How propitious
Three years ago, I was gifted a neglected, starving aloe vera snippet. I welcomed it home by replanting it in decent soil and putting it in a propitious place. Maybe it was the propitiousness of the place, but the sad waif perked up within a couple days and began to thrive, so if you are transplanting an aloe vera plant, be propitious.
Some folks with expensive equipment and time on their hands study molecular clocks, and they claim the Aloe genus sprang up in southern Africa at least ten million years ago, give or take a million. It spread itself north (no humans yet) and diverged into countless species along the way.
The aloe vera species seems to have originated in northern Saudi Arabia. The Arabic language has the word “aloeh” which means “shining bitter substance.” I’m impressed there is a word for such a specific concept, but it is the source of present-day word “aloe.” Vera just means you should always tell the truth.
Baby aloes (called pups) sprouted one or two at a time from the plant that came home with me (aren’t they cute!), and then the pups grew up and had babies, etc., to this day. The original is now surrounded by as many healthy individuals as can fit in the pot. How are they gonna make new ones if there is no room? And if they all are attached, does that mean it is one plant with a thousand faces? I hope so.
You and I both should transplant pups into their own spaces to give the pup mama room to relax. They transplant easily. Wiggle your finger along the root of the pup to its source, which is where it is attached to mama. It should separate easily, and, it should already have its own roots. You would have, for sure, already prepared the new pot of happening soil for the pup on the move, so nestle it in and smile. That’s just one, and there are more. Aloe veras are that way.
I have given away many healthy pups, and I’m not the only one. Folks generally appreciate free aloe veras, but Malthusian logic tells us that at some point, if we keep spreading pups around, everyone will have all they have room for. In our area, they need to spend winters inside or in protective spaces. Aloe veras can’t handle temperatures below 40° because the water in their cells freezes, expands, bursts the cell walls and makes a mess. Bummer.
Curiously, the alleged homeland of the species is the coldest region of Saudi Arabia where temperatures have dropped below 0°F. Pack your parka if you’re going to Turaif in winter and leave your aloe vera home.
Aloe vera was important to Nefertiti and Cleopatra because they liked being beautiful. Just slather it on and dance like an Egyptian. Components in aloe moisturize, soften and relax the skin but also assist in healing skin issues such as sunburn, other mild burns, bruises and acne. It also provides antioxidants to combat free radical activity in the neighborhood.
Somebody since then counted more than 70 active components in the aloe vera including amino acids, saponins, all your favorite minerals and vitamins such as A, B12, C and E.
How does one take advantage of aloe vera? Snip off a pointy leaf, peel back the tip of the rind to expose the gel inside, and rub it on. Skin absorbs all the good stuff quickly. There are also dozens of hand lotions, gels, moisturizers, facial creams and ointments containing aloe vera for protecting and relaxing skin.
There is also aloe juice which I for years have mixed with other juices for my morning drink. I was dismayed to read that prolonged use of aloe juice has a possible link to colorectal cancer, so I better change my ways. Moderation.
As I was moving my big pot of aloes inside for the winter, I realized the former neglected waif, now surrounded by two or three generations of pups, had flowered! How propitious!