Can Freezing Weather Kill Aloe Vera Regowth?

Identification

• Aloe vera is one of 400 aloe species, which vary widely but display the typical radial pattern of succulent leaves arranged around a central point. Also called aloe, aloe vera’s 1- to 2-foot-tall, light green leaves are fleshy appendages capable of storing water in the form of a sticky sap. Outdoors, the aloe’s blooming time is often spring, but inside it blooms irregularly on mature plants, usually in summertime. Flowers are yellow, rising above the plant on 3-foot flower stalks.

Freeze Damage

• Freezes can kill both normal, mature leaves on the aloe as well as the smaller leaves that are forming at the center of the plant. Since plants that are trying to regrow from previous damage or injury are less hardy than healthy plants, a freeze is likely to be even more damaging to small, sensitive regrowing leaves than to the aloe as a whole. Freeze damage on an aloe may take the form of brown or black leaves, which eventually wither and become crisp. These areas will not grow back, but if the rest of the aloe is undamaged, it is likely fine.

Temperature Hardiness

• Aloes are native to warm arid and tropical climates, such as the African Mediterranean, the Arabian Peninsula, the Indian Ocean and Madagascar. As such, they evolved where freezes are not common. Aloe vera therefore doesn’t tolerate freezing weather well; it prefers night temperatures of 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit in summer and a minimum of 40 degrees in winter. If you are growing aloe outdoors in a container, move it indoors before nighttime temperatures fall to 50 degrees.

Response and Prevention

• If your aloe vera suffers freeze damage, wait until the weather has passed and then carefully prune off the dead leaves with a sharp knife. If many of the leaves are dead, wait until you see regrowth before pruning, otherwise you might shock the plant and contribute to its death. Before uprooting a dead-looking plant, leave it in the ground through spring and summer to see if it produces pups, or small offshoot plants, from its base. If you are growing aloe vera in a container, always bring it inside when temperatures fall below 50 degrees. If you live in a warm climate and are growing aloe in the ground, cover it with a sheet to protect it from rare frosts or freezes.