Question

Pups!  

Pups2   Hi Darlene,

I have several aloe vera plants. One of my larger indoor plants has some small pups growing on the plant's underside. I understand that pups can drain nourishment from the mother plant. Since these pups are small at this stage, at what point should they be removed? Do I have to repot the mother plant along with them in order to separate and remove them?

Answer
Sharon,

These pups grow off of the roots of the plant. If you do not want to use them to start additional plants you can use an old butter knife and gently ease them out of the soil breaking the connection to the mother plant and discard the pup. If you want to repot the pup and grow it to adulthood wait until it is 2 to 4 inches tall. I have had aloe plants with 20 pups and it did not harm the mother plant. By the time they start growing pups they are at or close to full grown size and as long as they get enough water in the pot for the mother and the pups nothing will shrivel. To remove them to repot them do the same thing, gently remove them with a butter knife preserving as much roots on the baby as possible and pot the baby in a 2 inch pot to start with then gradually move it up as it grows larger. You can have plants to give as gifts to your friends with just a little work. Good luck!

Darlene