I brought home a spotted aloe vera home that is real healthy and needs to be re-potted. It is just getting too big for its pot.

Aloe chinensis - Indian Medicine Plant
Asphodelaceae

Aloe chinensis, or Indian Medicine Plant, is the common plant that most of us grow as Aloe vera. They are native to India and Vietnam. Leaves are fleshy, bluish-green with white markings, lanceolate to 12 inches (30 cm) long and have prominent whitish teeth that run their entire length. The yellow sap from the plant has been used as a purgative and for treating burns and sores for centuries. They are easy to culture and are hardy in USDA zones 8-12.

Blooming Time: In the spring. The orange, tubular flowers are quite showy.

Culture: Aloe chinensis need full sun to partial shade to high indirect lighting with a well-drained soil mix. In the greenhouse, we use a soil mix consisting of 2 parts sand to 1 part peat moss to 1 part loam. The plants are well watered and then allowed to dry before water is applied again. They are fertilized monthly during the growing season. If the plants are grown for medicinal purposes they should be watered more and not allowed to dry completely. During the winter months, plants are watered only enough to keep them from shriveling.

Propagation: Aloe chinensis are propagated from offshoots of the main plant or from seed, when available.

Aloe chinensis was featured as Plant of the Week April 30-May 6, 2004.

http://www.plantoftheweek.org/week258.shtml

There are over 450 variations of Aloe. Who knew? Some get 20 feet or taller.

I planted some hens and chicks succulents, I think they are part of the cactus family, but when you plant them they spread and they are very hearty you can leave them outside uncovered during the winter and they don't die off, as long as they are watered, they are such cool plants.

I am real curious about the Christmas cactus. I was just reading up on it. Since I don't have a green thumb I am checking up on plants that don't need a lot of attention. The aloe is my attempt to retry with plants. I had a nice Venus fly trap but the bugs got it.

The Christmas cactus that sounds interesting, I used to have a whole bunch of little cactus plants around, I put them in places where my cats wouldn't get into them, however that didn't work out to hot so I had to get rid of my cactus plants, my cats wanted to play with them as toys that is not a good thing.

There are like six plants in the pot. The original plant and the pups. A plant that has pups? I didn't know that plants could have pups.

Neither did I, learn something new everyday.

Yeah. Crazy Cat wanted to use the plant that was on the dryer for a litter box. So I got him a real nice litter box and put it in the closet. The cat liked the heat off the dryer.

Cats are so funny in there own special way.

I have found that Crazy Cat likes the radiating heater in the front room and just lays in front of it all the time now. I am going to try hanging pots that the cat can't get to.

Hanging pots now that is a great idea, however I think my cats would find a way to get to those also, but I could try it.

I have a friend who is into hydroponics. I am just now getting on the wagon with it. He grows some really healthy plants but I am into the legal variety.

Its best to keep it legal.

I heard that. On the positive side I did get some free bathroom furniture when he was making that new room. He just didn't need the furniture and it gave me some new furniture for my new bathroom I have been building. He was so determined but I think the paranoia got to him. I think he would have made a good gypsy or carnie as he started over from scratch so many times.

He learned the hard way but got attracted to hydroponics in general. He turned scientist with it. His reading skills dramatically improved. Like the cat his curiosity was improved. He has some outstanding vegetables grown hydroponically.

Rainbow...I live in Michigan and have my Aloe in a west facing window where it gets the afternoon sunshine which is the hottest. They require very little water. I only water mine about every other week...and very little. But they do require fertalization just like every other plant you live with. Here are a couple of pictures of mine.

I don't even keep my aloe in the sun (it outgrew all the windows). Actually, I don't even heat the room it's in. I only water it like once every couple months (I keep forgetting I have it). I've had it for YEARS and it's still in the original pot (which it's now 10x bigger than). All reality says that it shoulda died LOOOONNNNNGGGGG ago, but yet it keeps multiplying and getting bigger and bigger! If somebody can manage to kill one of these, they shouldn't even be playing Farmville.

I tend to take to good of care of my houseplants and end of killing them from overwatering, but I do have one survivor, a Snake plant or also called cast iron plant that sits in a corner of my living room I only water it about once every four months and it just keeps growing. I have to fight off the urge to water it more often but then I tell myself that it's doing just fine without my "care".

I used to have a christmas cactus. It's kind of like a succulent and doesn't need much attention. It does need to be watered well now and then, but not too often. It needs light but not direct sun. It has fantastic flowers, but in order to bloom it has to be stressed for a couple of months beforehand. The easiest way to stress it is to let it dry out really well and reduce the light it gets. Then about 6-8 weeks before you want the flowers, you start up with the water and light again. The reason it's called christmas cactus is that it usually flowers in December.

It likes to have plant food along with its water. The one I had got so big I ended up breaking it apart and rerooting the pieces.