The warm and dry climate of some regions of Madagascar and South Africa may not be tolerated by all plants. One of the persistent representatives is aloe. Belonging to the Asphodel family, a flower from the genus Succulents. Alexander the Great brought him to Europe. It is often called Barbados. Morocco, Egypt, India, the island of Barbados - these are just some of the habitats of this beautiful representative of the flora.
Flower appearance
Aloe vera is a flower that has thick, mottled, xiphoid-shaped leaves on a low trunk. The fleshy body of the leaves is filled with a yellowish gel-like mass. The edges of the sheets are serrated and have spiky cilia. Leaves can reach 50-60 cm in length and are arranged on the trunk in a spiral, forming rosettes.
Planted aloe vera
Important! Due to the structure of the leaf, its flesh is divided into cells in which the plant can retain moisture for a long time. With excess moisture, the sheet is poured and increased. In a drought, the mouths of the leaves are closed, and the plant uses internal reserves.
Aloe vera in translation - real aloe, in natural conditions throws yellow or red inflorescences. They are located on a vertical peduncle, the length of which can reach 90 cm. With room content, it can bloom, but this is rare.
Home Flower Care
Florists plant and grow aloe in a pot. Aloe vera, as a plant, is unpretentious, but requires a certain space for its content. The pot must be selected large and positioned so that the leaves were where to grow. For a long summer, aloe can be taken out into the street in the open air, with the onset of cold weather brought into the house.
Cut sheet
Transfer
When it comes time to transplant the crop into another pot, it is advisable to make a series of preparations.
Plant in capacity
It represents the following actions:
- 10 days before work, abundant daily irrigation is carried out so that the earthen lump covering the roots is waterlogged and the plant can be easily removed;
- the bottom of the new flowerpot is covered with a drainage layer 5-7 cm high, using crushed brick, small pebbles, etc .;
- new soil is poured into the prepared drainage with a pyramid, filling the pot halfway;
- the flower is removed from the former pot, turned upside down and holding the aloe by the trunk;
- clean the roots of the old soil, install on the pyramid, straightening the roots, and fill the remaining gap with a new substrate;
- when filling, the soil is carefully tamped, making sure that the root neck is 2.5 cm below the edge of the pot.
At the end of the work, the soil is slightly moistened and the flower is removed in a shaded place. Within 5-6 days, watering the plant is not recommended.
Attention! The drainage layer is needed so that the lower part of the roots does not decay due to excess moisture. The presence of such a layer does not imply the absence of drainage holes. If there are none in the new pot, then they must be done independently.
Plant transplant
Old plants that do not fit in containers are best rejuvenated. For this, the lower large leaves and the top are cut off, the plant is watered abundantly for two weeks. Then, with proper care, it will give new leaves.
Breeding
To propagate aloe vera, you need to take several shoots of the plant (the upper stem with several leaves) and lower it into a jar of water. After 3-4 weeks, roots will appear on them. Then you can plant aloe in a pot, observing all the rules of transplantation, and continue to care for the pet.
Rooting
For your information. To get a good result, several shoots are rooted, then the best instance is selected. Rooting is unacceptable in late autumn and winter. Spring and summer are best suited for this. It is desirable to compare the dates of work with the lunar calendar.
Lighting and temperature
If a plant in wildlife grows in arid and hot sunny conditions, this does not mean that it does not need to be watered and kept in the sun. Direct sunlight is harmful to the leaves. They can become covered with orange spots. Therefore, diffused light and a temperature of 18-220C are the necessary conditions for keeping a flower at home.
Soil and fertilizing
Aloe loves nutritious soil, although, like cacti, it needs mechanical components (drainage components) placed in a pot. A store substrate for filling flowerpots should be suitable for the cultivation of succulents. However, such soil can be prepared independently.
To do this, select the following components:
- substrate for cacti or garden soil - 2 parts;
- sand - 2 parts;
- humus - 1-0.5 parts;
- crushed brick or expanded clay - 0.2 parts;
- fine fraction charcoal - 0.2 parts.
The first three positions are mixed separately - this is the soil. Next, a mixture of brick, coal and obtained soil (in a ratio of 1: 1: 1) is laid at the bottom - this is drainage.
Features of watering
In the summer, carry out daily watering under the root. The soil is well shed so that water appears in the pan. It is drained after 2-3 hours, so that part of the moisture rises to the roots.
Caution. In cold or winter time, when the room is slightly heated or not heated at all, watered every 4-5 days. Under such conditions, it is better to underfill the flower than to organize an excess of moisture.
The heat in a room in winter is akin to the summer season. This must be taken into account when choosing the frequency of watering when caring for a flower.
The healing properties of the plant
Having grown an aloe flower, how to use it as a medicine? Succulent juice is used in the manufacture of cosmetics. The peculiarity of the use of aloe for treatment is that only leaf juice or sapwood (part of the stem) is suitable for these purposes. Juice is collected by cutting leaves and pressing them with a press.
For your information. Fresh juice or sabour (evaporated extract) are the most effective treatments. Aloe preservatives added to drugs are ineffective.
Aloe dosage forms include:
- aloe oil;
- ointment;
- gel;
- syrup;
- extract in liquid form.
To restore the body after a disease, aloe extract is administered intramuscularly or subcutaneously by injection.
Home treatment
The use of homemade recipes can carry not only a healing mission, but also harm. You need to take only leaves of three years of age. What is the best way to use the aloe flower for medicinal purposes at home? You can apply only fresh juice of the leaves of the flower and the leaf itself. Juice is used to prepare drops and ointments. A sheet cut in length into plates is applied to the skin. What else can be done with aloe, you can find out by studying the recommendations of a specialist.
Information. In gastritis, a piece of a leaf 2-2.5 cm long is cut, a knife with thorns is cut with a knife, washed with water and chewed on an empty stomach. Thoroughly chewed mass is swallowed and do not take anything inside for 15-20 minutes. A weekly intake of aloe in the morning will relieve an attack of gastritis, improve intestinal motility, and relieve attacks of morning sickness.
Varieties of medicinal plants
Aloe are decorative and medicinal. Medicinal flowers include:
- Barbados
- spotty (soapy);
- tree-like (agave);
- present (faith);
- awesome.
Agave (left) and aloe vera (right)
People often confuse aloe vera and agave. It is believed that this is the same flower, but it is not. These are two varieties of aloe, and which one is medicinal? Agave throws red flowers during flowering, aloe present - yellow. Both types of plants have medicinal properties.
What Aloe Heals
Juice and slice of succulent leaves are used to treat diseases:
- gastrointestinal tract;
- skin integument;
- anemia and improper metabolism;
- all types of abscesses (boils, trophic ulcers), purulent and open skin lesions;
- colds ENT diseases and asthma;
- ophthalmic;
- tuberculosis (injection of aloe extract subcutaneously).
Aloe - what else does he treat? Pulls pus from abscesses, relieves sunburn, stops dysentery.
How to apply
What can be done from aloe, using it as a medicine? Compresses from leaf blades are applied by applying to wounds. The action of fresh juice is beneficial in healing due to its antiseptic properties.
Attention! Aloe vera is not only an active immunomodulator that helps restore the body, but also a powerful laxative.
What is being done with aloe leaves to apply to wounds? A piece of a sheet 3-4 cm long is cut. Cut along a wide plane, cutting the thorns on the sides. It will turn out two rectangular plates. Apply on the sore spot with pulp, cover with gauze and bandage. You can use a band-aid. It is not worth preparing the plates for the future. Apply only fresh.
Applying leaf blades to the skin
Aloe vera is an original and beautiful plant that adorns the interior, and a natural doctor who is always at hand. The flower is undemanding in care, it can be safely left in the apartment for 2-3 weeks unattended, previously abundantly watered.
