aloe vera plants

I have an Aloe Vera plant, and I was jsut wondering if anyone knows if I can grow a new plant from that one and how to?

There is a chance someone would know surely

[ April 26, 2005, 05:53 PM: Message edited by: TEST ]

 

Hi Test

You can propagate your Aloe from offsets (baby plants at the base) In Spring or Summer, gently tease them out & pot up in gritty compost & keep in a warm sunny place indoors. Aloe plants reach maturity in about 4 years & this is when they usually start producing offsets. If there are none, your plant is probably not old enough & just needs a bit more time. Apparently you can sow the seeds (they flower in spring) Sow them fresh into pots of moist compost, lightly cover with compost or vermiculite & keep in a propagator at 20-25c. They take 1-4 months to germinate. Good luck & let us know how you go

 

Thank you Bayleaf!

I'll see how it goes

 

If they're anything like our aloe you'll be over-run with the darn things, they seem to have taken over the place! Without any help from us, it has produced loads of babies and they have taken root quite happily, so you ought to be fine.

 

You probably know this already, but aloes are from the same family as cacti, therefore the cuttings do best in cactus compost, especially if you feed them about once a fortnight with cactus feed as well.

[I have four aloes and three cacti on my office window ledge. The window cleaner thinks I hate him.]

 

Hi Skiver, sorry to be an anorak, but Aloe is actually a member of the Lily family (and part of the larger family Xeroids - means it likes dry conditions) although it does resemble & like similar conditions to members of the cactus family. Also Cacti are dicots & Aloe is a monocot. Soz, but this is one of my "things"!!! :rolleyes:

[ April 28, 2005, 06:50 PM: Message edited by: Bayleaf ]

 

Perfectly true Bayleaf

Cacti & Succulents is the main groupage for these things...Aloe being a Succulent

They used to tell us at the Notts cacti & succulent society that a Cacti can be a Succulent but a succulent cannot be a cacti
to do with areoles an all that stuff

 

Same to you an' all! lol

 

to save you looking up your areoles (pardon the expression )

http://www.answers.com/topic/areole

 

Ta, v. enlightening! 'S good to keep learning!