Question
Good morning Will,
I have 2 babies off of an Aloe Vera from a co-worker.  I have put them in about 1/2 inch of water to get them to root.  They each have 2 roots. It has been about 3 weeks now. Is this a bad idea?  Should I take them home and plant them in a small 2" terra cotta pot with soil and perilite?

2nd question:
I have a hoya carnosa plant.  All it seems to do is keep extending its 2 vines.  Can I do anything else to get it to grow new vines so one day before I am old, I may see flowers off of it?!
It is in a 6" pot, should I replant it to a smaller pot, I think I heard somewhere that they like to be pot/root bound (?).

Thanks so much :-)  

Answer
Hi Jennifer,

It is customary to propagate Aloe offsets by letting them dry over night and then inserting them in a small pot filled with a damp mix of peat moss and perlite. Rooting in water is another acceptable method. You can now transfer yours from water to a pot, as you described.

Hoyas do not branch readily and they do not usually put out new vines from the soil. Most growers insert 6 - 10 separate cuttings in each pot from the outset so that they can produce a fuller plant.

You may be able to take some cuttings and add them to the existing plant to help fill it out.

Hoyas do need to be potbound to bloom. They also must get lots of direct sun each day. If your Hoya has a lot of extra soil around the outside of the rootball that can be easily removed without disturbing the roots too much, then you could move it into a  4 or 5-inch pot. Otherwise, leave it in the 6-inch pot and wait patiently for the roots to fill the pot.

Please let me know if any of this is unclear or if you have any additional questions.

Regards,
Will Creed, Interior Landscaper
Horticultural Help, NYC

You can E-mail me directly at: [email protected]

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