tips cultivating aloes aand succulents

soil	germination	more tips on planting and growing in pots for indoor garden or outside

Aloes are succulent plants - what is a succulent plant. A succulent plant has water storage cells in their leaves and/or stem and/or roots which enable the plant to withstand long sessions without water.
Important information.
Aloe plants with a tilted crown should be planted with their rosettes sideways or they will rot. Most succulents and aloe species occur on slopes or ridges. Give these succulent plants plenty stones around the roots for drainage.

Succulents and aloes grow fairly easy from seed, even if some are very slow growers.
Aloes germinate at different intervals, for survival. The seed of some Aloe species does not have dormancy and should be sown in 1-3 years depending how the seeds were stored. (store without air, cool and dry) Some seed will not germinate until the inhibitor is removed. Aloe vera (barbadensis) has dormancy. It germinates best in light at 21C and may take from 30 to 180 days to germinate.

Soil

Here are mainly organic growing tips which we found is safer and easier than chemicals.

If you are familiar with other fertilisers, use it.

Good drainage is essential; as is - humus and old manure.

Improve drainage by adding stones, large and small.

Add some Dolomite gravel it will not harm the plants as it disolves slowly so that it gives a good calcium/magnesium balance which is appreciated by most, and essentual to some aloes.

If dolomite is not available, sprinkle a small amount of Epsom salts around the plants at monthly intervals in the rainy season.

Germination

Aloe seeds germinate at different intervals. That is survival stratigy

If the rain was not enough for the first seedlings then the slower seeds might be more successful.

Never discard the seed tray. keep it very slightly moist. It also helps to cool it slightly for a few days and then heat it up again.

Use a loose neutral medium about 3 cm deep (little over an inch)- we use crushed palm. Place the seeds on top and cover with a layer of coarse sand. Place the seedling tray into a larger tray with water to wet the medium. Remove the seedling tray from the water and let the surplus water drip out. Place in a clear plastic bag and keep in a shaded warm place. Not a dark place.

As soon as the seedlings start to appear the bag must be kept open or fungus will damage the seedlings

It can be days weeks, months. Do not give up on the seeds unless fungus has obviously taken over, and it may be a good idea to keep the medium in the seedling tray slightly moist after the seedlings were transplanted for those late developers.

It happens often that some seedlings will appear after a discarded seed tray that has been standing dry for months is watered.

Seedlings can be crowded without ill effects. It is better to leave them crowded and wait until they have at least three leaves before transplanting.

Common pests click here for pests and diseases

Watch out for any sign of ants. They carry the aphids into the crevices of the rosette and that is a very quick way to loose an aloe to rot.

Aphids/ants:- Wash the plants with a dish washing liquid that contains lemon, but in the case damage, where there are already a lot of aphids, it will be necessary to use a powder. The danger of rot is high, keep the plant dry.

tips on cultivating succulents and aloes