plant for a few weeks, the leaves will shrink in size and look flat from the surface.
And it's a completely natural process that takes place when there is a shortage of water supply.
When the plant doesn't receive enough water, it automatically goes under stress and utilizes the stored water from leaves.
That's why the leaves become flat.
And if the situation persists, it turns into permanent damage to the plant.
2. You Have Been Overwatering Your Aloe Plant
Like underwatering or no watering, the plant can react similarly to the overwatering issue.
When you overwater the plant, the excess water stays in the pot.
And it often leads to the well-known root rot issue.
Once the root rot spreads fast, it affects the leaves too.
The leaves generally turn yellow-brown in color when there is too much water in the pot.
And as the days pass by, some of the leaves turn flat.
You'd probably notice this behavior in older leaves, which are close to the roots.
3. Your Plant Is Old
That's the sad truth!
When the plant gets old and tall, it tries to shed some of the old leaves.
And when these large leaves complete their life cycle, they generally turn flat.
So, it's a completely natural process, and you don't have to worry about it at all.
Also, the good thing about it is that the plant might develop new leaves and pups in the coming weeks.
And that's how the life cycle of the Aloe plant works!
So, do keep an eye on the new growth as well.
4. Hot Weather Conditions
Aloe plant generally likes hot and humid weather, but it can't survive in extreme weather conditions.
It needs a good amount of water to be able to perform its activities.
However, when the weather turns bad and the water levels go down, the leaves suffer the most in these situations.
So, if you are living in a desert or a place where you get heat waves, you should expect flat leaves on your Aloe vera during such times.
And this generally happens during summers when the outside temperatures are on the rise for weeks.
Now that we have seen the reasons, let's dive right into the tips section.
Hopefully, these tips will help in recovering your Aloe plant leaves quickly.
4 Tips To Avoid Flat Leaves On Your Aloe Plant
Here are the tips that you must follow if your Aloe plant leaves are getting flat -
1. Water Your Plant Regularly
Since it is an obvious reason for this issue, you should think of fixing the watering frequency.
You need to water the plant more regularly if you are not doing so.
Even though the Aloe plant is hardy, it needs water to carry out its internal mechanisms.
Therefore, once you start watering the plant regularly, the plant will store the water in the form of a gel in its leaves.
And ultimately, the leaves will turn nice and plump!
2. Add Fertilizers After A Few Weeks
Fertilizers are key to making plants stronger!
If you do not provide adequate fertilizer to the plant, it won't grow as well as you'd expect.
And this might affect the growth of the leaves as well.
So, if you want to see fresh and plump leaves on your Aloe plant, you should think of adding fertilizers to the plant.
However, it is important to note that fertilizers should only be given when the plant is doing well.
If most of the leaves are flat and the plant seems dull, you should fix the watering and sunlight issues first before thinking about fertilizers.
3. Keep It Near Sunlight
Like I mentioned earlier, you should address the basic issues before moving to fertilizers and other such aspects of gardening.
Talking about the sunlight, you should at least provide 3-4 hours of sunlight to your Aloe Vera plant.
Yes, it is meant to do well in direct sunlight.
So, if you have been keeping it away from sunlight for long, you should consider moving the plant to a place where it gets enough natural light.
This will make the leaves produce more food for the plant.
And once the plant starts receiving more sunlight, you will see how the leaves transform from flat to plump.
4. Change The Soil If Needed
If you don't want to add fertilizers, you can simply change the old soil with a new one.
Repotting does help in bringing back life to a certain extent.
It will also allow you to check any root damage issues.
5. Separate The Pups From Large Aloe Vera Plant
Yes, that's the best thing to do when you see new growth besides the mother plant.
It will not only help the large plant grow further, but you will also have more Aloe plants for your indoor garden.
And once you perform this step, your original plant should produce new leaves in a few weeks.
Then, you don't have to worry about the flat leaves issue.
So, make sure you keep removing and repotting new pups on a regular basis.
Now, let's take a look at the following FAQs sections where I have answered some of the commonly asked questions by the readers.
FAQs
Well, there could be many reasons why your Aloe leaves are thin and not plump.
If the plant is young, you will need to give it at least a few months to see decent growth in the leaves.
Also, if the pot size is too small, the plant will not have enough space to grow.
And this might affect the growth of the plant leaves as well.
The leaves will remain short and thin if you don't provide a bigger pot to the plant.
Apart from these two reasons, you should also focus on providing sufficient water, sunlight, and fertilizer to the plant.
It's quite easy to plump your Aloe Vera plant.
Because all you need to do here is provide enough water for the plant.
And of course, you can provide a much bigger pot to plant, and it will grow vigorously in a few weeks' time.
That's all you need to do to see fresh and plump leaves on your Aloe plant.
It could be because of a lack of watering or overwatering.
If you are not watering your Aloe plant, the leaves might show such behavior at times.
Other than that, the plant might have been affected by some fungus, which can also result in bending the tips of the Aloe leaves.
Also, if the plant is big and the leaves are old, some of the leaves might change their shape and bend outward.
So, it could also be the reason why you see leaves bending issues on your Aloe plant.
Ah, there could be several reasons why your Aloe plant is wobbly and not stable.
The first reason is obviously the size of the plant as compared to its pot's size.
If the plant is bigger than the pot, it will not stand still and probably look for support.
The other reason is the type of soil you use for this plant.
If the soil is loose and sandy, the Aloe plant will find it difficult to hold its ground.
And the third reason for the wobbly plant is overwatering.
If you overwater your Aloe plant and the pot size is relatively small, you should expect the plant to wobble a bit.
Well, it's a clear case of overwatering.
When you overwater your plant, it leads to the root rot issue.
And once the plant gets affected by this issue, it tends to lose all its roots.
So, you should always keep an eye on how much water the plant actually requires for optimum growth.
Do not water the plant if the topsoil is wet.
B Robinson says
Thank you so much for the information. My aloe is gorgeous but a couple of bottom leaves flattened and it’s tipping over. You have answered my questions thoroughly. I really appreciate the help