What Is Aloe Maculata?
Aloe Maculata is a succulent plant that contains many healthful benefits. It is usually used for its medicinal qualities and in-home and beauty products. Still, it can also be grown as an attractive addition to your indoor garden or patio.
Aloe Maculata Care & Maintenance:
The Powdery Aloe is an easy-to-care-for succulent that grows well in indirect light and dry conditions. It can withstand drought but prefers to be watered regularly, especially during its growing season (spring through summer).
This houseplant tolerates temperatures between 50-80 degrees F and will not tolerate cold or hot weather.
If you try to grow it outside of these ranges, this plant will likely die. You’ll enjoy the most success if your plant isn’t moved too much or placed in a location with extreme temperature changes.
Light Requirements:
Like most succulent plants, the Powdery Aloe prefers bright indirect light but will survive in low-light settings.
Aloe Maculata is best suited to grow in bright sunlight (or near a window that gets lots of natural light throughout the day).
This plant will grow indoors or outdoors and needs at least 6 hours of direct or indirect sunlight each day.
The easiest way to tell if your Aloe Maculata is getting enough sun is by looking at its leaves: If it looks pale, it may need more sun.
It’s also important for this plant to receive bright light throughout the day instead of just morning or evening sun exposure.
Otherwise, your Aloe Maculata may become leggy and weak over time.
Depending on the temperature of your environment, you may need to move this plant outside for the summer or winter months.
It will grow in full sun during the summer and loves to bask in cool weather but should not be left outdoors during freezing temperatures.
If you choose to bring it inside for the winter, keep your Aloe Maculata near a bright window.
Aloe Maculata Water Requirements
This succulent is drought-tolerant, but it does best when watered regularly. Allow the soil to dry slightly between waterings but do not let it become bone-dry, or the plant may die.
When growing Aloe Maculata, use a potting mix that drains well (such as cactus and succulent soil) and keep the top 1 inch of soil moist at all times. Water thoroughly until you see water draining from the bottom of the planting container.
Aloe Maculata Soil Requirements
Aloe Maculata prefers a well-draining, gritty mix that is roughly one-third sand. You can achieve this by mixing equal parts of regular potting soil with coarse sand or perlite.
Powdered sulfur and bulb food may also be added as slow-release fertilizers to help the plant maintain strong growth. Be sure to avoid high nitrogen fertilizer as it will cause the Aloe to grow rapidly, making it vulnerable to frost damage if you live in an area where temperatures fall below 50 degrees F
Fertilizing Your Plant With Aloe Maculata Fertilizer
The best time for fertilizing your Aloe Maculata is during its active growing season (spring through summer). Dilute a weak, organic liquid food with water and use the solution to feed your plant once a month during this time.
This feeding schedule ensures that your plant does not develop nutrient deficiencies or become vulnerable to insect attack. Here are some compatible slow-release fertilizers:
Osmocote (15-13-13) or Nutricote (14-14-14); both available in the granular form at most nurseries.
No fertilizer is needed during the winter months since growth slows down considerably when temperatures drop below 50 degrees Fahrenheit. If you live in a warmer climate where Aloe Maculata may be grown outdoors for part of the year, you can substitute an all-purpose houseplant food year-round.
Temperature and Humidity Requirements
Aloe Maculata prefers a warm, dry environment with moderate humidity. In the wild, this succulent is accustomed to arid conditions with infrequent rain.
To achieve the best results growing your plant indoors, you should have a room where temperatures stay between 60-90 degrees, and humidity stays below 50% year-round. However, if you keep it in an area that falls outside of this range, your Aloe will likely survive, but its growth may be stunted.
This succulent prefers daytime temperatures between 75-85 degrees F and wilts when exposed to direct sunlight for long periods without sufficient water or above 90 degrees Fahrenheit.
If you live in a warmer climate where temperatures are consistently over 90 degrees, you can grow your plant outdoors during the summer and move it indoors when temperatures begin to drop.
Fertilizing Requirements
Aloe Maculata requires little fertilizer, but it does need regular feeding during the growing season to maintain strong growth. If you live in a warm area where Aloe may be grown outdoors for part of the year, use a slow-release houseplant food (such as Osmocote ) once a month during spring and summer.
If you’re keeping your plant indoors, fertilize it once every two weeks in spring and summer with an all-purpose liquid fertilizer diluted by half or with a weak solution of fish emulsion. When using an organic alternative like fish emulsion, apply at full strength twice per month.
Even if your plant is only 8″ tall, it has already begun storing energy that will sustain its growth for several years. When it reaches the end of its growing life, you may need to remove only a few leaves and let it continue living for 7-10 more years.
If your plant has stopped growing or new growth is stunted (which can result if it’s in too small a pot), repotting will give it time to build up enough energy reserves to create new shoots again.
Cut out any browned or dead roots along with 1/3 of the soil in the planting container. If you notice air pockets between root clusters when doing this, keep cutting away soil until they disappear and then replace it all back into the container following steps from our How to Repot an Aloe Vera article before watering thoroughly.
Potting and repotting Requirements
When you first bring your plant home, transplant it into a container that’s one size larger than the last. This will help prevent its roots from getting bound up and becoming more difficult to manage as your plant grows older. Over time, Aloe Maculata will require repotting every 2-3 years to maintain optimal growth (once during summer and once in winter).
Use well-draining soil for your plants, such as a mix of coarse sand or peat moss mixed with commercial potting soil. If you are an avid gardener and can find this succulent at a local nursery growing in the ground, dig it up using our How to Dig Up an Aloe Vera Plant article and replant it in the same way.
When repotting, be sure to increase the size of your container by at least a few inches if you are able and choose one with drainage holes on all sides for best results. Avoid plastic containers since they hold moisture poorly and cause Aloe Maculata to rot more easily.
Propagating this plant is fairly difficult even for experienced gardeners and can take several years to produce a mature enough plant for transplanting into a different home. If you would like to try propagating your Aloe Maculata, we recommend using our How to Propagate an Aloe Vera Plant article for step-by-step instructions for each propagation method.
Aloe Maculata Propagation info on
If you have any questions about watering or repotting your plant, feel free to post them in the comments section of this article, and we will be glad to help! For more specific questions regarding growth rates or soil requirements, please contact a local greenhouse for assistance.
We hope you enjoyed reading this care guide for Aloe Maculata and that it helps you make the most of your experience with this fascinating houseplant.
Aloe Maculata Problems
Aloe Maculata is a succulent plant, so its leaves are made of a thick, fleshy substance, and the entire leaf isn’t just the ‘ribs.’ The stem that attaches the leaf to the main trunk is usually hard if you take a carving knife and slice into it.
If you experience problems with your Aloe Maculata plant, one way to diagnose what may be wrong is by cutting back part or all of its leaves entirely. This will immediately reveal whether or not any pests can cause discoloration or misshapen leaves. If this doesn’t work, try taking some of its roots as well.
Sometimes pests like mealybugs or scale will make their homes in the hearts of your Aloe Maculata plants, and getting rid of these pests involves physically removing them.
If you have any serious doubts about what might be wrong with it, always seek out professional help from an experienced gardener to ensure that you don’t do more harm than good.
If you are having problems growing this plant indoors, keep in mind that high levels of humidity can cause Aloe Maculata leaves to rot or become soft and discolored.
Monitor the humidity levels in your home by using a humidity gauge on sale at Amazon for under $10, ensuring that they stay above 40% year-round. This will go a long way towards growing healthy plants and preventing leaf problems.
Aloe Maculata Insects & Diseases:
Aphids, whiteflies, and mealybugs may occasionally attack the Powdery Aloe. These are usually only a problem during periods of cool, damp weather.
Treat infestations early to prevent spreading; use an organic insect control solution or encourage natural predators like ladybugs by keeping the plant out of direct sunlight and away from drafts for several weeks after treatment.
If the infestation is severe, use a soap spray to wash off any insect residue and treat it with neem oil.
We also highly recommend that you check out our Aloe Maculata Problems page for more information about how to treat this pesky succulent if it becomes infected with a disease or pest.
