Glad I read this post as I have an aloe and didn't know that the pups were to be divided; I hope I am able to successfully do this!

Eileen

Hi Folks,

This isn't a big deal to do; these are pretty rugged & sturdy plants.

If you just brush away some of the mix at the soil line so you can see where the pup connects to the parent plant, often you can just twist off the pup w/ your fingers. That's how I do it, I rarely use a blade for this myself. Never had any problems from this & I've got abt 10 different kinds of Aloes for which I do this.

Thanks so much for your answers!

I will try to brush away the soil and twist or cut the pups off.

Today is Mothers Day in Sweden so I am gonna give one of the offsprings to my mother. :)

This may sound like a silly question and I apologize for hijacking your thread, Frida, but would it make sense to pot the pups together, or should I put them in individual containers? Thanks!

Eileen

eileen_plants:

The pups will eventually get big enough to offset too, so it depends on how crowded you want things to get and how quickly. There's certainly no particular reason not to.

One more question on this subject...has anyone used rooting hormone on the bottom of the pup before planting?

I don't find it necessary but it can't hurt. The key is to water very carefully.

If you're abt to do this now, I'd suggest you wait 'til Spring. The pups will fare better if you do. Is there any reason you feel you need to do this now?

I am in a warm winter area; SoCal, so it probably won't hurt to do it now. I want to do hard jobs while it's cool outside! Also, the soil will hopefully be a bit softer after a rain. Thanks to all who contributed to this subject! It's just what I needed to find out.

my mom has a huge aloe! we call her mama because she is a baby makin machine! this summer we had to drag mama outside and put her on her side and shake her out. we loosened some of the soil gently and used a knife to cut the babies off because we got nervous and didn't want to pull the wrong thing. mama had about 15-20 babies of all sizes, and she's already making more!

They're really quite sturdy, tough plants as I said before. But what I forgot to say (if it's not obvious) is when one twists off the pup(s), make sure they have some of their own root attached, don't let it all break off on Mama's side.

I've been doing this for years, mostly when my aloes were in flower pots. At one time I had about 300 plants even tho I was giving them away as fast as I could find people who wanted them. Every year it would get to the point where I was using coffee cans to pot the pups.

I put it on the work bench & lay it over on the side and start chiseling away at the soil until the plant comes out. Then I would pick away enough soil to break off the sprouts, then repot the mother in a bigger pot.

Sometimes they do break off a few of the bottom leaves, but then, they just end up being used for sunburns & stuff anyway, so I think of it as a harvest. If I have a wide, shallow pot I'll put all the pups together until they are big enough to need room.

Now that I own real estate in Houston I've planted them all in a bed in the front of the porch & invited my neighbors to take a leaf whenever they need one for a kitchen burn. They're growing so densely that I haven't felt like propagating pups, just let them go their natural course.

Here is a link that might be useful: see my urban aloe farm

My grand mother gave me an aloe vera plant last year and it was dieying bad. But i revived it and since then she has had a baby who lives in a pot next to her:) I hope her and the baby get real big and have more kids i love aloe vera its one of my favorite plants!I think gardening is just a part of me i love the smell of soil and rain and my mom is the same way so was my great grandmother! Its the native american geans i bet:)

I have read several different ways to transplant pups/babies....Do you put the starts in the dirt or in water to root? I want to take to my daughter and will be traveling for several days, so what are any suggestions...please???

I need to transplant my mother plant because it is too big for its pot. Can I just cut it off and replant it like a little one?

No Sedona,

Not at all, pls. don't do that, you'll lose all the roots & the plant as well.

Aloes neeed the bottom part of their crown w/ has the roots underneath. They will not just start from leaves or survive so well if one hacks off the roots w/out understanding how to restart them.

I'll let someone else explain this better, but really, you'll need a pot not much more than 2" larger than the rootball. Crumble all the mix off the roots so you can check them & you'll deposit the ENTIRE plant into new mix in a new pot. Don't cut off anything, pls.

Pirate Girl is right,
You do not want to cut it off!

When you do re pot it, make sure it's a free draining mix and do not water for a few days to give any damaged roots a chance to heal.

JoJo

At what point should aloe pups be separated from indoor potted plants? My mother aloe plant usually sprouts two at a time and I separate them as soon as they're several inches tall, ready to stand on their own. But I just read that late winter/early spring is the best time because that's a fairly inactive growth period and it won't damage the roots. So should I wait till then?

I've never had to use a knife. The babies don't have many roots. I would pot at least 3 babies in one pot. It looks better. Brooke, I repot whenever I can. I don't see the need to wait.

I have a Aloe, two Allie. and Vera, vera is not doing well she is dying and had gotten root rot. I took out to repot. Now a babybis saved. So now I am repotting. Question Vera's baby, now do I pot her baby? Also Allie is in a non- clay pot and don't want to go through the same. Will send a pic. Please, Please, Allie is growing done had babies and is in dangercas with Vera.

Thank you

Love and Blessings

Let me know if pic came of Allue

I just repotted my aloe vera plant and I tried to to separate the pup but I broke it off by mistake. There is no root attached. I planted it in a small pot with potting soil and then I watered it. Help me please because I don't want to lose it.

If there were no roots, plant can't take the water in. It is possible to root it, but best to pot it in well draining mix and not to over water it - at the beginning, no water as it may rot.

Okay, are you saying i should take that pup out of the damp soil and put it in dry soil for a few days first?

Hard to answer w/out seeing it. Also how damp is damp?

How about a pic pls so we can see what's left?

Lena

I thought aloe *cuttings* (that is pups without any roots) were supposed to be aired a few days, to let the bottom callus, and then be planted?

I haven't done this though, and I plan to look in the Cacti and Succulents forum. Just thought I'd mention it.

http://faq.gardenweb.com/discussions/2765911/how-do-i-care-for-my-aloe-vera-plant

"Many aloes produce 'pups'. When the pup is fully formed, detach it from the mother plant, let it callus over for a few days in a cool, dry area, and pot it up. If it has roots, pot as you would a regular aloe, allowing for the fact that it is smaller and should be in a suitably sized pot for its size.

If it has no roots, let it callus over, place the cut/broken end ON the soil, and support it with top dressing. DO NOT WATER IT-it has no roots, so watering the soil will likely cause rot. Instead, mist it every few days. Roots should start forming within a month. When growth is evident, it can be watered."

Thanks so much.

I've separated pups around 1" tall and they grew OK. However, if you are not in some kind of hurry, waiting till they are 3-4" tall is better, as they would have begun to have their own root system and are probably even partially or fully detached from the mother plant already.

I have a large mother aloe that has grown sideways over the side of the pot [my daughter had her in a shady spot so she grew toward the sun until I rescued her] so the plastic pot won't stand upright; it also has 5-6" pups. I am going to try to take it out to separate the pups, but can I re-pot the mother's rootball sideways so it sits upright in the new, wider based, heavier pot? Mother is about 10 years old and 2' wide & tall so she really needs to be upright but I am not sure cactus/succulent soil will be heavy enough to hold her.

Prop it up w/ some rocks at the base of its stem & leave them there until the plant re-roots.

Lena

I realize this is far from what other people are asking, but I have 2 aloes with babies. I given so many babies away that people run when I ask them if they want more. Can I just pull the new babies up and throw them away?

Sure you can!

Or, you can just leave them be as they are in the pot w/ the Mother plant.

What's your big hurry for the pups to be gone anyway? Care to post a pic & show us?

I leave the pups on most of the time, I like how they look.