How To Plant & Care For Aloe Vera Pups (Babies)
2 Materials
$10
20 Minutes
Easy
Now that you've removed your Aloe pups (babies or offsets), it's time to plant them. Here's how to plant & care for them so they grow to be healthy & happy.
Your happy Aloe vera has produced babies, which you have removed. Now, what’s next? My aloes have produced many baby plants over the years, most of which I’ve given away. Share the love I say! Here’s how to plant and care for those sweet Aloe vera pups.
Like any succulents which are rooting or developing an immature root system, you want the mix to be very light so those roots can easily form. Aloe vera pups are planted basically the same way that you would an established plant except for a couple of slight differences.
The Aloe vera plant has a root ball to anchor it down in that light mix whereas you have to play with the pups a bit to get them to stand up and not completely flop over. With the pups, I sprinkle a thin layer of worm compost on the top whereas, with the plant, I add both compost and a greater amount of worm compost.
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Materials Used:
Aloe vera pups.
2 small grow pots.
Succulent & cactus mix.
Worm compost.
Steps Taken:
1- Separate the pups by size so they could be planted accordingly. I planted the larger pups in 1 pot & the smaller in another.
2- Fill the pots approximately 2/3 full of the succulent mix; more or less depending on how extensive the root systems are.
3- Arrange the pups in the pot, largest 1st, & fill in with the mix. Their weight wants to send them toppling so I held them all up in the middle & pressed the mix down around the cuttings (don’t worry – the mix is light & it won’t hamper the rooting in the process) to get them to stand up.
4- Sprinkle a light layer, maybe 1/8″, of worm compost on top around all the pups.
Care For Aloe Vera Pups:
Outdoors:
I put my pups in my side garden in the bright shade. It’s still quite warm & sunny here in Tucson in late September. I don’t want those little plants to get any direct sun. I let them settle in for almost 2 days before giving them a thorough watering. I’ll water them twice a week as long as it’s still warm here. And remember, smaller pots dry out faster than do larger pots.
Once the cooler weather sets in, I’ll back off the watering to every 7-14 days. It’ll be even less often when & if we get any rain this winter.
Indoors:
Put your pups in a bright location out of any direct sun. As above, let them settle in for a day or 2 before watering thoroughly. You want the water to drain out of the bottom of the pot. Depending on how warm your house is & the size of the pot, water every 5-10 days. After they feel firmly rooted in, water every 10-14 days.
Good to know: Although Aloe vera pups root in fast, you want to water them more often than you would an established aloe plant. As they get fully rooted, you can back off on the watering frequency. In winter, as with any houseplant, water less often.
In spring I’ll transplant these pups into larger pots. My mother plant got knocked over by a raccoon so I’ll keep 2 pots for myself – 1 for inside and one for outside. I’ll give the rest away. After all, I’m happy to pass on the aloe goodness!
How to care for Aloe vera indoors.
How to remove Aloe vera pups from the mother plant.
Happy gardening,
Nell
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Frequently asked questions
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