Last Updated on May 15, 2022 by Guillermina
My aloe vera smells bad – what is the reason? Well, you’re one of the thousands of gardeners and cultivators who have noticed the odd smell of aloe vera plants. Whether you’ve accidentally smelled your aloe vera or you’ve noticed the weird smell after passing through your aloe vera-filled garden, then we have got the answer for you.
Aloe vera plants have long been popular tropical plants. Their perfect for any home, and all types of weather because they have a high tolerance to arid weather conditions. Oddly enough, aloe vera has this very weird smell. While this plant offers a serene crown-like look on the exterior, it smells like rotten onion or garlic. The scent comes from its sap called aloin. You can easily smell it when the plant has been cut or it’s oozing.
It is also possible that your plan is rotting. A rotting plant can produce a foul smell. Is the smell going to stay forever? The aloe vera smell can come and go as it grows. Sometimes, you won’t even notice that it’s creating a bad smell because the odor is too light that you can barely notice it. In the worst-case scenario, mature aloe with oozing saps or trimmed aloe vera can smell bad that it will spread in your home.
All About The Aloin Sap
Aloin appears as a yellow fluid inside the aloe vera gel. It is typically right inside the external green shell and isn’t blended all through the gel inside. It is frequently consumed by individuals who eat the entire leaves. Note that there is a proper way to eat it. anything inside the gel is toxic to pets and humans so practice extra precaution.
Aloin is a diuretic too, yet it has not been supported by any studies. It is likewise the primary culprit of the terrible smell that occasionally comes from aloe vera plants. The aloin tastes very severe and can make an individual have some inconvenience and squeezing assuming they eat it. It is recommended that when you cut your aloe plant, you ought to erect the leaf up for around 10 minutes to permit the aloin to drain out of the bottom.
Tips To Prevent The Bad Smell In Aloe Vera Plants
- Always check your plant for rotten leaves or roots. Make sure it’s not sitting on water as the stock water can also produce an odd smell.
- Take off the gel when cutting your aloe vera, except if you intend to use the gel mainly.
- Cut off rotted leaves as soon as you see them. Don’t leave them on the pot as it they contribute to the foul smell.
AS a beautiful plant, aloe vera is unexpectedly smelly. Even so, you need to expect it thoroughly to ensure that the stink does not come from rotting parts. Otherwise, undetected rotting will cause your aloe vera to die gradually.
Harvesting Your Aloe Vera Plant Can Be Smelly
If you have an aloe plant in your home and it’s ready for harvesting, you need to consider how you are going to harvest it. While collecting Aloe Vera is not a convoluted interaction, the tenacity and obnoxious smell that goes with the cycle might be a shock to first-time collectors.
Whenever the leaf is first cut, it will overflow a foul, yellow fluid with a smell that has been compared with body odor and even dubious traces of garlic and onion that are suggestive of chicken soup. We’ve said that the aloe vera leaves can be eaten, and the gel is often used as a laxative but you need to extra precaution indirectly ingesting the aloe vera leaf.
Follow these tips when harvesting your aloe plant.
- Utilizing a blade or sets of scissors, trim off the spikes and cut open the leaf along each side. Use a spoon or blade to isolate the gel from the leaf. Try not to scratch the leaf, as this might make you incorporate any excess plastic sitting alongside the skin.
- Make sure that there is no latex left in your aloe vera leaf. Anything inside the gel is poisonous and cannot eat. Even though they’re versatile, Aloe Vera’s full leaves can likewise effectively be broken coincidentally.
- A break in the external skin can prompt the overflowing of stinky plastic and might be disagreeable for a little while until the overflowing stops and evaporates. For this situation, there’s nothing you can do except move the plant to a spot where it doesn’t bother you.
FAQs
What is Aloe vera supposed to smell like?
Generally, aloe vera smells bad whenever it is cut. If you discover a foul smell coming from your aloe vera, it’s normal. Unfortunately, this is a difficult part that you need to accept if you have an aloe plant. Unless you like the smell of onion then you will never have any complaints about the aloe plants.
Why does aloe vera stink?
The aloe vera stink because of the sap. Other reasons why your plant is producing a foul smell are having to waterlog for many weeks now, rotten roots, rotten leaves, or improper soil. Sometimes, a rotting fertilizer can cause a bad smell to come out from your aloe plant.
How do I know if my aloe plant is rotting?
A rotting aloe plant may show visible signs right away such as dark pigmentation on the leaves, darkening bottom, or yellowing leaves. If your plant is suffering from root rots, the first sign is an unhappy aloe plant.
Can I use smelly aloe vera?
The answer is yes. Although aloe vera may smell bad, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is rotten. The gel itself can be used regardless of the smell. For those who use the aloe vera leaves for cooking, you need to remove the gel as it contains toxic substances. If you’re simply using the aloe vera as an ornamental plant, make sure the soil is dry as you keep it inside.
