Should I repot my Aloe?

I dug this plant out of a client's garbage several years ago. It was tiny, had one main stalk, most of the leaves (?) of which were brown and squishy, and looked really bad. Most of the potting soil had gotten dumped out too. Anyway you know how I try and rescue plants, right?

So I took it home, left it in its same pot but added a bunch of potting soil, cut off all the squishy stems because they were all wilty and dead looking, and what was left was a sorry looking little thing in the middle of the pot, looking like it wasn't going to last the night.

Fast forward several years later, and now I have this:



It just keeps getting bigger and bigger, and that original stalk or plant or whatever you call it has propagated, and there are now what look like several plants in that same pot. Do you know what I'm talking about, or do I need to take another picture?

Anyway, on to the questions. Should I repot it? And also, can I separate the plant, and make two or three aloe plants out of that original one? I have no idea what kind of roots it has, if it has bulbs or runners or whatever that have created new plants, and if it can be separated, how exactly I'd separate the roots.

I don't consider it a very attractive plant. I wouldn't have purchased it if I'd just seen it in the store. But after having rescued it, and it having flourished.....well, now I'm attached to it.

 

Ronni, that is a very happy Aloe! Yes, you can lift the whole thing and separate the little plants to put into pots. I think the little ones are called "pups."
You know that the juice of the aloe is good for burns, and some folks use it as a rejuvenating face mask.

 

I am attached to mine too. Every few years I divided it in half and give half away and keep half. A lot of friends like getting an aloe plant to keep around for sunburn or kitchen burns. Very soothing to put the juice from an aloe on a burn.

They like being pot bound.

 

I would just leave the main plant and remove the little ones. Take a spoon and loosen soil around little plants and pull up and re-pot. I have one about the same size.

 

Yes to all of the above Ronni.

 

Ronni, You can or wait to repot it. I let mine get much fuller before repotting, but only because I just run out of time to do it more timely.


( photo / image / picture from carolyn keiper's Garden )

This is one pot of aloe in my greenhouse. I will wait probably another month before I repot them because I don't have room in this house to spread them out, These are all tucked under a bench.

 

Ronni... another good "save"! Yes... divide them up and spread them around to friends. But also keep some for yourself... no household should be without at least one Aloe for it's medicinal purposes.

 

Over time they get big and HEAVY. Only bushes and trees should weigh more than my bowling ball. I replant the younger ones as winter approaches and abandon the big plant to the elements that sweep down from the north.

Jerry

 

The little old lady across the street gave me one last year. I wasn't too impressed because I think they are kind of ugly. However, I took it to my office and that thing has EXPLODED!!! Now I kind of like it since it is thriving!! I will divide it up and share with the sister-in-laws and maybe pot up a few for the "plant section" of the yard sale this summer :-D

 

Anyone know of any interesting uses for aloe, other than treating burns/cuts?

 

Ronni---Initially I misread the title of your post & thought it said you had an aloe plant "to report". I was prepared to hear about its delinquent behavior.

Your plant does look so healthy! Even though they are not the loveliest plants to look at, they get brownie points for sheer exuberance.

BTW I love your deep window sill! Perfect for plant pots. What is it? 4"? 6" deep? Perfect for indoor plants.

 

Ah...thanks for the laugh. I REALLY needed that this morning.

I think you must be thinking of my asparagus fern. It should be arrested for attempted manslaughter as its attack fronds continue to reach out to whoever is in the vicinity....I'm convinced my dogs are its latest attempted victims!

I love my windowsill, and yeah, it's 5" deep. All the window sills are like that, which means I get to line up plants on the sills in the living room too. One of them is housing all my orchids that I'm coaxing to re-bloom. They're actually tucked behind a cabinet that's in front of the window, so you don't really see them when they're at their ugliest, which works out well!

I'd always wanted deep window sills. When Paige (my daughter) saw the kitchen sill when she was looking at this house with me before I moved in, she laughed and told me that if I did end up with this house, that sill was going to be jammed with stuff. She was right!

It's a dark picture, but you get the idea.

 

Wow! And I thought MY aloe was jammed in there!!! That is one impressive looking plant!

 

Thanks Ronni. Having a greenhouse makes a huge difference on how well/fast they grow. I don't' worry too much about them getting rootbound. These were planted up last year and are just vegetating for now.