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Gardening

Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

How to stop this houseplant (succulent?) growing upwards?

4 replies

OhMyGodTheyKilledKenny · 11/08/2019 15:03

I'm not sure what it's called (otherwise I would. Google what to do with it) but how do I stop it growing up and instead encourage it to grow outwards, get a bit chunkier maybe?

There doesn't seem to be anywhere to nip the top off like with some plants.

It's kept on an indoor window ledge if that makes a difference.

Thanks, from a houseplant novice. Smile

How to stop this houseplant (succulent?) growing upwards?
How to stop this houseplant (succulent?) growing upwards?
OP posts:
NanTheWiser · 11/08/2019 16:48

It's an Aloe of some sort, and it's suffering from far too little light. Being a succulent from the African continent, it needs a great deal of light, even a sunny windowsill is not really enough.
You could take a tip cutting from below a pair of leaves, dry it off for a week, then sit it on some very gritty compost where it may start to root, then grow it in your sunniest place. The original plant then might produce some offsets from lower down.
These do quite well in a sheltered place in the garden during the summer, but must be brought indoors before winter and the first frost.
If it isn't in a well-lit place now, be careful of exposing it to strong light (although the sun is weaker now) as it could suffer from sunburn.

handslikecowstits · 11/08/2019 18:50

I concur with NantheWiser. Aloes need full sun otherwise they do get leggy.

I have aloes and I'd chop off (pinch out the top), let the tops dry out for a couple of days then plant the chopped off bit in some free draining compost and keep it minimally watered for about a month or so, by which time you should be tailing off the feeding and watering of succulents/cacti for the dormant period.

The main plant should be moved into a sunnier position. It won't be so lanky then.

OhMyGodTheyKilledKenny · 11/08/2019 21:06

Thanks both.

It's been in a SE facing window so I thought that would have been enough light ...clearly not, fussy bugger!! I'll try pinching off the top as suggested.

I do have other aloes I think (non-spiky sort) in less sunny spots that seem to be doing OK.

OP posts:
MereDintofPandiculation · 12/08/2019 08:21

Maybe the others aren't aloes? Post a pic if you'd like an id.

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