Every May, I put my aloe plant (Aloe vera) outside on the deck to enjoy the summer sun and warmth. This succulent plant thrives and by autumn, she has produced many “pups.” The pups, small aloe vera offsets, crowd inside the small pot. When the nights cool down, I upturn the pot and gently pull apart each pup. I plant each one in its own small container of soil. I then replant the mother and move her in to my house while I box up the pups to bring to the office. Within hours of placing the box in the office kitchen, colleagues have helped themselves to a new plant, armed with growing instructions that I have printed on strips of paper. My colleagues love free plants — it is like leaving cookies in the kitchen.
Aloe vera is a medicinal herb well known for healing burns. If you snap a leaf in two you will see a gel-like liquid. You can apply the gel to a burn on your skin, which will offer pain relief and a faster healing process. The leaves actually have three sections: a thick outer rind, a thin slimy layer of cells, and the inner gel. Just beneath the rind is a bitter yellow substance called aloin. This can cause intestinal irritation creating a laxative effect. It is the inner gel that is used for burns, sunburns, or as a skin moisturizer. Diluted with water, this gel can be ingested to sooth intestinal irritation. Although aloe’s beneficial effects have been documented for thousands of years, it was not until U.S. researchers discovered that aloe gel could quickly heal burns caused by x-rays and ultraviolet rays in the mid-1930s that interest soared. Today, most people use aloe as an first aid kit for burns, disinfecting minor cuts, and insect stings. Researchers are still studying the plant. So far they have identified more than 75 nutrients and 200 compounds in the gel.
It is easy to grow an aloe vera plant. Give it warmth, sun, and good drainage. You can grow it indoors as a houseplant provided it gets enough light. Place it in a southern exposure window or a sun room. Or you can grow it outside in the summer. When I grow it outside, I just let the rain water it. Remember to bring it back inside before night time temperatures dip into the 40s.
This plant is easy to find at local garden centers. Or if you have a friend who has it, ask for a pup. Try growing aloe for your own personal first aid kit.