How to divide aloes for more plants

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One of the great things about aloes is that they produce offsets, or pups. These are miniature versions of the mother plant which can be removed and grown into plants of their own. Some aloes pup so much that they really do look their best in clumps, but for some I prefer to trim off the pups as they appear, and then I can have more plants. It really is so easy it's ridiculous. I did a bunch of them this morning before I'd even finished my morning coffee!

I planted a nice big aloe this morning, and before planting it, I trimmed off any damaged leaves, the leaves at the base (just for neatness), and all of the pups, which I set aside. Most of then I cut off, but one I got roots on (it's best to get roots, but it's not absolutely necessary).

I have a big pot on my patio with an Elephant Ear in it, and plenty of room around it, so I just poked the pups in around it. I made a hole with a dibble (or you can just use your fat fingers), pushed in the pups, and firmed the soil around them. Then I gave them a nice drink of water with Miracle-Gro mixed it.

The mixture in this pot will be too rich for the aloes to live there forever, but it will be perfect while they grow new roots and get started on their new life. Once they reach a size that's large enough to be seen in the garden, I'll move them out, and they will be planted in more sandy free-draining soil, like where their mom is.

Aloe

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