BCSS - Forum

Hi all,
a friend is sending me an unrooted arm has anyone ever tried rooting these and can give me any advice please.

Never tried that particular one. Didn't have problems rooting others tho, so you might get lucky...

Problematic because of the hollow pithy core. It wasn't called the quiver tree for no reason.

I rooted a cutting of Aloe 'Hercules' in water! Strange but true.

I have heard of others successfully rooting succulent cuttings in water. It sounds bizarre, when water makes them rot. Worth a try, with something you can afford to lose.

I tried once to root an Aloe dichotoma. It did not work, probably because of the fibrous stem / trunk?

HI,

A.dichotoma and A.pillansii are very doubtful, if not impossible species to root from cuttings as their stems are not juicy but very fibrous. However A.plicatilis is a different matter. It often puts down aerial roots from damaged stems or from where it has flowered and divided in the past. So I think you stand a very good chance of getting your cutting going, but putting it in water to root would for me be a no no. A very gritty compost and remember that this is predominantly a winter grower, it definitely flowers in the winter.

Suzanne

In his book ‘Tree Aloes of Africa’, Ernst van Jaarsfeld writes that cuttings of A. plicatilis root easily. I’ve found this to be the case in the UK too.

Use a tall pot (and ideally one that’s narrow as well so there’s not too much compost) and bury as much as possible of the bare stem in the compost (it’s fine to have the base of the stem resting on the bottom of the pot and it’s also ok to have only just a bit of stem showing above the compost). Then roots will form from various places on the buried stem and will provide better anchorage for the plant so it’s less likely to fall over when it gets larger.

When it’s rooted, if you want it to grow quickly use a high nitrogen feed and switch to a balanced feed in early spring to encourage flowering. Water all year round (leaf tips tend die back prematurely if the plant is too dry).

Steven

Hi Steven,
Thanks for the good news and excellent advice from someone that rooted a plicatillis.

It arrived yesterday & the stump was old with maybe one root node pushing up a little from the base I placed it in gel 2 root overnight, today I will wash this off and add some rooting powder then put in pumice in a deep pot as you suggested, I will probably add some mycorhiza fungus as it cant hurt can it.

Damp pumice on a heat pad or dry propped up in a corner , do you think ?

Hi Tina.

Many thanks. I’d go with the damp pumice to get things going straightaway. I’ve not used rooting powder and mycorhiza on plicatilis but I agree they can only be helpful. I’ve not used a heat pad either and suspect it wouldn’t be needed at this time of year. The dry option wouldn’t save time and the cutting would be losing water unnecessarily.

When it roots you should be able to see signs of fresh leaf growth in the centre of the leaf fan, then you can increase the watering and start feeding.

All the best and happy growing!

Steven