How to propagate your aloe vera plant

Divide your aloe in five easy steps

When it comes to finding the perfect houseplant, the trusty aloe vera certainly ticks a lot of boxes. Low-maintenance, attractive, air purifying, brimming with skin-soothing properties, and easy to propagate – it really is the plant that keeps on giving!

Follow our easy propagation plan in five simple steps:

Step 1 

Identify the new plants or ‘offsets’: Aloe vera plants sprout ‘baby’ plants – or offsets – from their roots. These new shoots, which are usually a lighter green than the rest of the plant, are ready to start a new life in their own pot when there are about four leaves that are 3-4 inches long.

Step 2

Create the right conditions: Choose a wide pot with a drainage hole, as aloe plants have widespread shallow roots that don’t like to be waterlogged. Further assist drainage by placing a layer of gravel in the bottom of the pot then half-fill the pot with a potting soil that has extra perlite.

Step 3

Now the important part: Remove the offset by taking the whole plant out of the pot and gently prising the offset from the mother plant, trying to retain as much of the roots as possible.

Step 4

Rehome your plant: Make a depression in the top of the soil in the new pot, place your aloe plant inside and press the soil close around the root.

Step 5

Water the plant thoroughly: You won’t need to top up the water supplies very often during the winter months but come summer, be sure to water regularly while allowing the soil to dry out completely between waterings.

Check out The Chalkboard for step-by-step images on how to propagate your aloe. 

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