Aloe Vera Plant Propagation
Aloe vera, a member of the Lily family Liliaceae, is a perennial succulent native to East and South Africa. Aloe vera are hearty plants that provide soothing additions to homes and gardens as well as soothing gel for minor skin irritations. According to the Holistic Online herb database, legend says that Jesus' body was preserved with aloe. With the right tool and a careful approach, Aloe vera plants divide and multiply with relative ease. Does this Spark an idea?
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Dividing Succulents
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Also called offsets, Aloe vera pups grow out of the soil beside the parent plant. The easiest pups to propagate are ones cut or tease easily away from the parent plant. In most cases, according to home improvement expert, Danny Lipford, Aloe vera offsets separate without harming the parent plant.
Pup Preparation
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Aloe vera pups need to grow sufficiently to safely separate them from the parent plant. AloeVera.org, advises allowing pups to grow to about 3 or 4 inches before attempting to divide them. The additional leaf growth gives the tender pups sufficient roots to survive the propagation process, grow their own root systems and become healthy parent plants.
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Dividing Aloe Vera
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Aloe vera plants have natural divisions. Finding divisions is easier when the plants are larger. Lipford recommends carefully teasing the plant apart so it will naturally divide into smaller clumps. Taking care not to break any of the leaves, break the plant apart giving each section its share of roots. Roots break easily from stems and broken roots or stems can cause disease. Using a sharp knife helps to minimize damage to the plant by making single cuts to separate sections of the plant.
Planting Pups
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Aloe vera offsets have shallow roots systems, which make the pups fragile in soil. Plant pups with one pup to a pot or with a few in a single pot. Lipford suggests placing Aloe vera pups in soil up to the first set of leaves so the plants will stay upright.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit aloe vera image by Magdalena Mirowicz from Fotolia.com
