Why is my Aloe Plant Turning Yellow? (Ways to fix them)

Yes, my aloe plant also started changing color after being healthy for a couple of weeks, and now it’s turning yellow. Due to my gardening experience, I knew what had happened to it. 

It was a mistake I made by suddenly moving the plant outside after keeping it indoors for the winter, causing sudden stress and environmental change, which affected my aloe plant.”

To help you avoid making these mistakes, I have explained the important reasons why aloe plants turn yellow and provided solutions to fix them. This will help you keep your plant healthy and happy. Let’s save our plants without further delay.

Quick takeaways:

• The aloe plant is a self-sufficient plant that requires little maintenance. 
• You can leave the plant alone most times and many times due to overly caring, doting, and coddling with fertilizers, soil, and watering which lead to unintentional trauma to the plant.
• Mostly they are used to convey the message of please stop by turning leaves to yellow. 
• The newborn plant sends you an alert which causes them distress.

Why is my Aloe Plant Turning Yellow?

Well, solving the problem is daunting, and upto the caregivers to notice aloe plant clues that will make you easily solve the problem.

The yellowing of leaves is a signal that the plant is having problems and just figures out the issue so that it’s not too late. Here are some top reasons for aloe plants that make them turn yellow leaves with easy remedies for curing the plant’s leaves. 

Overwatering:

• Yes, overwatering is considered the most common cause of yellowing of leaves.
• Aloe plants are desert plants and need water for survival like other plants do.
• Make sure to provide the plant with the correct amount of water because many think watering little is good then more is better. But according to me, thinking this way is not beneficial when it’s about watering desert and succulent plants. 
• The discoloration of leaves in succulents is caused mainly because of overwatering succulent plants because the plants when getting overly wet lack oxygen. 
• The plant root that stagnant soils is not capable of transporting water and nutrients to the plant leaves which makes them turn yellow. 
• The leaves suffering from nutrients begin to turn yellow and without any remedy treatment begin to die. 
• The leaves have signs of permanent leaf damage are leaves becoming limp, appearing wilted, and becoming watery or soggy when you touch them with the slightest amount of pressure. 
• Many factors play an important role in deciding how often plants need to be watered such as the amount of sun, the temperature, the plant reaching dormant or actively growing, size of the pot all these contribute to deciding the frequency of watering.  

Checking for overwatering issues: 

• It totally depends on the size of the pot, whether to pick up the container, and just whether it feels light or heavy. 
• In the case of finding the soil in a pot is dry which means it requires watering and heavy-feeling pots do have plenty of water. 
• You can check watering needs by sticking your finger down inside the soil and seeing how wet or dry the soil feels. In case your finger goes deep inside the pot and feels dry at the tip of your finger it means you need to water the plant. 
• In case your finger feels wet, just wait for the soil to get dry and then check it again because it’s always better to underwater the succulent or desert plant than overwater them. 

Cold Temperatures:

• The aloe plant has ice on them when kept in terra cotta pots or has ice at the base that will freeze them causing the problem of yellow leaves.
• The freezing of temperatures leads to causing moisture inside the leaves to freeze.
• The aloe plant used to tolerate a wide range of temperatures which is important for them when they are growing in a desert.
• In case the plant is kept in a temperature dip below 40℉ causes major tissue damage in the plant.
• If you water inside the plant’s cell it will make your plant freeze and cause the cell walls to rupture. 
• If the plant suffers from cold damage it will cause the leaves to be yellow, limp, mushy leaves, and fall apart when they are touched. 
• The cold temperature will damage the aloe plant even when you keep them indoors.
• Keeping the plant close to an exterior door that is frequently used in which cold air can blast each time when the door is opened and closed.

Checking for cold temperature issues:

• The plants that you keep near a window during winter get exposed to cold temperatures too.
• Make sure to move the plant from inside during the winter because here the temperature gets low in the winter. 

Older Leaves:

• The older aloe plants do have yellow leaves at the center and are green around the base of the plant.
•  The natural aging of the leaves will cause yellowing when the plant grows new foliage. 
• If you provide the plant with the correct basic requirements such as correct watering, and plenty of indirect sunlight, prevent it from extreme temperatures until the bottom leaves start to turn yellow.
• All this happens because of natural aging with plants growing new foliage. 

Checking for older issues:

• Having new growth in abundance will begin discarding leaves which is not required. 
• The yellowing of leaves mostly starts with the older, lower leaves and falls off of the plant.
• These leaves no longer produce food so simply pruning the ale leaves off the plant with the help of a sharp knife, cuts the leaf at the base near the stem. 
• However, these older leaves can be used for propagating new aloe plants or you can use it for personal use. 

Wrong Potting Media:

• The incorrect use of potting medium will cause problems in aloe plants with leaf discoloration and growth.
• If you provide the plant with the wrong type of soil and tend to overwater will lead the plant to have a soggy death. 
• In case you are using basic potting soil in which you haven’t added anything like sand, gravel, pumice, or perlite, the soil you use will get too heavy or wet. 

Checking for potting soil mix:

• To make the aloe plant thrive use very well-drained soil for healthy growth.
• You should use commercially available succulents and desert mixes that have a perfectly balanced ratio of both organic such as peat moss, coir, or humus, and inorganic soil components, such as sand, pumice, or turface.
• You can try making a custom potting mix using the ratio of organic: inorganic ingredients to 1 part organic to 2 parts combination of inorganic materials. Using these organic materials helps in holding necessary water and nutrients and the inorganic material helps to provide pore space and drainage. 
• Pot the succulent plant in terracotta pots with green plants and rich soil. 

Incorrect Pot Size or Type

• The potted succulent plant used to die in a gray pot in which the leaves turn yellow and die off.
• Planting aloe plants in an incorrect-sized pot will cause leaf discoloration due to excess moisture.
• When a small aloe plant is potted in too big a pot where it stays too wet for too long.
• The plant can’t use a water supply and gets dry which excess watering will cause the aloe leaves to turn yellow. 

Checking for incorrect pot size or type:

• In case of growing the plant in a pot is too large, then the amount of soil required to fill the pot needs to be more than the need for aloe. 
• You need to maintain the container size and drainage for the perfect growth of the aloe plant.
• Make sure to check the bottom of the pot when you are planting in a new container for drainage holes. The container without holes does not drain away the extra water and will result in premature yellowing of aloe leaves. 

Nutrient Deficiency:

• The plant does have yellow leaves in terra cotta pots when there are nutrient deficiencies causing leaf discoloration.
• The lack of nitrogen and iron will cause the leaves to yellow.
• When the older, and lower leaves of the plant turn yellow it’s a sign of nutrient deficiency.  
• Having yellow in new growth in which the veins remain green is a sign of low iron.

Checking for nutrient deficiency:

• The plant used to grow well in low-nutrient soil and is provided with high-quality potting mix and repotting every 2-3 years which will result in enough nutrients in the soil for proper growing.
• It’s possible to have nutrient deficiency due to which aloe plants will have yellowing in the leaves but it’s not highly probable.

Incorrect Light Intensity:

• When you keep the plant in the sunlight it will have yellow leaves in pots.
• In the case of searching, aloe in the desert means growing underneath a larger plant or in areas where native grasses grow taller than aloe plants.
• If the light intensity is too low the leaves will start to get discolored from green to yellow. Not only this the stem gets bends and does stretch desperately which feels like trying to reach some light levels.

Checking of incorrect light intensity:

• Aloe plants love to grow in bright, indirect light. 
• The aloe plant that grows in a light area is not possible to grow in bright locations.
• If you keep them indoors, a slow acclimation to lit spots should be important for over 7-10 days.
• Every 2-3 days just move the aloe plant closer to the new location until you reach the final destination by day 10.
• When you slowly relocate the plant, you just decrease the chances of sunburn occurring, which causes reddish leaf coloration.

New Growth:

• The aloe plant having new growth is healthy and has lots of green fronds but it depends on where the new growth is occurring on the aloe plant where the new leaves will look yellow to very light green color. 
• Having a plant with dense foliage will not provide them a lot of light that gets down deep inside part of the plant and that is where the new growth originates due to which it stays yellow or light green color unless they get tall enough to receive a higher level of light. 

Checking for new growth issues:

• The formation of new growth on the exterior part of the plant will appear greener than the interior growth because the outside growth when it gets mature the tissue changes to greener in color. 

Sudden Environment Changes:

• In the case of the plant placed outdoors in a white ceramic pot, the potting table will have yellow leaves on the interior side. 
• In the case of keeping the plant growing indoors for a year and then moving outdoors when the summer comes thinking that it’s a desert plant and will grow with no problem but it’s not the correct one because moving the plant from a nice, comfy place to harsh environment will cause to have stress on the plant due to showing the leaves turns yellow. 

Checking for sudden environment changes:

• You can protect the plant from the stress of environmental changes when you slowly take the step over 7-10 days. 
• When starting you can place them in a shaded location for the first few days and then gradually increase the light exposure every couple of days unless the plant gets a spot with intense indirect sunlight. 
• The way of slow exposure will make them decrease the stress of moving the plant outside. 

Identifying Yellowing Leaves:

Here are some tips that will help you in identifying yellowing leaves:

Visual Indicators:

• Finding the aloe plant to look more like a lemon than a plant then it’s a signal that the plant is having some problems.
• In the case of plants having yellowing leaves means they are giving you signals of distress and crying for help but you need to decode the language as soon as possible. 
• The plant changes the coloring of its leaves from vibrant green to a sickly yellow hue.
• It’s not just about the shade, the location of the plant also matters. 
• The plant changes to yellow at the bottom due to getting old, the texture changed from yellow leaf and mushy is the white flag because of cold damage or root rot. 

Diagnosing the Underlying Issues:

• The plant having yellow leaves is like a bad hair day caused by a sunburn to a thirst trap. 
• Finding the aloe plant leaves as droopy as a teenager on the next morning is because of overwatering. 
• If the plant leaves are drier like a stand-up comedian it is a sign of underwatering the plant. 
• The plant when it doesn’t get light will stretch out like it’s trying to snag the last cookie and might not be getting enough light and when you flip the side of the leaves you will find they’ve been in a tanning bed too long.
• Don’t forget about the silent killer i.e. pests and diseases where the aloe plant has dots with yellow color which is because of mites present on the plants.
• Yellowing leaves are always a warning sign don’t treat them as plant’s fashion so you need to keep your eyes peeled and maintain the watering. 
• A healthy aloe plant does have vibrant green serrated leaves if you grow them in a brown plastic pot when kept on a windowsill. 

Preventative Measures:

Here are some preventive measures you need to follow to maintain the greenery of the leaves. 

Consistent Watering Routine:

• You are required to provide the plant with proper hydration and watering is required to be done whenever the soil is dry to touch.
• Overwatering aloe plants is a sin for succulent plants which leads them to a soggy demise and underwatering makes them turn the aloe into a parched, yellow shadow.
• There is a need to maintain balance with consistent checking and watering approaches that help aloe plants to keep them thrive green. 

Soil Maintenance:

• The plant having soil mix feels like a good mattress for aloe plants. 
• You need to provide the plant with a well-draining concoction, a mixing of one part cozy bed that is efficient for the drainage system. 
• Maintaining the soil like fluffing up the mix helps to prevent compaction, making the roots breathe and drink water without drowning. 

Light and Environmental Care:

• The aloe plant craves for the sun like a cat used to crave a warm lap, but this doesn’t mean providing the plant with too much light as it will lead to sunburn. Hence aim for bright indirect light.
• You need to keep an eye on the temperature because these are desert natives, which do prefer the warmer side.
• In short, keeping the environment on a dryer side will make the plant happy.

Pest and Disease Prevention:

• As you know, pests and diseases are a party crasher for the plants in the whole world so you need to maintain good hygiene of the plant by wiping down the leaves, avoiding waterlogging, and making sure to provide them with good air circulation.
• In case of any trouble, act fast with organic pesticides like neem oil.
• Of course, prevention is better than cure, so keeping the plant healthy is the target for any unwanted guest.

How To Save an Aloe Vera Plant

When you find an aloe plant looking unhealthy. Don’t get tense because it will not take much time to bring it back to health when you act fast. Yes, plants are capable of recovering if the conditions that cause the plant to get stressed are removed and all the growing conditions are corrected, then the plant will take no time to come back.

For example, a plant that is completely yellow and the outer leaves of the plant is turning light brown in color and the steps you need to take to save the plant is to place the plant in a greenhouse where the plant gets watered daily and receives the rainfall and gets safe from the cold night temperature. After a few weeks, you will see the sign of recovery when the inner leaves start to turn green once again and will build their natural color again.

The following are some straightforward, restoring ways that will help the plant to recover quickly:

• Overwatered plants –In the case of an overwatered plant, you need to stop watering and place the plant under something so that it is protected from rainfall.
• Overpotted plants – In the case of over potted plants you need to transplant them near the pot so that the soil mix gets time to dry more easily between watering.
• Drought-stricken plants – To recover the plant remove all the burnt leaves, but don’t remove the leaves with burnt tips. Because watering the plant can restore the soil moisture. With watering, you can use seaweed, which will act as a root growth stimulator and will help the plant to recover from the stress.
• Cold-stressed plants – In cold stress, plants quickly place the pot near the wall, which receives midday or sunlight which will keep the overnight temperature higher all around the plant. Maintain less watering to the plant in winter. Keep the plant away from the rain and remove the source underneath the plant, which retains water.

Make sure to give time to the plant to get green again on its own, which is a sign that the plant has totally recovered.

Final Thoughts:

Although there are many reasons why the aloe plant turns yellow. But the above-mentioned reasons are the topmost which you need to control and maintain sufficient watering, in which over watering does not provide the plant with indirect light which too intense light is not allowed, and maintain moderate indoor temperature. All these will prevent it from turning yellow. 

The above reasons are the most commonly found in every plant and nothing can be done to keep the plant’s new leaves from growing and getting old. But as long as you provide all the basic needs, the plant will bloom at its best.

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