If you are an aloe vera grower, you can attest to how resilient this plant is and how many miniature plants (or pups) that it produces. You may be asking yourself how to correctly disconnect the pups so that they can be transplanted and flourished into robust specimens.
Aloe vera is a succulent plant with vibrant green color. It features thick fleshy leaves shaped like fingers without a stem. Properly tended to, these plants have the potential to reach heights of two to three feet. Alongside the main plant, baby aloe pups can be found, and they can be surgically removed from the mother plant through propagation methods and then replanted.
While it is possible to propagate aloe vera using a cutting or single leaf, the probability of success is dismally low. Most gardeners attempting this will end up with a single shriveled leaf sitting on the top of some soil. Considering all the methods, division is by far the most effective technique for separating the pups from the mother plant and achieving independence.
Historical Use of Aloe Vera
Due to the various health benefits of aloe vera, its cultivation increased throughout history. Aloe has served numerous purposes, often referred to by various names. The healing plant was utilized by ancient Egyptian doctors who referred to aloe as “The Plant of Immortality.”
Healers from various Native American tribes would utilize aloe vera for all sorts of conditions. Aloe vera was so popular among these Native Americans that they often referred to it as the “Wand of Heaven.”
Even though its cultivation began only in North Africa, more than 250 species of common aloe, curricula named Aloe Vera Barbadensis, exist across the globe. With such a vast array of species involved, it is undoubtedly logical why people all around the world have dealt with aloe vera throughout history.
How to Propagate Aloe Vera Part 1: Propagation by Division
Let’s be honest here. Plants make great gifts since they do not cost a lot of money for buying and giving away. To top it off, aloe vera is easy to propagate and grows naturally through division, so the few dollars spent on potting soil and a pot are well worth it.
The offshoots or pups expand around the mother plant, which in turn also grows taller and thicker. The easiest way to propagate an aloe vera is by removing the pups, making sure to gently separate the new plants’ root systems from the original, and then repotting each pup into its own container.
Separating Aloe Vera Pups From
the Mother Plant
As your aloe plant is likely to fill the container, you will also notice several pups forming around the mother plant. This is a signal that its time to remove the mother plant from its container, as well as to separate the pups and place them in pots where they can have enough space to grow freely.
Make sure to remove your aloe from the container very carefully. You can start by tilting the container sideways, and then slowly taking the plant, soil, roots – everything – out of the container.
Now, with deliberation, take each pup from the mother plant’s base, ensuring that the new delicate roots are not torn in any way. Most pups should have small but independent root systems.
Planting Aloe Vera Pups
Each pup needs a new container since they were removed from the original plant. Pups that developed roots should be placed in a new pot with the crown slightly underneath the top of the container until the soil is filled underneath and around the roots.
Early Care Instructions for Aloe
Vera Pups
Water the pups immediately after planting them with copious amounts to stimulate vigorous root growth. Let the soil completely dry out after every watering. After a few days, manual watering should not be required. Additional watering will only be needed if there is extreme heat or drought..
How to Propagate Aloe Vera Part 2: Propagation from Seed
Although using a division approach is definitely the easiest and most efficient, growing aloe from seed is another economical, simple, and fulfilling option.
Harvesting (or Buying) Aloe Vera
Seeds
If you do not have the time to harvest seeds, most succulents and plants’ online shops offer aloe seeds. If sedentary aloe vera plants are not in their flowering phase yet, they do require a minimum of number of four years of age before lowers seeds.
The seeds are stored in a pod that remains green in color during mid summer. The pods have the ability to become splitable and yield extracted seeds. Aloe vera seeds can be extracted from the pod through easily by cutting it open.
Germination of Aloe Vera Seeds
Without much exertion from the gardener’s end, aloe seeds germinate. Plant the seeds in flats where they can grow into seedlings, and later transplant the seedlings into larger pots as they develop roots. For aloe seeds, a mixture of equal parts peat and horticultural sand work well as a base.
Rock the soil to a mild wetness before scattering seeds with an inch gap in between. Almost cover seeds with sand, just enough to conceal them but not completely. Maintain moisture in soil and place the flat trays in areas where they can access full sunlight.
It is best to grow indoors with a heat appliance positioned below the planter to keep soil warm for the gardener’s living in colder climates. Space is abundant for those located in warmer weather, where starting seeds outdoors is an option.
Care for Aloe Vera Seedlings
For the first two weeks, new seedlings should be kept on a heat source to maintain temperatures while they grow and develop their roots. Only water from the bottom for seedlings in an open flat to avoid damping off, as it must be enough to maintain moisture but not dry out.
After four or more leaves are visible, seedlings should be re-potted into two-inch containers with a mix of three parts coarse pumice, three parts organic material, and one and a half parts coarse sand.
How To Propagate Aloe Vera Part 3: Propagation from Cuttings
Compared to other methods of propagation, using cuttings has limited success for aloe vera. Although starting from cuttings isn’t your best option, if you choose to go down this route, it can certainly be done.
With a sharp knife, remove a substantial aloe leaf that is no less than eight inches long. Place the cutting in a warm environment until a film develops over the cut area. Prepare a pot with sufficient drainage holes, and then fill it with a cactus mix designed for cacti and succulents.