How to Root an Aloe Vera Plant

Aloe vera has a lot of properties and uses, primarily medicinal. It can be used on burns, cuts and rashes. Aloe is also used in beauty products and in juice and vitamins. Aloe vera is a succulent plant, somewhat like a cactus, and it holds water in its leaves. Well-drained, sandy soil is necessary to grow healthy plants.

Things You'll Need

• Aloe plant with shoots
• Shallow pot
• Gravel
• Cactus potting soil

Instructions

1. 

   The small plants near the base of the main plant are pups.

   Remove a 2-to-3-inch shoot from the mother aloe plant. The shoot is a small aloe that peaks out from beneath the mother plant. Be careful not to destroy the roots. It looks like a new, small plant and is called a pup.

2. Set the pup aside for a few days until any damage has hardened off or callused over.

3. Put a thin layer of gravel, about ½ to 1 inch, in the bottom of the pot, and fill the rest of the pot with dirt.

4. Plant the pup in the soil and water thoroughly.

Tips & Warnings

• Be very careful when pulling out the pups. A strong, healthy pup will create a strong plant. Longer leaves will make a stronger plant. If you cut off a leaf, cut it as close to the ground as possible, because the stem will not grow back, even if it is only cut part of the way down.

• After the initial watering, do not water the aloe for three weeks. Do not overwater the plant, and be sure there is very good drainage. Rot is common in aloes that do not have proper drainage or have been overwatered, and this kills the plant.

References

• The Garden Helper: Aloe vera
• Aloe Vera and Handy Herbs: Propagation or how to multiply your aloe vera plants
• Naturally: Aloe vera plant care