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My Aloe vera plant has a leaf where there is gaping hole in it as well as some brown spots. That leaf hasn't been growing. Should I cut that leaf off?

enter image description here

Somewhat enhanced photo to better show brown spits on leaf - enter image description here

Jude
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lilyoftheisland650
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    It's very hard to see the brown spots on the leaf because the photo is not well lit on that side. If its got lots of brown spots, it could be a fungal infection or rot of some sort, so if the rest of the plant is healthy, yes, cut it off, but you may need to reduce watering if you keep the plant too wet. – Bamboo Jul 08 '17 at 12:10
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    lilyoftheisland650 I added an altered photo of your plant to better show the brown spots - if you don't mind. Since I only did it with my phone's photo editing capabilities, it's not so great. But at least others can see what the brown areas are you're referring to. – Jude Jul 08 '17 at 23:22

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That appears top be the oldest leaf on the plant, and so probably almost ready to yellow and die anyway. You can cut it, just above the level of the potting medium. That shouldn't hurt the plant at this point, because the leaf is already damaged and probably not very efficient at photosynthesis anyway.

And try to get it into a brighter spot if you can. I see long, soft growth typical of inferior lighting. It's called etiolation (it's not super bad in yours, but I definitely see it). Also, do not water the plant or leave it in the rain, after cutting the leaf, until the cut is dried/calloused over.

J. Musser
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  • Personal curiosity: how did you deduce the plant is not getting enough light? What is the long soft growth you're referring to? – Lethr Jul 09 '17 at 18:36
  • @Lethr I've been growing them for a while. A leaf that long (even on a young plant) should be a lot broader and more robust at the base. The newer leaves also have more space between the spots, and between the spines, which is a sign that the light level is insufficient. For reference, [here's](https://i.stack.imgur.com/rFC86.jpg) a picture of one of mine, which gets maybe 3 hours of full sunlight every day (It could use more, but it's still not as etiolated as OP's plant). – J. Musser Jul 10 '17 at 23:27
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Yes, you should remove those leaves.

user3108698
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