Aloe clippings?

Pagan_Pride · Sun Dec 02, 2012 1:47 am

I bought an aloe plant a couple of months ago and have had nothing but trouble so far. One such problem was that before I recently turned our spare bedroom into a "grow room" our kitten love to swat the aloe around. He manage to snap off about 6 inches of the tip of one leaf. A friend of mine said that what I could try was to set the piece out and let the end heal up for about a week, and then set it in some water with miracle grow and it might begin to root. It's been sitting in water for over 2 weeks now, still has a healthy color to it, but I am not seeing any roots. Does anyone know if this can actually work?

ElizabethB · Sun Dec 02, 2012 2:05 am

I have never heard of trying to root a piece of aloe stem. My aloes produce pups and more pups that I transplant and give away and give away. They are so prolific that they are almost a nuscience.

The proposition sounds interesting and I look forward to postings from others or results from your experiment - for education purposes only. Too many aloes - not going to try it myself but would like the info to pass on.

Pagan_Pride · Sun Dec 02, 2012 3:22 am

Well, the thing is that my plant has not been growing or producing pups since I got it a couple of months ago. After browsing around this particular forum, I am under the impression that this is because I am using the wrong soil. It is the same stuff I use for my other houseplants, and it retains water very well. I guess I need dry soil to encourage root growth. I will be leaving in a few minutes to go get the right stuff...

I have no idea what to expect with the stem, I was just bummed because the plant has taken a beating since I got it, and with the cat maiming it, I've been fighting like hell to make SOME kind of progress with it.

ElizabethB · Sun Dec 02, 2012 3:32 am

It can take a year or 2 for an aloe to produce pups so don't be discouraged. They need to be a little root bound and have lots of heat and sun. Water only when the soil completely dries out.

As for the cats what can I say - I have 2 young girls that I am the humble human servant to. They are strictly inside cats and can get into serious mischief in no time. I fuss up a storm and they give me the "who me" look. Sigh. I am such a sucker for my girls and so is my big, brawny, man's man husband. The girls will curl up on his lap and he baby talks to them for hours.

IDK - I think I lost my train of thought. Oh Aloes - let the forum know how your rooting experiment goes.

LOL

Pagan_Pride · Wed Dec 05, 2012 10:40 am

Experiment was a failure...Just turned all brown and snotty...oh well

applestar · Wed Dec 05, 2012 12:57 pm

I've never tried leaf propagating an aloe -- I think it's easier with pups as mentioned above or when you already have the basal tissue of the leaf attached.

Assuming water propagation is possible at all for aloe, I believe you would need to let the cut end dry and form callus first.

When water propagating, it's essential to change the water frequently and not allow microorganisms to breed -- I think adding MircleGro to the water might have fostered unwanted harmful growth -- fungi, algae, bacteria, etc. in the water.

I would try with several dried/callused leaf cuttings in moist sand or 1/2 and 1/2 sand and potting soil as propagating medium and put a vented humidity dome on top. Bright, diffused light. Bottom heat.

Ozark Lady · Wed Dec 05, 2012 7:04 pm

I saw an aloe plant growing in water.

I was helping my son paint a house and in the kitchen window was a large aloe, and it was simply growing in a vase of water. I can't tell you if there was minerals etc in that water, I just know there was no soil there. It had alot of roots in that vase. I assumed that they had put a pup in the vase and just left it there.

The homeowner had hired us to paint, but the renters living there were not friendly enough to ask about the aloe.