Selfsufficientish.com

Hello, I recently aquired an Aloe Vera from Freecycle and looked up how to keep it in a book. It said (as did the lady I got it from) that being a succulent you only water it when it's bone dry but with this treatment it started going brown and as soon as I gave it lashings of water came back green and healthy. Hope the roots aren't rotting!

Best wishes, Jill

I hope my misadventures with an aloe vera will help others.
I was given a large plant and 2 babies less than 6 months ago. Mistake #1, I repotted them into regular compost (they need special soil for desert plants, or a mix 9 parts perlite). Mistake #2, babies were moved straight into a sunny spot when they were used to shade (they don't like sudden changes in sunlight). Babies died within a month.

Mistake #3, I noticed some leaves looking unhealthy. I watered a bit more (weekly) - got worse. Watered less (like, left it for 3 weeks) - got worse. Finally, I read that the rotten bits need to be cut off. This was probably 6 weeks after I first noticed the problem. Removed the leaves and a few days later went to check for rotten roots and ... the entire root system was brown and rotten with tiny white insects all over . So that is it, I feel very sorry for the poor thing - it managed quite well before I got a hold of it!