Aloe, or agave, is very popular, so this houseplant can be seen on the windowsills in almost every house. It is not for nothing called a home doctor, because aloe juice has medicinal properties of a wide spectrum of action. The beneficial properties of aloe and plant care at home will be considered in this material.
Description
Aloe is a decorative leaf succulent. Often it belongs to the lily family. However, according to the classification of APG IV, the genus Aloe belongs to the asphodel family. And the traditional systematics distinguishes the genus in its own family - aloe or aloe.
Most often, at home, you can find aloe tree. In a home environment it grows up to 60 cm, less often up to 1 m. The plant has a stem on which there are fleshy, bluish-green, slightly curved leaves, on the edges of which there are prickly spikes.
Very rarely, at home, aloe blooms with red-orange tubular flowers, collected in apical multifloral inflorescences on a fairly high peduncle.
Medicinal properties and composition of aloe juice
Aloe contains a huge amount of nutrients. The juice of this universal plant contains the following components:
- vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, B12, C, E;
- amino acids;
- minerals (over 30), among which: magnesium, copper, calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium, manganese, potassium, zinc;
- biologically active anthrachionins, glucocide, isobartoloin, anthranol and antacen, aloic acid, cinnamic acid, alodic emodin, cinnamic acid ester, essential oil, lignins, chrysophanic acid, saponins, ulcin, resistinol.
- substance allantoin, which has a strong moisturizing effect.
Even in antiquity (more than 3,000 years ago), the healing properties of aloe were known to people. It was used in the treatment of wounds, with ulcers, burns and frostbite.
Therapeutic properties:
- bactericidal - used against streptococcus, staphylococcus, diphtheria, dysentery, typhoid sticks;
- ability to remove radiation products;
- wound healing and anti-inflammatory;
- immunomodulatory and biostimulating;
- improvement of intestinal motility;
- improvement of digestion and biliary;
- fortification and mineralization;
- reduces toxins;
- blood purification;
- analgesic effect;
- heals wounds, ulcers, abscesses and boils;
- normalizes cholesterol in the blood;
- reduces gum disease;
- contributes to the treatment of ocular and gynecological diseases, as well as diseases of the nervous system, cardiovascular, digestive and urinary;
- widespread use in cosmetology.
Contraindications
The main contraindication is considered individual intolerance to the components of aloe juice. Allergic reactions with external use can be in the form of an acute form of bullous dermatitis. Worse, of course, if when using aloe juice as an injection or drops in the nose, the allergy appears as anaphylactic shock.
Internal use is prohibited:
- with bleeding (for example, menstruation), hemorrhoids, uterine and gastric bleeding, etc .;
- with severe diseases of the heart and blood vessels;
- arterial hypertension;
- jade in severe form;
- acute disorders of the stomach and intestines;
- oncological diseases;
- pregnancy
- severe exacerbations.
The treatment process with aloe juice can also cause complications such as increased intestinal motility and diarrhea.
History
The homeland of aloe growth is South Africa and Madagascar. Thanks to archaeological excavations that were conducted in the caves of Sterkfontein, Kromdray and Makapanshat, it is known that this plant is used in the treatment of wounds in ancient times.
A bag of aloe leaves was worn by nomadic herders from the Coy Coy tribes (Hottentots). San gathering Bushmen have also always used the healing and anti-inflammatory properties of the plant in the treatment of wounds received from a predator or poisonous thorns.
In 1652, the Dutchman Jan Vann Riebeck founded a settlement on the Cape of Good Hope. Then they began to study the experience of the local population in the treatment of wounds and ailments. Among others, knowledge of the properties of aloe was adopted. The spread of the juice of this plant occurred during the Kafra Wars, when doctors from Europe began to actively apply the properties of aloe for the treatment of wounds.
However, the plant was brought to Europe from Africa as a gift to the wife of General James Craig, who was fond of studying plants. And in the 19th century, by the 70s, aloe was ubiquitous. Then, with official medicine, the plant was recognized as a medicinal one.
Varieties
The genus Aloe includes more than 500 species. And the flowering of this succulent is an ordinary phenomenon in nature, in contrast to home varieties, which rarely please with flowers. The plant has adapted to survive in difficult conditions.
It is protected from eating by wild animals with thorns and bitterness of leaves, and a bluish coating on fleshy leaves is a protection from the swelteringly hot sun. The smallest aloe species grows only a few tens of centimeters, and the largest reaches a height of fifteen meters.
Aloe vera
Aloe vera flower care at home requires very careful, and the watering regimen - moderate. This species is the owner of a huge number of useful properties that are widely used both in cosmetology and in medicine.
When leaving at home, aloe vera is unpretentious, like all members of the family. But it is strictly forbidden to place the plant next to the heating radiator in the winter, and its location for wintering should be bright and cool (from 13 to 16 ° C). This type of aloe comes from the islands of Barbados and Curacao, which are located in the south of the Arabian Peninsula.
Aloe vera has rectilinear branching stems with densely arranged leaves framed by cartilaginous teeth, which can reach 40 cm in length. The plant is characterized by the presence of a very juicy pulp, consisting of 97% water.
Aloe mix
Mix is not the name of a variety, but a mixture of various seeds. The positive point of acquiring a mix of aloe seeds is the variety of varieties. When buying, you must pay attention to the expiration date, since the seed very quickly loses its germination.
Before planting the seeds in the soil, they must be soaked for a day inside a damp, clean rag, adding a growth stimulator. When leaving at home, the aloe mix, as the seedlings develop, needs to be transplanted.
Aloe spinous
This species of aloe is also a succulent belonging to the xanthorrhoea family. It has fleshy leaves arranged in a spiral, which are collected in sockets up to 60 cm in diameter.
The roots of this type of aloe are branched, and the flowers on high peduncles have a tubular shape and an orange-yellow color. Its rough leaves are strewn with white dotted dots, along the edges of them and at the end there are thorns, which is why it is spinous.
The native land of this species is considered the east of South Africa and the kingdom of Lesotho in southern Africa. Aloe spinous from home care requires only an annual transplant, adding sand to the soil and the mandatory use of a drainage layer. When transplanting, the pot should be low, but wide in diameter.
Aloe motley
This type of aloe is easily recognizable by the colorful coloring of the leaf. He has a very fast growing root system, so frequent transplants will be required. When leaving at home, aloe vera should be fed to maintain its decorativeness, using top dressing for succulents, an infusion of ash or a vegetable decoction. Reproduction of motley aloe occurs with the help of children and apical offspring. This species is resistant to rot.
Features of cultivation and care
At home, planting and caring for aloe will not be difficult. This plant is as unpretentious as useful for its medicinal properties. Rare enough watering and annual transplants. Such a pet is ideal for lazy or too busy people.
With minimal care at home, any grower will be able to properly grow aloe vera. The location of the plant should be in a sufficiently lit place without excessive moisture and away from drafts.
Aloe needs sun even during dormancy. He will tolerate direct sunlight normally, but he should be accustomed to them gradually, especially if the plant has been in moderate light for a long time.
Aloe cultivation and home care should take place in moderate watering conditions. Excessive moisture will kill the drought tolerant plant. Before the next watering, you need to make sure that the earth completely dries in a pot of aloe.
Transplant and top dressing
Aloe's home care requirements are minimal. However, decorative varieties need top dressing to maintain their beauty. For this, only liquid top dressings are used, which are diluted in water for irrigation and are introduced into the period of active growth once every three weeks. Sick and freshly transplanted aloe bushes are categorically impossible to feed.
Aloe transplant and home care after it should occur when the plant stops developing and stops growing. So the food is already not enough, and the roots have grown too much. Young plants need an annual transplant, and adults - once every three years.
For good development, a substrate is required at the rate of: 1 part of sand and sod land, 2 parts of sheet soil with the addition of charcoal and finely ground brick. But the easiest way to buy a ready-made mixture for cacti in the store.
Breeding
There are two ways to propagate aloe vera: using seeds and vegetatively. However, they almost never use seeds, since this process is quite long and laborious. In addition, when propagated by seeds, varietal characteristics are not preserved.
For seed propagation at the end of winter, seeds are sown under the mini-greenhouse in the ground for cacti. At the same time, high humidity with an air temperature of +20 ° C remains inside the container with seeds. Seedlings will have to wait a long time, and seedling growth is even longer. When the third leaf appears, the seedlings are dived into separate containers.
For vegetative propagation, aloe tops, leaves or babies are used. The simplest is to separate the basal shoots and plant them in separate pots. The top is cut off and dried for three days until the flow stops, then they are immediately planted in a pot with soil, or put to form roots in water with 1 tablet of activated charcoal.
When propagated, the leaves are cut off at the very base and are also dried. The slice is treated with charcoal. Then the leaf plates are rooted immediately in the sandy substrate.
Growing Mistakes
With improper care at home, aloe can become sick or die. Often the following mistakes are made during cultivation:
- Overfilling and, as a result, decay of the roots and lower part of the stem. In this case, only the separation of the healthy crown and its rooting will save.
- The lack of moisture becomes noticeable only after 2 months, when the leaves are flabby and wrinkled. Watering will save.
- The lack of light is manifested by thinning of leaves and sparseness of the crown. It will save a change of residence to a more illuminated one. As additional artificial lighting, you can use lamps with a cold glow.
- Insufficient feeding area will manifest itself in thinning foliage. Aloe flower will save home care, carried out by updating the soil with an increase in the area of the pot.
Diseases and Pests
Aloe is very rarely affected by diseases or pests due to the bitterness of its leaves. Occasionally, aphids or scale insects may appear. You can lime insects with insecticides. But it is better to simply collect the scabbard from the leaves and destroy, and remove the aphids with the help of a soaped rag.
The aloe plant has poor resistance to fungi. In particular, it is prone to putrefactive diseases of the stem and roots. In the early stages, the disease is almost impossible to detect, so the plant often dies.
If rot is noticed on time, then aloe can be saved by cutting and rooting the crown. For preventive purposes, moderate watering is required after the soil has completely dried up and low humidity.
Aloe flower, grown taking into account its needs, can not only delight the owner with a beautiful appearance, but also cure him of many diseases. Therefore, this plant deserves a better place on the windowsill.