Repotting and Dividing a Giant Aloe Vera Plant

Hello my friends and happy New Year! My sister showed up at my house a couple days ago with this poor awkward Aloe plant and asked for my help.

My mom originally purchased this Aloe in a tiny 3″ pot at Walmart. I don’t remember the date, but I was there the day that she brought it home. I know it was pre-2017 because she moved [from the house that she brought it home to] in August of 2017. After she moved, it lived for about 5 years in a South facing window that was shaded by a huge Maple tree and it really loved its life in that location. But then in September of 2022, my mom moved again and my sister, Caitlin, took the plant. Her house is an old one with tricky heating. Basically, it’s scorching heat on the first floor and a frozen ice land on the second floor. Neither is ideal for an Aloe, but Caitlin tried keeping it on the first floor in her dining room filled with South facing windows. But it just didn’t work. It lost leaves and etiolated and grew little Aloe pups until it looked more like a bonsai tree than an Aloe plant. So here we are.

The plant looked like it had been chasing the sun, it had etiolated drastically over one side of its planter. (An etiolated plant is one that has “stretched out” due to a lack of appropriate light.) The lowest leaves of the Aloe are what anchored it down in its pot, so as it began shedding its lower leaves and then stretching its new upper growth to reach the sun, the plant toppled over and continued growing sideways.

My approach was a simple one. I started by beheading the large mother plant and also removing all dead, dying and broken leaves from it. I thought I’d have to leave it out overnight to allow the cut to callous over, but that wasn’t at all necessary. The stem of this Aloe was firm and relatively dry even right after being cut.

After beheading the mother plant, I was able to reach into the potting mix to separate each of the offshoot plants. There were nine Aloe pups total and all of them were a nice size. Two of the baby plants were well rooted, but the other seven baby plants needed to be rooted. Not to worry, Aloe vera plants propagate in water very easily. So I planted the two rooted pups in potting mix. I got a couple of quart sized Mason jars out to root the other seven Aloe pups.

I was able to repot the mama Aloe in its original planter. I kept the level of the potting mix quite low since I needed the edges of the pot to help hold the plant in an upright position. Since the plant has no roots yet, the smaller amount of potting mix will make no difference at all.

If you are interested in the potting mix I used, let me know in the comments. I can write that recipe in another blog. I did also want to mention that I used mealworm frass as an additive since I want to encourage root growth. It’s excellent for that purpose.

Now it’s time to just wait for all the plants to send out some roots. Oh, and I also have to find homes for all of these plants as well (fingers crossed on that one).

Thanks for reading and I wish you all a Happy New Year!

Mercy, peace and love be multiplied to you.

Instagram @liquidambar_girl

For Mercy, Peace, Love merchandise click here

Products I use and (therefore) recommend:

Planty friends – Feel free to use these links to the products that I use for my own houseplants.  I receive a small percentage of any sales through these links, so feel free not to use them if that bothers you.

Stackable Moss poles – https://amzn.to/3nzgDoo

Velcro Plant Tape – https://amzn.to/3qUcHk5

Horticultural 1/4” pumice – https://amzn.to/2KfcNPT

Horticultural perlite – https://amzn.to/3f9wwvE

Coco coir – https://amzn.to/2UBBiZF

Orchid Bark – Extra small chips – https://amzn.to/38OXWWJ

Orchid Bark – Small chips – https://amzn.to/3kA8HOU

Earthworm castings – https://amzn.to/38TRkGw

Coco Loco potting mix – https://amzn.to/2UHV3OY

GE Balanced Spectrum grow light bulb – https://amzn.to/3fdeAAu

Aosbeic Grow light 4ft.x 4ft. – https://amzn.to/3x3l8uu

Monios L LED grow lights – 2 ft. – https://amzn.to/391NmeS

Heat Mat (for propagating) – https://amzn.to/2MSezbk

Heat Mat w/ Thermostat – https://amzn.to/2PIjCwc

Bonsai scissors – https://amzn.to/33a6F29

Hygrometer (humidity monitor) – https://amzn.to/32WtiqO

Moisture meter sticks – https://amzn.to/35FR7Vk

Horticultural charcoal – https://amzn.to/2UKOv25

Organic houseplant fertilizer liquid – https://amzn.to/3pIb7ij

Insecticide/Miticide – (many bug sprays don’t kill spider mites, this one does) – https://amzn.to/3pHKREw

Systemic houseplant insecticide – https://amzn.to/36MuoX8

Espoma Rose Tone (fertilizer for roses and flowering perennials) – https://amzn.to/3m8OGkU

Full disclosure – the last four product links will be much cheaper if you can find them in your local garden center.  I’ve put them here so that you can see what they are called and what they look like, but I’d advise that you buy from these links only as a last resort.