Propagating aloe vera is fun and easy, and it’s a great way to expand your collection. I’ve had my plant for over 20 years, and I’ve multiplied it many times over. In fact, most of my friends and family have babies from it.
In this complete guide, I’ll explain exactly how to do it. I will give you detailed step by step instructions to guide you through the entire process – from separating the pups, all the way through to potting up your new plants.
You’ll learn exactly when and how to propagate your aloe vera, including the different methods you can use, and my expert tips and advice so that you will have the best success possible.
Aloe Vera Propagation Methods
There are three ways you can propagate your aloe vera. They are: by division, taking cuttings, or from seed.
- Division – You can divide your plant to create more. This is the easiest and most common way to do it, and the one that I will show you how to do in this guide.
- Cuttings – It’s also possible to grow aloe vera from cuttings, though it is a more advanced technique because it can be tricky.
- Seeds – If the flowers are pollinated, they will produce seeds that you can sow. But it’s very uncommon for them to bloom indoors, and this is by far the slowest propagation method.
What Are Aloe Vera Pups?
Aloe vera pups are offshoots that form around the base of the mother. They’re also called suckers, offsets, babies, slips, runners, or sometimes plantlets.
They form at the bottom of the mother, and will pop up from underneath the soil. Once they’re mature enough, you can propagate aloe vera offshoots to make new plants.
If yours has never produced babies, that means it’s not old enough or the conditions aren’t right. To encourage it to grow faster, make sure you give your aloe vera the proper care.
When To Propagate Aloe Vera
You can divide your aloe vera at any time during the year to propagate it. But you must wait until the pups are mature before you remove them, otherwise they probably won’t survive on their own.
The only way to tell if they are ready is to check the roots. To do that, carefully slide the mother out of the pot. Then brush away the soil until you can see the bottoms of the babies.
The pups should have their own root system that’s at least 2″ long. If they are all really small, or they just have tiny nubs, then put the plant back into the pot and give them a few more months to mature before you try propagating them again.
Related Post: How To Store Aloe Vera (Leaves Or Gel)
How To Propagate Aloe Vera Plants Step-By-Step
Below I will walk you through the detailed steps for how to propagate your aloe vera by division. Don’t worry, you don’t need to buy a bunch of expensive equipment, you probably already have most of what you need on hand.
Supplies Needed:
- Aloe vera plant with mature offshoots
- Well-draining potting soil
- Pair of clippers
- Hand trowel
- Metal chopsticks (optional)
Step 1: Remove the plant from the pot: Gently remove your aloe vera from the pot, or carefully dig it up if it’s outdoors. If it’s stubborn, you can run a hand trowel along the inside of the container to loosen it. Then brush away as much of the excess soil as you can.
Step 2: Untangle the roots – Loosen the rootball to uncover the spot where the pups are attached to the mother plant. Try your best not to break any of the delicate baby roots in the process.
This can be difficult and take some time, so you’ll need to be extremely patient here. I find that using a metal chopstick makes the job much easier.
Related Post: How To Properly Water Your Aloe Vera
Step 3: Cut the pup off – If the offshoot is still attached to the mother, sever the connection with a sharp knife or pair of clippers. Then finish untangling them from your aloe vera to separate and propagate them, if necessary.
Step 4: Repot the mother – Once you’re done dividing the pups, you can simply put the mother back into the original container, and top it off with fresh potting soil. Otherwise, this is a great time to repot your aloe vera plant if you want to.
Related Post: How To Make DIY Aloe Vera Gel At Home
How To Pot Up Your Aloe Vera Babies
Use a clean 4″ container for each offshoot, or you can group several into one larger pot. Position them at the same depth they were before, making sure to cover all of the roots.
You can purchase potting soil that’s specifically made for them, or use a gritty mix, which will give them extra drainage. Pack it in tightly to hold the new plant in place, and give it a light drink of water.
Related Post: How & When To Harvest Aloe Vera
FAQs
The main way that aloe vera reproduces asexually is by sending out runners around the base. But mature plants can also produce viable seeds when the flowers are pollinated.
It is possible to propagate aloe vera from a single leaf, but part of the stem must still be attached, and it’s a difficult process. However, it is not possible to propagate sections or pieces of the leaves.
Now that you know the steps for propagating your aloe vera, you’ll have tons of new babies! Be sure to share them with friends, they make great gifts too.
Do you want to learn how to multiply all of your plants? Then my Plant Propagation eBook is for you! It will show all you need to know to get as many new plants as you want from your existing ones. Grab your copy today!
More About Plant Propagation
Share your tips for how to propagate aloe vera in the comments section below.
Mary says
I was gifted an aloe vera plant 3 years ago and it immediately produced a pup. A few months later there was a frost when I was out of town and the pup died. My aloe vera plant has never produced another pup. Is there some way for me to encourage it to do so?
Amy Andrychowicz says
Oh bummer that the pup died after a frost, but glad the mother plant is still ok. Give your aloe vera as much light as you can, and it should start producing pups again. 🙂
Julia A says
What do you suggest if your aloe plant appears to be crawling out of the pot, mine is about 6″ out of the pot and I want to repot it. Would you just make sure the whole 6″ of outgrowth is covered in the next pot or do you suggest that I cut it and let new roots form? I’ve heard mixed messages.
Amy Andrychowicz says
I’m not exactly sure what you mean when you say your aloe vera plant is “crawling out the pot”. If it has outgrown the pot is extremely pot-bound, then yes. I would repot it into a larger container and plant it deep enough so that all of the roots are covered. However, if your aloe is sending out shoots that look like babies, and those are what are crawling/hanging out of the pot… then you can wait until each of those babies have roots, and then propagate them. But, if that’s the case, then you have a different type of aloe plant, and not an aloe vera.
Lori says
Help! I just broke a baby! I picked it up to look at it and it broke right off. No roots! It’s about 6” long. What do I do!?!?
Amy Andrychowicz says
Oh no!! I would try dipping the end into rooting hormone, then put it into a dry succulent soil mix and wait to see if it ends up growing roots again. If just the roots broke off the aloe baby, then it may be able to regrow more. Otherwise, if the entire bottom of the pup broke off, then I don’t think it will grow. Sorry!!
Adrienne Hernandez says
I have an aloe vera that produces so many pups I hardly have time to keep up with it. I now have pups even coming through the middle of the mother plant. What can I do with these without killing the mother?
Amy Andrychowicz says
Wow, sounds like a very happy aloe plant! I’m not sure what you mean when you say that the pups are “coming through the middle of the mother plant”. Are you saying they are growing out of the actual plant, rather than out of the soil? If so, then I think you may have some other variety of an aloe plant, and not an aloe vera. There are hundreds of different varieties of aloes.
Loraleigh Peterson says
Have a 20+ year old aloe vera plant from a person that passed. It had two flowers in the fall of 2017. Have transplanted the pups with never any problems. They all seem to want to grow. Have given away dozens of them. Have pictures if anyone would like to see. Wet them and forget them.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Your aloe vera plant sounds wonderful! It’s so nice of you to share the babies with others, such a fantastic gift.
Maebe says
I repotted my aloe vera few days ago and just found your blog ? When I repotted the plant, I watered it right away. Don’t know if it’s a bad thing to water it right away. Any thoughts?
Amy Andrychowicz says
It’s not necessarily a bad thing to water your aloe vera right after repotting it, as long as it wasn’t being overwatered before it should be fine. Just make sure you allow the soil to dry out completely before you water it again.
Ori says
Sometimes using water stream is helping seperating the roots.
Thanks for the useful tips.
Belinda says
Hi, just came across your post as I’m trying to figure out the growth of my aloe pups.
I have 5 in total. 3 sizable ones from a gold tooth aloe that was humongous but had started to rot as the owner had it outside (in England, so lots of rain) so I cut some healthy pups off, two relatively small ones which where from a plant I bought that already had the pups, and the last one I purchased from a garden centre, but turned out it was a cutting with no root system.
Now, being slightly naive about propergating aloe at the time, I cut them all off without roots and potted them straight away. For ages there was no growth, and having read a bit more about it, thought I had messed up. But now, over a month later, all but one of them have bright green shoots under the soil! One of the shoots is so long it’s reached the bottom of the pot! (So about 4 inches)
I kinda wanted to know if anyone else has experience of this, and if they can tell me what will happen next??
Thanks!
Amy Andrychowicz says
Awesome, congratulations!! Your pups didn’t have any visible roots, but they had healthy root nodes, and that’s why you were able to successfully propagate them! When you say there are shoots under the soil, do you mean roots? Or are those new babies starting to grow? As for what’s next, here’s a post about how to care for aloe plants.
Robin King says
I just transplanted some small plants, However they are looking pale wondering if to much water or sun ???? Any ideas ??
Amy Andrychowicz says
Did you move them from a shady spot to the sun, or move them from growing indoors to the sun? If so, that could definitely be sunburn. Otherwise, check the stem of the plants to make sure they aren’t mushy and rotting.
Stacey says
Plants that can be easily propagated are the best! I love to share and to receive from others too.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Yes the are, sharing plants with friends is so much fun!
Janet Vinyard says
Thanks for sharing this information. I bought an aloe plant earlier in the summer but it’s not large enough to have pups yet! But when it does I’ll refer back to your post! Blessings, Janet
Amy Andrychowicz says
Awesome, you’re welcome! Enjoy your aloe! 🙂
Dee says
Amy…what do I do with a humongous Aloe that has 2 giant shoots coming off the plant and hanging almost to the floor. I inherited the plant and the whole thing is in danger of falling apart. There is no way to get to the root ball or removing it from the pot because of the size. Any ideas?
Amy Andrychowicz says
Most types of aloes can be propagated by stem cuttings. I was able to do with with a huge aloe vera of mine a few years ago. Check the stems on your aloe for root nubs (they could just be small bumps). If you see root nubs, you can root it. It might even have roots starting to grow somewhere on the stem. Take the cutting so it has a nice long stem and includes several of those nubs or starter roots, then let the cutting cure (or dry out) until the end is callused over. Then you can dip it in rooting hormone and put the whole stem into a mix of porous soil (that drains super fast) and don’t water it at all until you see new growth. You can mist it occasionally, but don’t water it. It may take several months before you see signs of new growth (which means it has roots).
Stacey says
I have that same problem except when I got mine the entire plant is moveable in its pot including the pups I can see the roots ..I was wondering if I could just get enough roots for potting the pups
Amy Andrychowicz says
Yes, as long as the pups have their own roots, then you can separate them from the mother plant and pot them up. You may also want to add some fresh potting soil into the pot if the entire thing is loose in there.
Linda Yemm says
Hi, just wanted to say, thanks for a great informative post.
Just seperated my Aloe plant that I've had for about 10 years, have another 20 healthy plsnts to share with family and friends.
My nan always had an Aloe plant in her kitchen window, and I always have too..x X
Amy Andrychowicz says
You're welcome! I bet that your friends and family were excited that you shared your cute little aloe babies with them! Many of my friends have a baby from my aloe vera too.
Hoover Boo says
Your Aloe looks in excellent health, quite an accomplishment for being grown in Minnesota. Great gardening!
Amy Andrychowicz says
Thanks! I put my aloe vera plant outside during the summer, where it grows like crazy.
Gaeleen says
Just got my first Aloe Vera and wanted to know how to propagate. I want to use the Gel in my soap-making recipe. Lovely article and so well done.George in Cape Town.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Thanks Gaeleen, glad I could help you learn how to propagate your aloe. 🙂
Anonymous says
What about when the pup doesn't have a root system really started? Can you just use hormone powder and plant? Thanks
Amy Andrychowicz says
You could try. Pups without their own roots are usually too immature to root them. I wouldn't remove it if there aren't roots. If you've already removed it, then it's worth a try to use the rooting hormone. Let it dry out for a week before trying to root it. Then, dip it in rooting hormone and put it in dry potting soil. Mist only, do not water until you see new growth. Good luck!
Anonymous says
Thanks a lot! I will definitely do that… I didn't pull them off too soon, they're are soooo many that they literally fell off??
Amy Andrychowicz says
That's great, a sure sign the pups were ready to be removed from their mother! 🙂
Hugh Martin, Biscoe North Carolina says
How ironic! I just finished propagating my aloe and came in to find this post. These do indeed make wonderful gifts. No kitchen should be without an aloe vera!
Amy Andrychowicz says
Funny! We are on the same wavelength. I agree, everyone needs an aloe vera plant!