Plants often provide useful ingredients for treating a multitude of symptoms. While many of these medicinal types of plants grow naturally in subtropical climates, they also thrive in pots as houseplants. One type of useful plant, the aloe vera plant, provides a substance that may help provide relief for topical skin conditions and injuries, such as sunburn. Like other types of plants, aloe vera plants may experience a variety of conditions that can affect their health and growth.
Description
Aloe vera originally comes from Africa and is a member of the lily family. Cancer.org describes this plant as having dark green leaves that resemble small cacti, except they are actually supple and soft to the touch. The leaves contain a thin, clear substance called aloe juice or aloe latex, the active ingredient in certain skin treatments. Plant diseases, pests and poor growing conditions can affect the health of aloe vera plants.
Pests
Insect infestations and fungal infections may appear in previously healthy aloe vera plants. Insects, such as mealy bugs, can feed on the leaves of bases of plants. Small balls of white fluff may signal the presence of nesting female mealy bugs. Other insects that may damage aloe plants include aloe mites, spider mites and scale insects. Regular treatments with insecticide sprays can help remove the pests.
Diseases
Bacterial diseases may result cause aloe plant illnesses. Excessive amounts of moisture may promote the growth of certain diseases, including leaf rot diseases. One type of disease, bacterial soft rot, look like small lesions around the base of the leaves. Rotting may progress quickly, killing the plant within days. Quarantine any plant that displays symptoms of disease, such as wilt, decay, spots and yellowing. Treat your diseased plants by cutting away obvious damage and correcting poor growing conditions.
Prevention
Reduce the possibility of disease by properly caring for your aloe vera plants. Keep your plants in a sunny location away from drafts. Pale or yellow leaves may indicate your aloe plant requires more sunlight. Water your plants once each week, allowing the soil near the roots to dry slightly before watering again. Like many succulent plants, aloe vera plants require occasional deep watering instead of having continual moisture, which may lead to rot.
Health Precautions
Avoid harvesting leaves from a diseased plant for medicinal purposes. Allow your sick plant time to recover before expressing the gel from healthy leaves. Use caution when treating certain conditions with aloe vera gel. The University of Maryland Medical Center warns against using aloe vera gel on open or deep wounds. Oral ingestion may cause intestinal cramps and diarrhea. In pregnant women, aloe vera gel may cause uterine contractions and lead to miscarriage.
