When my husband and I first moved to Florida in February of 2022, our apartment had an abandoned aloe plant on the balcony. It was in the shadiest corner, tilted almost completely over, and had obviously been there for some time. I pitied the poor thing enough to water it a couple of times, but I had mostly forgotten about it myself by the time I wanted to plant in the fall. When I started my setup, I found that the aloe had made 2 little baby copies of itself. I moved those babies, called pups by growers, to some extra pots I had and watered them with the rest of what I grew that year.
I was very spoiled by the success of that aloe; not only did the pups survive replanting, but the “mother” plant continued to give me more of them. They thrived on the direct sunlight from their balcony home and the occasional watering that I intermittently remembered. I decided to harvest the original plant this year, leaving 9 children and 2 grandchildren potted on the balcony, all of whom have their own pups coming up or already established in their own pots.
Harvesting that original, abandoned plant gave me the motivation to see how I could best use its material and that of its offspring. I found that people have been using aloe plants for thousands of years, but that there is relatively little research about them.
Origins
Aloe is thought to originally be from sub-Saharan Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and several islands in the Western Indian Ocean. They are known to thrive in full sun and do not care for freezing temperatures. They prefer sandy soil with a lot of drainage and, as succulents, can live for long periods of drought. are low maintenance and easy to propagate, so they moved with ancient peoples across the known world, making their true home a small mystery.
Medical uses for aloe have been found in numerous cultures throughout history, in places as far apart as Greece, Egypt, Mexico, and Japan. Documents from as early as the 1st century CE describe the plant and its uses. It is said that Cleopatra used aloe in her skincare routine, although this may be no more than historical rumor. With how easy the plants are to propagate and for how long people have studied their benefits, it is impressive that we are able to discern any of their origins at all.
Propagation
Despite being a fascinating process, “throwing pups” isn’t the only way to propagate aloe. Pup generation is affected by several factors, with mature, potted plants being the most likely to do so. It is believed that this has something to do with root crowding. All pups emerge near the base of the mother plant, and there does not seem to be a limit on the number of pups a plant will produce.
Cuttings from the leaves can establish roots, something I tried once just to prove that I could. It can be messy to cut up aloe, as anyone who has harvested one can tell you. There is a yellow, extremely smelly latex layer between the gel and skin which bleeds readily from any injury to the leaves. Cuttings grow better if you allow the cut portion to dry out and form a callus before planting, which normally takes a day or 2. The stem can even be replanted if you harvest a complete plant and want to start from scratch, no roots needed.
Aloe can also grow tall, bristle-brush like flowers, but I haven’t seen that happen yet. They are supposed to have a main stem of up to 1 meter in height, with 100-200 flowers clustered together. The range of color for the flowers is quite broad, since there are over 500 species in the genus. White, yellows, and reds predominate, but there are also oranges and pinks. I have read that indoor plants are rarely exposed to native-like climate conditions and so are not able to reach this state. Flowering is much more common if plants are outside in the soil, in full sun (for most types), and get regular waterings.
Benefits
When we decided to harvest that first aloe plant, we were excited to incorporate it into our diet. Aloe is known for several things, some of which are confirmed by scientific study. Here in the States, I think most people would recognize it for topical treatments, especially for burns. I also have a blemish cream containing aloe. It is common across the cosmetics industry for hair and skin treatments.
Less commonly than in cosmetics, the clear interior substance, called gel, is used to treat gastrointestinal issues like ulcers, gastritis, and IBS. The latex layer can be used as a laxative, although there may be some risks associated with this use, especially long-term. It is further used to help regulate blood sugar for diabetics not currently on other medications.
The plant is a surprisingly good source of some nutrients, like antioxidants, calcium, and potassium, and has been shown to help the bioavailability of vitamins C and E. There is even some evidence that aloe phytosterols can help to reduce cholesterol in the bloodstream.
Risks
There are also some important points of concern when deciding to use aloe. As mentioned previously, there is a latex layer between the skin and gel of the plant with a potent smell. Allergies to this and other plant parts are relatively common, which at minimum will cause irritation to any affected area. Consuming larger doses of aloe is known to cause diarrhea. A study on rats showed that chronic high doses cause issues with reproduction, widespread inflammation, and earlier mortality. Patients with hypoglycemia should use caution when consuming aloe, as there is at least 1 case where death was caused by an aloe-drug interaction.
A Home Gardener’s Conclusions
This is our fourth year growing aloe at home and, despite some relative success with their care and propagation, I still feel ignorant to their full value. Their origins may never be known with exactitude, having been carted through the Ancient World by diverse peoples over disparate times. We have a lot of clues as to their benefits, but scientific research has mostly been done on smaller test groups or with inaccuracies in dosage and production, leaving a lot of unknowns. Even the risks of consuming the plant are largely based on personal observations and limited case studies. While I do not think I will clarify any of this obfuscation, I do find some joy participating in carrying them into the future, or at least the future of my balcony garden.
3
