Why Are The Tips of My Aloe Plant Drying Out? ( And How to Fix It)

There are moments when the plant’s general appearance is quite healthy, but you notice that the aloe leaf tips are drying out. This can happen even if you take care of it well.  

You could immediately assume that lack of water is causing your aloe vera to dry out tips. After watering it, you find that your aloe is not reviving.  So, you should try to identify the exact cause and solution before you do anything. 

Aloe vera plant tips drying out because it does not have enough space in the pot and the plant can not receive enough nutrients. The drying out of the tips is a signal that your aloe needs transplantation. Repotting to a new pot can fix this problem.

What Causes Drying Out of Aloe Vera Plant Tips 

There are some common reasons why aloe vera leaves turn yellow.  Also, we will talk about the options of reviving your aloe if the tips of your aloe are drying out. 

• Placing the aloe vera plant in direct sunlight. The plant prefers a lot of natural light.  But strong direct sunlight may burn the leaves and the leaf tips may dry out.
• Overdrying the soil. Despite the fact that aloe is succulent, the plant prefers slightly moist soil with drying between waterings.
• Waterlogging of the soil, especially in the cold season. Stagnant water at the roots is the reason why the tips of leaves dry out. So, you have to ensure proper drainage of water from the soil.
• Waterlogging conditions will cause cold damage in winter and also root rot.
• Lack of light, particularly in the fall and winter periods. Darkness usually does not lead to drying out. Nevertheless, the shadow creates a favorable environment for aloe vera diseases. 

Now,  aloe tips dry out not only due to improper care. Your plant can show these symptoms because of insect infestation and disease infection.

Aloe Vera Plant Tips Drying out Because of Insect infestation

You should inspect your plant regularly to find out if there are any pests on aloe.  Carefully examine the plant (root zone, stem, leaf plate). 

As a rule, pests prefer to settle on the lower leaves of the plant.  And you will see that the lower leaf tips are showing dryness symptoms first.

It’s much more difficult to determine the presence of insects when they are inside the stem. So, you need to inspect to find out an opening and entrance. Then you have to take action to eliminate them. 

Let’s know about the possible problems: 

1. Spider mite.  You may find it difficult to see it with the naked eye. You can identify it by the presence of small bright spots along the edge of the leaf plate. Subsequently, a thin cobweb also appears on the leaves and stems.
2. Thrips. This insect sucks the juice off the leaves, thereby weakening them. You will find black lesion dots on the leaves. In this case, the leaves tip dry out and deform.
3. Mealybug. It is the least dangerous insect. If attacked you will see the whitish cottony coating on leaves. You can easily get rid of it with the help of solutions based on alcohol or vinegar. The main prevention of mealybug is the timely watering of plant soil
4. Scale Insect. The pest is like small motionless plaques that you can remove with a fingernail. Initially localized along the main stem, and then switches to leaflets. They also suck juices from stems and leaves. 

At the early stage of infestation, you can wash the leaves of the aloe with a soap or garlic solution.  If the infestation is intensive then you should consider using chemical insecticides. 

Aloe Vera Plant Tips Drying Out Because of Diseases

The most common possible fungal infection is the root rot of aloe. Very rarely, the plant is affected by dry rot, which is almost impossible to notice.

Aloe vera leaf tips may turn yellow due to diseases. Among the most common include root and dry rot. In both cases, there are characteristic signs indicating a disease.

Excessive watering, temperature fluctuations, and unsuitable soil that retains water favors root rot. Drying of leaf tips could only be the primary symptom. Eventually, the plant will turn completely yellow and die.

Root Rot

The most common disease of all succulents is rot. First of all, it affects the root of the plant, then its stem. Thus, the process of decay passes to the leaves and completely destroys the plant. 

Causes of Root Rot 

• Overwatering; 
• Lack of drainage holes at the bottom of the pot; 
• Insufficient soil friability; 
• lack of a drainage layer; 

If you can detect the disease at an early stage you can save it. Transplanting in a new pot with new soil is the only effective treatment. 

Attention!

 If the rot has already passed to the stem or leaves, you can not save your aloe vera.

Dry Rot 

This disease is more dangerous than root rot. Because you can not detect this easily. It affects the entire plant from the inside. It destroys the roots and crown of the aloe within a very short time. 

You may see aloe vera tips drying out because of this disease. Well, it will be the last stage of the disease when it shows any external symptoms. 

Important!

This is a soil borne disease. So be careful selecting soil for your aloe vera plant.

What To Do With Root Problems 

This is one of the common reasons that your aloe can die. If the root system is damaged then the plant will not get enough nutrients and it will show symptoms like aloe tips drying out or yellow leaves.  

Symptoms of Root Diseases

• Unpleasant odor in the soil
• the growth stops; 
• the trunk begins to blacken below,
• Leaves tips dry and turn yellow; 
• Leaves become weak 

When the symptoms appear, you need to take immediate action. Take out the plant from the pot and cut off the infected parts of the root. 

Treat the cut root with charcoal to avoid further infection. Then transplant into another pot and new soil. (Source: Penn State University)

How to Revive A Fully Yellowed Aloe Vera

You may be wondering how to transplant and restore the plant? You should understand this issue. 

If you stop watering in this situation, the root will lose its function to absorb nutrients. As a result, the leaves will dry and turn yellow.

Abundant watering, in this case, will only accelerate the death of your aloe vera. Now, transplanting is the only way to save your plant at this point. 

Important!  

You must remove all the rotten parts of the aloe vera. Otherwise, they will continue to rot even after transplantation.

So, you have the causes of aloe vera tips drying out and ways to fix it. If you take good care of the plant then we can prevent the diseases from infecting.

How To Care For Aloe Vera plant to Prevent Insect and Diseases

You have to provide the plant with the appropriate conditions at home. If you ignore the requirements you will be affected by insects and diseases. 

You can avoid many problems if you follow the simple rules of care: 

• Aloe needs abundant natural lighting. You should consider keeping it on the south or east windowsill with shading from direct sunlight. 
• For growing the aloe vera, both a plastic and clay pot with drainage holes is suitable. To determine the appropriate size of the container, you need to measure the diameter of the crown of the aloe. The diameter of the pot should be approximately two times smaller.
• Water the soil when it dries up completely. Otherwise, excess water will cause the rotting of the roots.  Use settled water at room temperature.
• Aloe can grow in almost any kind of soil. Soil mix specially made for succulents works great. But make sure that the soil you use is free from fungus.
• Consider transplanting your aloe annually in the spring. 
• Carry out topdressing regularly in the summer, using fertilizers for succulents. In the fall-winter period, reduce the amount and frequency of fertilizer application.
• Clean the dust off the leaves with a clean cloth. Dust can block the normal photosynthesis process.
• In summer, spray the leaves in the evening. This will keep them fresh and healthy.

Conclusion

There are several reasons why aloe vera leaf tips dry out. They are mainly associated with improper care. That’s why the diseases and insects will attack.

So, you should try to prevent the disease and insects. Then you never have to worry about your aloe plant tips drying out.

Please let me know if have any suggestions or questions by dropping a comment below.

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