HOW TO GROW ALOE VERA FROM SEED

How to grow Aloe vera from seed
How to grow Aloe vera from seed









Most people will propagate Aloe vera plants by taking a  cutting from a mature plant. However, Aloe vera can also be cultivated from seed. Obviously, the process of reaching a mature plant will take longer when you start an Aloe vera from seed, but you can produce an awful lot more plants in the process.

How to grow Aloe vera from seed
How to grow Aloe vera from seed
Firstly, fill a seed tray or modular tray a 50:50 mixture of moist peat and horticultural sand. After which, sow the Aloe vera seed on top of the peat and sand mixture giving each seed about a square inch of space - with the modular tray just use one seed per module.

Now give the seed a very light covering of horticultural grit.

Gentle water the seed in, probably the best way to do this so as to disturb the seed as little as possible is to place the tray in a larger container and water from the bottom.

Allow the water to rise through the compost naturally by capillary action. The surface grit will normally change colour once it is wet and this is a good indication that the compost is now properly watered.

How to grow Aloe vera from seed
How to grow Aloe vera from seed
Place a transparent cover on top of the tray - this can be a propagator lid, sheet of glass, cling-film etc and move the tray to a warm location where temperatures will remain between 70 and 78 degrees Fahrenheit.

It is important that the tray in which the Aloe vera seeds have been sown in are in a place where they can receive a decent amount of light.

This is because Aloe vera seeds will require light in order to germinate - hence the very light covering of grit!

Germination can start anywhere from one to four months. If the compost begins to dry off during this period you will need to remove the transparent cover and gently water once more.

As soon as the seedlings start to show, the cover will need to be removed immediately so as not to encourage fungal infections on the Aloe vera seedlings

Once the seedlings are large enough to handle they an be transplanted into 3-inch pots filled with a free draining potting soil. Allow to dry out between watering.

For related articles click onto the following links:
ALOE VERA
DEVIL'S BACKBONE - Kalanchoe daigremontiana
HOW TO GROW ALOE VERA
HOW TO GROW THE HARDY ALOE - Aloe striatula

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