How To Water Aloe Vera Plant – The Expert Way

Knowing how to water Aloe Vera is very critical for its proper growth and care.

Although aloe vera plant doesn’t require much maintenance but watering it properly is one aspect that should be taken care very seriously.


So, what is the proper way of watering aloe vera?

Aloe vera loves to be flooded with water, but you should provide gap between watering it by letting the potting soil to dry. Another important factor is watering directly over the soil rather than the leaves of the plant with the help of pointed water can.


Let’s dive more into it and see what other things you should be aware of and signs that you are probably doing it the wrong way.

Watering Aloe Vera Plant – The Expert Way

Aloe Vera succulent in potting soil

How often to Water Aloe Vera?

Aloe vera plant is a succulent, which means it stores water in its leaves.

So, you don’t need to water it as frequently as you water other plants.

A general rule is to check whether the top 1-2 inches of the soil has dried by inserting your finger inside the soil,

If yes.

Then water it thoroughly so much so that water seeps out of the drainage holes.

Usually, you can water aloe vera plant every week or so during summers as the water evaporates at faster rate.

If the summers are too harsh in your area, and the soil seems to dry out very quickly then you can water it every 3-4 days.

In winters, the amount of evaporation will be very less and your aloe vera plant won’t require that much of water, so you can water it once in every 10-12 days.

How Often Should You Water Aloe Vera Pups?

Aloe vera pups are the babies of aloe vera and are in their growing stage.

So, they need more frequent watering than full grown plant as they are yet to develop roots.

You can water them every 3-5 days until they develop roots.

And once they grow big, you can reduce watering.

Signs You Are Watering Your Aloe Vera All Wrong

Your aloe vera plant will give you obvious signs, if you water it wrongly, that you must keep an eye on otherwise you can sadly, lose this gorgeous plant.

The first obvious sign is thin leaves

Have you recently noticed that your aloe vera plant leaves are getting thinner day by day?

Thin plant

This is an obvious sign that you are not providing enough water to your aloe vera plant and keep them thirsty so much that they are using the water stored in their leaves for making food.

If you keep this on for a long time, your plant will ultimately die.

Which you don’t want for sure.

So, start giving them nice deep watering and not the keep the soil dry for a longer period of time.

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Leaves Turning White, Transparent & Soft

If your aloe vera has developed white and soft leaves, it can very well be caused due to overwatering or too frequent watering.

When you overwater or not let the soil to dry out between watering, aloe vera is forced to store excess water in its leaves and thus turns white and transparent.

It is a good time to think of your watering schedule and ask yourself when was the last time you did finger test before watering your aloe vera.

If you don’t remember it.

Let your plant, use the excess water and don’t water it too frequently in future.

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Leaves Turning Brown and Mushy

This is the final stage of overwatering aloe vera plant, if you keep the schedule of watering aloe vera frequently without letting the soil to dry.

It starts to turn brown and the leaves start to rot as they cannot handle this much of water inside them.

Brown leaves of aloe vera

This is a serious problem as the roots also starts to rot and the plant is not able to breathe and will certainly die if proper steps are not taken immediately.

The solution to this is taking the aloe vera plant out of the soil carefully and cutting the mushy looking roots with the help of sterilized knife and letting the roots to dry.

Then again put the plant back in the potting mix.

If the potting mix is very soggy in nature than you should also change it with new fast draining potting mix.

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Rotting of Specific Portion of Aloe Vera Leaves

It is caused when you water all over the plant leaves rather than the soil.

The right way to water aloe vera plant is to water directly on the potting soil and not the leaves of the plant.

Because, the structure of aloe vera is such that the water gets hold in it.

And stays in touch with leaves and starts to cause rotting of that particular part.

So, always use a pointed water can so that you can easily water directly on the root and not over the leaves.

If you somehow spill water over its leaves, do wipe it out with the help of clean cloth to avoid rotting.

Aloe Vera Plant Leaves Bending

This can be caused due to many reasons, as I explained in my last post.

But one major reason can be watering malpractice.

Aloe Vera Plant Leaves Bending

Both underwatering and overwatering can cause Aloe Vera leaves to bend.

So, follow all the best practice to keep your aloe Vera plant happy and thriving.

Should You Water Aloe Vera After Repotting?

This is one common question that a lot of people keep asking:

The answer to this is, No.

You shouldn’t.

Once repotted, the plant should be allowed to grow roots in its new environment and not be watered until then.

So, you should wait for at least 1 week to let it develop roots and then you can start giving it water.

Other Important Factors

There are two major factors that also play an important role in successfully watering your aloe vera plant.

Use a well-drained potting soil

Your watering schedule and all the points I told you above won’t matter much, if the potting soil that you use for aloe vera is not fast draining.

As aloe vera loves deep watering, if you don’t use a fast-draining soil, the soil will get soggy as excess water won’t be able to flush out and result in root rot.

Use sand, perlite and pebbles in your potting mix to make it quick draining.

And all your watering precaution will go in vain.

Using Filtered Water to Water Aloe Vera Plant

This one is optional and only applies for places where the municipality water has lot of salt content in it.

If this is the case, your plant will gradually start to become pale in color and grow unhealthy.

In such situation, you should use normal temperature filtered water.

Wrapping Up

I hope this guide has helped you in understanding the basics of watering aloe vera plant and things you should be aware about.

If you still have any doubts, do let me know.

Please share this article with your friends and family member as it help me reach more people and help them out.

Happy Gardening.