Somebody gave me a whole ****load of BIG Aloe cuttings.

Should I put in water for a few days before planting

Or?

(So. Calif coastal)

TIA

HB

Higgs Boson wrote:

Somebody gave me a whole shitload of BIG Aloe cuttings.
Should I put in water for a few days before planting?

Aloe HATES water!
http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/c...249017614.html

On Monday, May 19, 2014 12:45:13 PM UTC-7, Brooklyn1 wrote:
Higgs Boson wrote:



Somebody gave me a whole shitload of BIG Aloe cuttings.

Should I put in water for a few days before planting?



Aloe HATES water!

http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/c...249017614.html

Great site. Thanks. One more q: Where it discusses rooting pups..

) "Many aloes produce pups. When the pup is fully formed, detach it from the mother plant, let it callus over for a few days in a cool, dry area, and pot it up. If it has roots, pot as you would a regular aloe, allowing for the fact that it is smaller and should be in a suitably sized pot for it's size.

If it has no roots, let it callus over, place the cut/broken end ON the soil, and support it with top dressing. DO NOT WATER IT-it has no roots, so watering the soil will likely cause rot. Instead, mist it every few days. Roots should start forming within a month. When growth is evident, it can be watered." ...

Would this also apply to BIG cuttings? Sounds like, but want to be sure.

TIA

HB

On 5/19/2014 12:11 PM, Higgs Boson wrote:
Somebody gave me a whole ****load of BIG Aloe cuttings.

Should I put in water for a few days before planting

Or?

(So. Calif coastal)

TIA

HB


When my Aloe vera becomes too overgrown, I take leaf cuttings; but stem
cuttings are likely better. Upon cutting, I immediately dip the cut
surface into rooting hormone powder, to coat not only the cut but to at
least 1 inch above the cut. I then let the cutting dry for about 2 days
before potting up.

For these cuttings, I use a potting mix that is about 2/3 coarse sand
(washed plaster sand is available at most building supply yards) and 1/3
peat moss. Even though this mix drains well, I keep the mix moist but
never wet. I use a small plastic pot (about 1 qt). It takes about 6-10
weeks for the cuttings to root.

After roots have formed and are well visible when the pot is removed, I
move the plant to a larger clay flower pot. I use the same 2/3-1/3 mix
plus some bone meal and a slight amount of blood meal. A. vera does not
require abundant nutrients. I add a half-handful of my own compost to
the mix to "inoculate" it with organisms that will make nutrients in the
bone and blood meals available to the plant.

All this also works with orchid cactus (Ephiphyllum).

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean, see
http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html
Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary