A dear friend of mine gave me a little plant of Aloe Vera over 2 years ago as a moving in present. I had had one before when we lived in London, albeit a different variety, and I was very pleased as I love and really appreciate its healing qualities. I have had to use it on a number of occasions, especially when I really scalded my hand, and I can assure you that it does do its job.

In any case, I was not expecting such a vigorous growth and never knew that they grow little pups, so I was surprised to see a new little plant inside the pot.

As the container was getting overcrowded, I decided to split them apart, which resulted in two plants instead of one, but after a few months, even the “baby” plant had grown considerably large and had pups of its own, so had to split those apart as well. They have all taken very well and I have given a few to friends. Since today was “splitting apart day” again, I thought of taking some pictures and share how to do in a few easy steps.

Supplies needed:

• gloves (aloe vera is very prickly as I have found out!)
• a few pots with drainage holes (mine are recycled)
• compost (some people suggest cactus mix, but I have been using general compost with great results)

Directions:

First, take the plant out of its pot. You will find quite a few pups even under the soil. Choose the ones that are the healthiest and biggest as they would in any case overcrowd your pot soon again. When you have selected them, I have found that just pulling them gently, will be enough to release them from the mother plant. Some of them will already have a good root system.

Lay the selected pups on one side and re pot the mother plant with some fresh compost. You may want to use a bigger container if you see that it is running out of space.

Fill up the new pots with compost and one by one, gently push the new plants inside each one, making sure that all the roots are covered. Water them a little bit, and the job is done!

Some people say to not water them straight away, or that you must leave the pups out for a few days to form a callous etc. I have never done that, and they have all done very well as you can see from the pictures. 

I have got so many plants now, that I have decided to donate them to my youngest boy’s school, when they have their spring fair. I already have 12 plants, and by spring, who knows, maybe a few more pups will pop up!!