I have had this Aloe plant for about six months. It has grown significantly, but I went to water it and I noticed it was very wobbly. I then noticed that it had absolutely no roots and I could pick it up out of the soil. Can it grow new roots or is it just going to die ?

Not to worry .. it should grow more roots at the base .. just keep the soil a bit on the dry side of moist - that will encourage it to make roots.

Yes it will still grow roots. Helps to put a heat mat below if you want, to encourage root development. And do keep it warm and dry, it has enough moisture in its leaves, so it should ably endure as it slowly attempts to make new roots.

Oh! Forgot to add ... Welcome to NGA Lmb!

When I bought mine it was very tiny and barely living and the roots weren't there. I transferred it over to a bigger pot, kept it out of direct sun light, but still in a well lit room and now its roots are very long. It has gotten so big that I just transferred it to its 3rd pot last night. I haven't used hormones or anything special just filtered water.

I just bought plant food last night to give to it, so perhaps you can try that as well? Just be sure to keep yours in its soil and keep an eye on it. Try not to mess with it too much unless it's getting re-potted. Remember these things take time. Oh and don't over water it! maybe once or twice a week should do it. Remember they are succulents not cacti, so they don't take well to direct sunlight like cati do either. Keep it in a well lit room and just tend to it when needed. Good luck and keep us updated on it!

Getting the plant to grow new roots should be pretty straightforward, given time and patience. The issue you have to face at some point is why the plant lost its roots in first place. Without making any changes to care, you are very likely to see this happen again. It most likely has to do with water (too much) and/or light (too little). If you can explain a little about how you are taking care of the plant, we can help you figure this out.

Try to let the bottom of the plant dry and heal well before putting it back down in moist soil, or there will be a risk of rot. There's no harm whatsoever in allowing the rootless plant to sit in a warm, protected place for a few days so the bottom can heal completely.

Plant food is a bad idea without roots. It serves no purpose when there is no uptake. Watering once or twice a week is almost certainly too often in a protected indoor environment. You want to wait until the soil is drying out before watering. Maybe every 2-3 weeks this time of year, given good light and mild temps. Maintaining a regular cycle of wet-dry will help keep the plant in its groove, once it has roots again. And there is no way you can provide too much sunlight indoors... indoor sun is not direct because regular window glass cuts most of the UV. The more natural light, the better in an indoor environment this time of year (in the northern hemisphere).

These plants thrive outside in the sun, so you might consider moving it out when things warm up and it has grown new roots. Just be careful to gradually ramp up the light over the course of weeks, starting with bright shade, so the plant doesn't get shocked.

That's actually wrong. I've had other aloe plants indoors protected by a closed blind in my kitchen and they still received too much sun light and died. If you also look up the information on succulents, 'the more sun the better', is not good for these plants since they aren't cactus's. Sun is good, yes, but too much sun can kill them. They need shade as well. I've had some outdoor aloe's in the sun too and they didn't make it because the sun was too much, so with that being said it also depends on where the plants are located in the home and what zone the op is in and how are they currently taking care of the plants.

I can assure you that your aloes indoors behind the blinds did not receive too much sunlight. There must have been something else going on. How did you discover the problem?

There are shade aloes and there are sun aloes, but when it comes to indoor cultivation, they're all sun aloes. To some degree or another. I speak from experience. Normally indoor light is limited by what's outside blocking the window, or what direction it faces, so that the best you can hope for is a few hours a day.

Provided there's not an issue with heat or airflow, indoor sun is very kind to your plants. Especially compared to outdoor sun, which is a different beast entirely. And that's not something you can test by sticking a shade-grown plant outside in full sun straight away... the key is gradual adjustment when any plant is undergoing the transition from indoor life to outdoor sun.

My own garden is built around the principle of trying to provide my plants as much light as possible (as much as they will tolerate in many cases). In the process of losing scores of plants to sunburn, I have gradually learned to be much more cautious in how I ramp up the light. But I speak from experience when I describe the behavior of these plants, and how much light they will enjoy and tolerate, indoors and outdoors in our mild climate.

I speak from experience as well. The way I discovered my plants were dying from too much sun is because I had got some white leaves developing on the ones indoors and the ones out doors were turning white and brown. They were given the right care to them, but the incident just happened. I manage to save what ones I could. But, I live in a very unpredictable place so one minute it's really hot and the next it's really cold and wet. Last year we reached 109 F and the air was so thick just going outside made you sweat and pant. My plants that are inside are still in the same room they're just not directly in front of the window anymore. They're very healthy. But, each plant differs I suppose.

That kind of weather can be really hard on these plants. In my own mind I try to separate the effects of light and heat (which obviously tend to come together, in the real world). In the absence of extreme heat (our annual high temp is around 90F/32C) I get to see the effects of light without the confounding factor of temperature. In a climate-controlled setting with moderate humidity (like some people's living rooms) you get the same opportunity. We have neither heating nor cooling, so our indoors is a lot like our outdoors.

I did not mean to imply that aloes can't survive indoors without any sun, or that they can't do well given plenty of reflected/diffused light. The point has to do with tolerance. Which is something I have a particular interest in because almost all my plants will end up in a full sun situation when they are full grown.

Thanks for the messages everyone. I'm not sure what went wrong with this one, as I have a very healthy and strong ~3 year Aloe that I treat similarly. I think it was overwatered and developed some root rot. I didn't adjust my watering schedule enough during these cold months and I think it grew weak. I will take your advice and hopefully bring this little guy back to life!

Hey everyone, I'm new here, so I'm not exactly sure where to post my question. I have a similar problem with my aloe vera having no roots, but I think it's also due to rot. I was transplanting some things today and when I came to this little guy I realized it wasn't connected to roots at all. It's almost like it detached itself, because the root cluster is still there in the dirt. The base of the plant is discolored and a little soft. I also noticed some discoloration at the base of some of the leaves. Is there anything I can do to save the plant? Any suggestions would be very very helpful!

I will direct my answer to this thread you started...

The thread "Aloe vera no roots/rotten?" in Ask a Question forum

My median Aloe Vera plant has no roots too. I am confused, some people say keep the soil moist, some say dry. Which is correct?

I would say both (or neither) are correct, based on how I handle aloes with no roots. I water well when the soil is dry at depth, so it cycles from wet to dry over time. The soil should not stay wet, but there is no advantage to leaving it dry either. Just bear in mind that a rootless plant will not be able to extract water from the soil, so it may take longer to dry out than you might otherwise expect.

I rescued some aloe Vera plants that were run over & uprooted by a tractor. Some have roots, some don't. There are also about 50 "pups" in varying degrees of damage. I've trimmed all dead, dying & chewed up leaves. How should I go about re-planting all of these plants? I'm in southern Calif zone 9b.

Plant them so that the leaves are above ground and just the little nub of leafless stem is below ground. Use fast draining soil, like regular potting soil with an equal volume of perlite, pumice, or equivalent mixed in. The bigger aloes could go into 1 gallon pots, the smaller ones maybe 6 inch pots, or 3 per 8 inch pot. Once they are going strong and start putting out new leaves you can consider moving them up a size. A single rosette of Aloe vera can fill a 10 inch pot (3 gallon) pot on its own over time, before it needs separating or expanding from there. Provide strong light, but ideally not a lot of overhead midday sun to young, recently separated plants. Maybe filtered light or morning sun would be ideal at this time.

Stick them in some very fast draining gritty soil and wait a week before watering. Wait until you see new growth to water again. Not sure those are aloe vera though . There many different Aloes.

Cross posted! Listen to Baja!

Listen to Carol!