Growing Aloe from Cuttings

 

In the last post I showed some of the progress and details of propagating from seed. Here's an easier ( and probably familiar ) technique - propagation from cuttings.

Below are some cuttings I took roughly three months ago from various branching aloes and placed in an outdoor corner with filtered light. I pulled them out today to check on root growth and re-pot if needed.

 

I took cuttings from four types of multi-stemmed  aloes: A. kedongensis, A. africana, A. dawei and A. mutabilis. My approach was set the cuttings in a small amount of soil and leave them alone. After roughly several weeks I gave them the occasional spray of water.

Aloe dawei

 

Aloe africana

Aloe mutabilis

I didn't know what to expect but once I removed the first plant I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of root growth on this Aloe africana (I think that's what this plant is... to this day I'm still not sure!).

 

One sign it might be time to transplant your cuttings ... roots growing from the bottom of the container!

Here's an Aloe kedongensis removed from it's container. Notice it has a few sun burn marks and the root system is not as developed. In fact this cutting with it's narrow leaves doesn't resemble the parent plant much anymore. I think it's had a hard time. But these are tough plants; I've left cuttings laying around for the better part of a year and was still able to grow them on into healthy plants!

One of the variables I wasn't sure about... does it matter how big the cuttings are? The Aloe mutabilis cutting below was relatively small but still seems to have grown a vigorous root system.

It's interesting to see a closeup of the developing root system. As with all the cuttings the roots have grown exclusively from the first node above the original cut.

As far as I can remember all Aloes seem to have an almost iridescent greenish / yellow root cap. Kinda cool looking. I assume this plant is happy since it appears there are lots of root hairs that have grown and are holding the soil together.

 

Now onto the Aloe dawei which were the largest of the cuttings I took originally.

 

 

Looks different right?! The roots seem much more developed. Whether this is because the cutting was larger, it was placed in a larger container or a shadier corner, because of the species itself or some other variable I'm not sure.

 

Do the plants need soil at all to develop roots? No - not really. Here's another Aloe dawei cutting grown in gravel.

 

There is a noticeable difference in the root development and overall appearance of the cutting. Compare how green and plump the cutting grown in soil looks compared to this one.

What happens when a cutting is left without any medium what so ever? Aloe kedongensis drew the short straw when it came to this test.

I know from experience that eventually (6 - 12 months) some highly calloused looking root nubs will begin to grow as long as the cuttings don't become completely desiccated.

3 month old Aloe cutting left un-potted

I replanted all the cuttings into larger containers with more soil and plan on using them in the landscape sometime this upcoming Spring.

There's a few generally well known tips I'll pass along:

1. Use sharp pruners (secateurs) so as to avoid crushing the stem.

2. Clean your pruners before use to avoid introducing pathogens. Potentially re-clean your pruners when switching between plants for the same reason.

3. Cut below a stem node - this is where the roots will eventually grow.

4. Strip / pinch off a third to a half of the leaves starting from the bottom of the stem. Be careful not to strip skin of the stem as this will introduce another attack vector for pathogens.

4. Let the cut dry for a few days or a week before placing in a growing medium. (I sometimes ignore this tip)

5. Place Aloe cuttings out of the direct sunlight (especially during the long summer days). Filtered light seemed to work well for the cuttings in this post.

6. There's no need to water the cuttings initially - they have no roots. Use a well draining medium like potting soil or sand mixed with a bit of organic material to avoid rot when you do start watering.

 

For reference below are a few of the parent plants.

A. kedongensis

Above is Aloe kedongensis which seems to bloom whenever it feels so inclined - sometimes a single bloom and sometimes multiple flower stalks. Below is Aloe mutabilis.

A. mutabilis

As a gardener I like propagating from cuttings because a larger plant will be available sooner for use in the landscape. Chances are I'll need just a few of these landscape Aloes so taking a few cuttings is a handy technique. But... growing from seed is great to create a lot of a given plant and share with friends.

Happy propagating!

 

Spring 2021 Updates:

After growing outside for the last 6 months here's what the cuttings look like now:

Aloe kedongensis - 1 gal pots

Look closely and you'll see some of the roots that were growing out the bottom of the pots.

 

Aloe dawei - 5 gal pot

Aloe mutabilis - 5 gal pot

Above cutting was not in the original post. The 1 gal Aloe mutabilis pictured below was in the original post.

Aloe mutabilis - 1 gal

Aloe africana

From cuttings to the full size plants above the process took about 9 months. Most of the plants above ready to be up-potted again.

January, 2022

A few plants from above were up-sized to larger pots.

Aloe dawei in a 7g pot

Aloe mutabilis in a 10g pot (foreground)