What Compost Should You Use For Aloe Vera?

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Aloe vera is a popular succulent, often grown as a houseplant. Not only is it known for its beautiful spiked leaves, but it has also been found in a wide range of herbal medicine and cosmetic products. But to grow it, you will need to have the right soil. So, what type of compost should you be looking for?

It’s best to choose succulent compost for aloe vera. These mixes will have good soil drainage and contain the nutrients that aloe vera needs. When it comes time to plant, create a 50-50 mix with the compost and a potting mix. Depending on the potting mix, you might need to add some sand or perlite.

Growing aloe vera at home shouldn’t be too complex. All you need to do is pair the plant with the right type of compost. Keep reading to learn how you can do this.

Table of Contents

What Type of Soil Conditions Does Aloe Vera Need to Grow?

The best place to start is by looking at the soil conditions aloe vera needs to thrive. Here are some of the areas you should be looking for.

Good Soil Drainage

One of the most common problems is that there isn’t enough soil drainage. There are a few consequences of this. But the worst is the chance that it will leave the roots of the plant waterlogged. This, in turn, can lead to root rot, with the disease spreading throughout the plant and eventually leading to its demise.

This area will also affect the amount of oxygen getting the roots. You don’t want to risk cutting them off and suffocating the plant.

NPK Levels

The next thing to consider is the NPK level of the compost. If purchasing from a store, this should be on the front of the package. If you make the compost at home, you should be testing regularly. This will allow you to get a compost variety that has the right nutrient load to suit your plants.

Aloe vera plants don’t need a lot of nutrients to thrive. This is proved by looking at the NPK ratings. Researchers from the University of California found that you were best off using a 10-40-10 mixture. This doesn’t all need to come from the compost. These nutrients can be added through fertilizers. It’s best to choose something that will release nutrients slowly, so there is no chance that you will burn the fertilizer.

pH Levels

Aloe vera prefers a range of neutral to slightly alkaline. They will thrive in an environment between 7 to 8.5. You can do a pH test on your compost to see if it falls into this range. If you need to, you can use some additives to change the acidity levels.

Use a Succulent Compost

With these elements in mind, we can conclude that it’s best to use succulent compost. This will retain the right amount of moisture to suit the plants. You can also use a mix that has been designed to work for cactus plants. Sometimes, you might want to top with a little worm compost to add a few additional nutrients to the soil.

Preparing the Mix to Grow Aloe Vera

If you are thinking about planting aloe vera, here is what the ideal mix should look like:

½ succulent or cactus compost
½ potting soil

Make sure to combine these elements well before you use them. Once you’ve done this, feel the soil. It should have the same texture as stale bread, with plenty of air pockets and lots of drainages. If it doesn’t, it might be good to add some drainage materials like sand or perlite.

As we’ll discuss later, monitor your aloe vera plant closely once you plant them. This can tell you some of the issues that it might be experiencing and how you can overcome them.

Adjusting Compost to Suit Aloe Vera

As long as you use a succulent mix, you shouldn’t have too many problems when planting your aloe vera. But you might need to make a few adjustments. In most cases, this will be linked to the amount of moisture that is being retained in the soil, particularly once you have mixed it with dense potting soil.

You have a few ways to increase the drainage, including:

Coconut choir chips
Sand
Pumice

Perlite, this is the preferred option

Aside from this, you shouldn’t have too many problems. Aloe vera should be able to adjust to most types of soil.

Signs That There Is a Problem With the Compost

While the aloe vera is hardy, that doesn’t mean that it will be able to live in all types of soil conditions. The most common issue is too much moisture in the soil. This can either be caused by watering too frequently or a lack of drainage in the soil. Here are some of the warning signs that you should be looking out for:

Yellow or pale leaves
Brown spots on the leaves.
The leaves developing a mushy texture

On the other hand, you might not be giving the plants enough water. Though this is less common, it’s still something to be aware of. Here are some of the signs that something could be going wrong:

Brown tips start to form around the tips of the leaves. This might also be a sign that the plant is being overfertilized.
Drooping leaves

Curling leaves

If you catch these signs early, you will be able to bring the aloe vera plant back to life. To do this, you will need to remove it from the pot and soak the roots in water. Leave it for 48 hours. While you are doing this, you can look at the compost. You might need to add some more organic materials to aid water retention.

Generally, you will need to give them water every few days. Then, you just need to mist the leaves occasionally. Aloe vera doesn’t like to be sitting in wet soil for an extended period.

The plant can also give you some signs that the nutrient mix in the soil isn’t correct. Here are some of the signs that the aloe vera isn’t getting enough nutrients. These signs can include:

Brown spots appearing on the leaves
Brown markings around the edges of the leaves

Yellowing leaves
Stunted growth

Compost is one of the primary ways that plants get nutrients. But it won’t last forever. Plants will eventually extract all the nutrients. You can try sprinkling a little more compost on the top of the plant.

Though the best option is usually to add some fertilizer, you want to get something that will be designed to release nutrients over the long term. You should be able to find one that will be tailored to suit succulent plants, like aloe vera. Usually, this will mean trying to find something with an NPK ratio of 0.5-1-0.5.

You should only need to apply fertilizer or top up the compost once or twice a year. These plants won’t drain soil nutrients too quickly.

Final Thoughts

Growing aloe vera doesn’t have to be a difficult task. As long as you get good succulent compost, you will have the plants’ drainage and nutrients to thrive. Then, just mix it with some potting soil, and you will be ready to plant the aloe vera. If you have any problems, you can look at the leaves to try and troubleshoot the problem. But, as long as you establish a good watering schedule, you shouldn’t have any issues growing this species.

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