Aloe Vera Plant Leaves Bending (7 Causes + Fix)

Aloe Vera is one of the most common houseplants filled with a plethora of health benefits, but it has its own set of problems and one of those common problems is the bending of aloe vera leaves.

Aloe vera plant leaves bending is caused by many things like careless watering schedule, choosing wrong container, use of the wrong potting soil, improper sunlight schedule and even sudden temperature changes.

So, today I am going to tell you to find out the reason behind bent aloe vera leaves and how to fix it.

Trust me, I know how it feels to see your plant not doing well, as I have experienced this quite a few times in my gardening journey.

And I don’t want you to go on this emotionally draining path.

Aloe Vera Plant Leaves Bending – 7 Possible Reasons & Their Solution

Aloe Vera Plant Leaves Bending

Watering Carelessly – Cause of Aloe Vera Plant leaves bending

One of the main causes of aloe vera plant leaves bending is watering carelessly.

It can be caused by both overwatering and underwatering.

Keep reading further to identify which one might be the cause in your case.

Underwatering:

You must be aware by now that Aloe Vera plant is a succulent and stores water in its leaves, thus it looks so juicy.

So, if you keep your plant thirsty (not provide it with water),
it will have to use up the water stored in its leaves for making food.

Thus, the leaves start to bend.

If you usually forget to water your Aloe Vera plant,
or if its soil is seeming very dry and you can see crack in it then bending of your Aloe Vera leaves can very well be caused by underwatering.

Solution:

Don’t worry, as this can be solved pretty easily, once you start to water it properly. A good rule is to do finger check to find out if the soil is wet or dry. If it feels dry then water it, otherwise don’t.

Overwatering

Anyone who is starting with their gardening journey “many a times” in fear of leaving their plant thirsty water each plant the same way.

And for that matter:

If you are one of those & doing the same with your aloe vera plant, it might be the reason behind your aloe vera plant leaves bending.

Overwatering is a serious problem for Aloe Vera plant and can cause root rot, which in turn restricts the root to transfer water from the soil to the plant and then it starts to take up water from the leaves and cause dents in leaves.

In case of overwatering, you might also see that the aloe leaves start to have black spots. If your aloe vera potting soil looks very wet and soggy there are high chances, you are overwatering it.

You need to take immediate action or else your plant will die.

Read this guide – How to Save Aloe Vera from Root Rot?

How to Fix:

Aloe vera out of potting soil

Take your aloe vera plant carefully out of the potting soil without damaging its roots.

And look for rotted roots and cut them off with the help of a sterilized knife.

These roots will look brownish and spongy in nature.

After this allow the roots to dry and then repot in new potting soil.

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Improper Sunlight

Another main reason behind aloe vera plant leaves bending is improper sunlight.

Aloe vera plant loves sunlight and thrives well under it, however too much of direct sunlight can cause sunburn as it has water inside it leaves.

But:

If you have kept your aloe vera plant in a shady place where it doesn’t receive any amount of sunlight then it will start to bend and completely fall off.

Because lack of sunlight makes the plant weaker.

The only solution is keeping it in a place where it receives bright indirect sunlight for at least 4-5 hours.

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Not Rotating the Container

Are all your aloe vera plant leaves bending in one direction?

This happens because, they are getting sunlight only on one part of the plant so all of the leaves tend to grow in that direction and ultimately bends because they go out of shape.

So, the solution to it is keep rotating the container in which your plant is kept, so that they get sunlight evenly on all parts.

This is very important for Aloe Vera plant because if any part of the container doesn’t receive any amount of sunlight, potting soil of that area start to rot and then spreads all over.

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Exposed To Cold Temperature

If you keep your aloe vera plant outdoors and the temperature in your region has fallen below 0 degree Celsius, this can very well be the reason of aloe vera plant leaves bending.

Because once the temperature falls to freezing temperature the water inside aloe vera starts to function abnormally and may cause bending of leaves.

As aloe vera plant cannot handle such extreme cold weather.

You should move your aloe vera plant indoors and keep them in a place that is a bit warmer.

You will see that your plant will start to recover within 2-3 days.

Recent Location Change

Have you recently moved your plant from indoors to outdoors or vice versa?

question on aloe vera plant

Then this can possibly be the reason behind Aloe Vera’s bent leaves.

Due to sudden changes in temperature, the plant goes under stress and tends to bend.

So, you should always change its location keeping the change in temperature in mind.

You should not move it from indoors where it was receiving only filtered light to sudden harsh bright sunlight.

First keep it in a place where it gets only light morning sunlight for few days, and once it adapts it then move it to direct sunlight.

Otherwise, the shock will make the plant go crazy and result in bending of Aloe Vera leaves.

Faulty Potting Soil – Obvious Reason Behind Aloe Vera Plant Leaves Bending

The reason of your aloe vera plant leaves bending might be just in front of you and you could never see it.

Yes, it can be very well caused by the potting soil you are using for your aloe vera plant.

If the potting soil you are using is not fast draining and holds excess water for a longer period of time, it can cause root rot and thus your plant suffers from bent leaves.

What’s the solution to it?

Change the potting soil immediately, if your aloe vera potting soil is not able to drain out excess water at fast rate.

As, I told you above that aloe vera plant doesn’t require frequent watering but whenever you water it needs to be flooded with water.

So, if the soil is not able to flush out that water swiftly it causes problem.

Make sure that the potting soil has enough sand and pebbles for the water to go out of the drainage holes.  

Peat moss or coco peat if added, should be added in very low quantity.

Choosing Wrong Container

Another shocking cause of your Aloe Vera plant leaves bending can be caused by the container.

And there are quite a few things that can be wrong with your container:

Type of Container:

If you are using a clay pot then there are high chances it is soaking up most of the water and moisture that was intended for your aloe vera plant thus leaving it thirsty.

So, either repot it into a plastic pot, grow bag or use a saucer to help it take up required water.


No Drainage Holes:

Aloe vera plants can go without water for a long period of time but when it is watered it needs to be flooded with it.

So, if your container doesn’t have any drainage holes for excess of water to flush out of it, then it can pretty much cause root rot and result in bending of Aloe Vera leaves.

Also, in absence of drainage holes Aloe Vera plant is devoid of oxygen which can further cause your plant to die out eventually.

Make sure to have 3-4 drainage holes at the bottom of your container.

Size of container:

Aloe Vera plant roots grow in horizontal direction, so having a wider but shallow pot is ideal.

Because if the depth of the pot is too deep it will need more potting soil and more watering and this will increase the chances of root rot.

Which will then cause aloe vera plant leaves to bend.

Choose a container which is 1/3rd larger than its root system.

If You Are Wondering:

What to do with bent Aloe Vera leaves?

Should you cut bent aloe leaves? or leave them as it is?

Unfortunately, the best option is to cut bent leaves of aloe vera as once it has bent there is possibly nothing
you can do to fix it.

So, why not use it for something?

Final Words:

I hope this guide on fixing the bent leaves of aloe vera has helped you out in identifying the reason behind yours and the solution.

Just remember, you are not alone in this and if you ever face any problem related to gardening.

Do visit Garden Troubles and share your problem through the comment section. I will try to help you out as soon as possible.