So about 6-7 months ago I rescued a teeny tiny aloe pup from the trash can at work. My boss had picked up a bunch of plants and decided he didn't want to plant them so I nabbed a little aloe pup, took it home, and planted it. It was about 3 inches tall when I planted it and to my surprise it has almost quadrupled in size! A little over half a year in and it has sprouted not one, but two pups already! I was under the impression that aloes don't sprout pups until they are a few years old. Is it sprouting pups because of something wrong I am doing? I'm also curious if the main aloe is healthy or not. Unlike other aloe pictures I've seen, this one is not fanning out circularly. All of the leaves are in a flat fan formation. Is this normal, or am I doing something wrong? The leaves themselves are plump and firm, not squishy/mushy, but they are a vivid bright green and not the typical blue-ish color I've seen in most aloe pictures. Any guidance or advice you guys can give me would be very appreciated, I've never grown aloe before! I am attaching pictures of the two aloes. The first pup is in the reddish brown pot, and the Momma Aloe is in the blue pot, along with her 2nd pup.
Welcome to the Forum! Your aloes look happy. Firm and plump is good. As for color and form---there are multitudes of aloe species/varieties/cultivars of varying hue and growth habit. Species Spotlight - Aloe Plant Care | The Succulent Eclectic 20 Different Types of Aloe Plants - Garden Lovers Club Yours appears to be an Aloe vera. I think your baby (now parent) is growing as it should. Am sure that Forum members with aloe expertise will soon give your plant a proper ID and advice on how best to grow it. Congratulations on your success, and on your rescue of this nice plant.
Thank you so much for replying! I'm thrilled to know it's healthy, I don't have much experience with plants at all so I'm glad I haven't managed to kill this little aloe. I'll take a look at the links you supplied, thank you! Another question I had that I forgot to include in the mains post: Neither one of these plants seem to do well outside, no matter whether they're in direct or indirect light. I live in Arizona, so the climate is pretty hot and dry (which I thought succulents and aloes preferred!)... The few times I've tried moving them outside they start turning a dark greenish-brown color within a day or two and don't seem very happy at all. Is there a proper way to transition plants outside, or are these aloes just more suited for the cooler climate indoors? Ideally I'd like the have them outdoors, but if they truly can't survive then indoor plants they shall remain!
Plants can adapt after some changes in their environment, but moving from indoors to outdoors is often too big step, if the new location is exposed to direct sunlight and winds. Always give your plant a chanche to adapt. 1. Move plant outdoors with rainy or overcast sky. Better if that lasts several days in the row. 2. If plant is very sensitive, start with short sessions outdoors and move plant back indoors each day, by increasing the length of session each time. This adaption period should last a week or couple of weeks, depending on how sensitive your plant is and how big difference in light conditions there is between the old and new location. 3. Or use shading fabrics or objects to avoid scorching under direct sun. 4. Avoid windy locations during adaption period. 5. Keep eye on proper moisture level. This all is neccessary, because plants build different type of leaves in shaded locations, than under the direct sun. They are not able to control loss of water and are sensitive to the UV-rays, if moved from shaded location with standing air to direct sun with winds. They need time to rebuild their structure to adapt with changed conditions. If followed these suggestions, I suppose, your aloes should do well outdoors in your climate.
