Aloe Vera

Aloe vera

herb

Aloe vera is the familiar clumping succulent grown on countless windowsills for the cool, clear gel inside its thick, fleshy, spine-edged leaves - a classic windowsill plant. It forms a rosette of upright gray-green leaves and, in good conditions, sends up a tall spike of tubular yellow or orange flowers. Native to the Arabian Peninsula and tender to frost, it is hardy outdoors only in zones 9 to 11; everywhere else it is an easy, nearly indestructible houseplant that asks for sun, sharp drainage, and very little water. A single plant slowly offsets into a colony of pups.

✅ Plant alongside

Good neighbors that attract beneficial insects or deter pests

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🛡️ Pest & disease prevention

Proactive ways to stop trouble before it starts. Tap a name with an arrow for its full guide

• Mealybugs →

  White cottony clusters in the leaf axils - dab with an alcohol-dipped swab and isolate affected plants

• Scale →

  Scrape or wipe off the small brown bumps on leaves and treat with horticultural oil if needed

• Root rot →

  The main killer - use fast-draining mix, a pot with drainage, and water only when the soil is dry

🌾 Harvest & storage

Harvest from a mature plant (at least a year old) by cutting an entire outer leaf at the base with a clean knife, taking the older lower leaves first and only a few at a time so the plant keeps growing. Use the clear inner gel fresh - slit the leaf and scoop or squeeze it out, discarding the green skin and the yellow latex just beneath it. The gel does not store long fresh, so cut a leaf only as needed.

🥗 Nutrition & benefits

Aloe is grown for the clear gel inside its leaves, used externally on skin; the green leaf skin and yellow latex are not eaten (the latex is a harsh laxative). It doubles as one of the easiest, most forgiving houseplants, tolerating neglect and bright sun and slowly multiplying into a potful of pups.

⚠️ Toxicity & safety

Use with caution. The clear inner leaf gel is the part used (mainly on skin); the yellow latex just beneath the skin contains aloin, a harsh laxative that can cause cramps and is not recommended to swallow. Use the gel, avoid the latex, and do not rely on aloe as an oral laxative.