How does the aloe vera plant help you?
The aloe vera plant gives you medicine, oxygen, beauty, and so much more. Plus, when taken care of, they will propagate more plants year after year without intervention from you. That’s what I call health and sustainability.
Aloe Vera plants in the right environment can grow almost anywhere. The offspring of an Arizona aloe vera plant from 2005 have found their way to New York, Alaska, Maine, Vermont, and Pennsylvania. It all started with one plant that continuously created baby plants which were sent to people who wanted some. Who knows exactly where the offsprings of this one plants are now.
An aloe vera plant doesn’t need someone with a green thumb. Just someone who will take a few minutes to learn how the plant grows and where. In Arizona, the aloe vera plants grew all along my fence line. In the winter months I covered them if there was a chance of frost. In the summertime, I made sure they had enough water, and very rarely needed to water them. In Alaska, the aloe vera is kept in a greenhouse, a window or under a light bulb, depending on the time of year. On the east coast, aloe vera plants are grown inside or in a greenhouse most of the year.
The aloe vera plant is a hardy plant with the exception of one thing. They cannot get frozen. Once a plant freezes, it defrosts and becomes literal mush. The entire plant becomes gooey and dies. If the plant doesn’t have enough water, it doesn’t flourish and reproduce, but it takes a lot for them to die from dehydration.
History and Information
Scientific Name: Aloe Vera
Botanical name: Aloe barbadensis
Type: Succulent Plant
Known For: alternative herbal medicine
Historically: Usage dates back to the first century AD
Usage
Aloe Vera has been used to promote healing and health for years. Inside the tough outer layer lies a soft, cooling, juicy meat, which has many uses. You can use the inner part of the aloe vera plant externally, internally, for cleaning, and assisting in your garden, too. Make sure you follow the guidelines of your health care practitioner before treating yourself with aloe vera.
Historically, aloe has been used to fight everything from digestive problems to bacterial and viral infections. Adding aloe to your daily regime may show positive results in your health and environment.
Are you sun burned? Place a piece of the meaty part of the aloe on the burn area. Aloe helps with different burns such as from a hot pan. If you experience third-degree burns or the skin begins to get infected, see a medical practitioner immediately.
Eating a teaspoon of aloe vera meat several times a week has been said to aid in digestive health and immunity. Make sure you clean the yellow coating off of the meat prior to eating to avoid stomach issues. This yellow goo, as I call it, is bitter and can cause diarrhea.
Add aloe to your cleaning regimens adds antibacterial elements to your cleaning without adding chemicals. I’ve used a mixture of baking soda, lemon, and aloe to clean the bathrooms, kitchen, and laundry area.
Easy to Grow
All you need is a shoot from an aloe plant or a small starter plant. Place the plant or starter in well-drained dirt. Water weekly until it is established. After that, water when you notice the dirt being really dry or if the aloe plant doesn’t look plump. A healthy aloe plant’s leaves are plump when you touch them. Make sure you wipe down the leaves, allowing the plant to breathe.
An aloe vera plant can live for decades when given a large enough space. Every year it will shoot off flowers with seeds. Plus, new plants will shoot off of the roots, making the aloe plant a very easy plant to always have around.