My humble method which I had the best results from; Clean up all the debris carefully and completely. Leave all parts (cuttings, pups etc) that look healthy in a dry place to callus over for at least 3 days. Repot them in the completely dry soil mix and do not water. After a couple of days, water it slightly. During four weeks, every time the medium completely dries out, repeat the same method of watering. If you don’t see a deterioration sign by the end of the fifth week of your operation, you may say that your rescue mission was accomplished.
First off, you’re amazing and I’ve really enjoyed much of the content coming this channel and Flock - thank you! I live in zone 10b and have over 300 cacti / succulents. I’ve divided many pups and I have to say this is the first time I’ve seen something that I think could’ve been done with a better approach. You could’ve tried to save almost all of those pups, even if you cut them from the base of the mother plant and they have no roots. The important step is to allow them to callous over! This can be done either in open air or potted in your loose and dry substrate mix. The misstep here was adding water to the substrate - the moisture hitting an open wound, even from off a small root is possible entry for issues. A few days left outside (either bare root or dry-potted in soil) in a shaded area with proper ventilation would’ve done the job. It’s also very possibly true that the rot had already taken hold. Aloe’s are generally very resilient, and quick to propagate though. Not sure what your evening temps are, but I’d generally be careful with watering until your average evening temps are in the 60s. The plant looked like it had plenty of enough reserves to stay hydrated for weeks. Ultimately, hopefully you saved your receipt and the other parts of the plant as all big box stores will offer a refund - some even guarantee up to a year, even if the plant is dead! Just got to bring the remains back in a bag.
Don't be discouraged. They grow super quickly and unless you move to giant pots you'll have to divide them. I can remove half the plant and in a year the pot is full again. Of course, I am in Tucson and can even grow tree aloes. 'Pink Blush' is an easy , small one that is often admired in a stuffed container. 'Swordfish' gets the most compliments among my collection. Don't confuse it with Starfish, which is just Ok. This rot is not common. Most aloe disease seems to be aloe mites, which respond to Sevin dust.
Had this happen with some stapelia, though it hadn't gotten that bad. I tried to cut out the rot, and left them to dry before replanting, but two days later, those also started to rot. I just gave up and tossed it because with everything I have in my life, and all my other plants I just didn't have the time to keep trying.
California, Texas, Arizona we all are very familiar with succulents. First thing about succulents, roots are optional. Cut the pups roots back until you see clean green flesh. Set out to dry until the callous over. Pot in a mix of 1third expanded shale grit, or something comparable, 1third perlite and 1third potting soil. Cactus 1half expanded shale, or something comparable, 1quarter perlite and 1 quarter potting soil
It could have been sitting in an unheated truck, in darkness, or outside in the cold before it was put on sale. It seems like the damage was already done when you bought it. I find aloes more seasonally temperamental than cacti.
When I buy succulents at a big box store and there is a problem with it, my first thought is to return it. They screwed up. I never have been able to understand how their plants thrive in their planting medium-it seems to retain too much water for too long. I always transplant immediately. Could you share your knowledge about how the growers make their medium work?
I can relate. I found just the right color buddleia at a big box store this week but they were sill on the rolling racks they came in on ,shaded and had been overwatered with leaves turning to mush on the bottom. I had to say no. It was so sad they couldn't have offload them in a timely fashion. 😢
I've had a haworthia with similar rot - I removed all the rotting leaves from the base until I saw the tissue at the base was all healthy and alive. Then I left it to callus for a day or two and after that I rooted it in water. It grew new roots really fast and is now a completely healthy plant.
I have 2 aloe feroxes in my front garden in Cape Town South Africa. I never used to love them because theyre so common here. Then one day i saw a couple of malachite sunbirds hovering about the bright red blooms and i was hooked. Aloes are spectscular in bloom. Especially the winter blooming ones.
Dont buy ftom the big stores , I would def get my money back . Take a cut from someones plant that you know and trust looks after them very well but you already know this 😄 Shame it died prob from lack of care by the big stores that only care about profit and not the poor plants , thank you , just subbed. Your home looks beautiful by the way . From us here in Cornwall, UK 💛💛💛
Let them dry out completely. You can leave them for weeks in a dry, darkish area. Rehydrate and plant when they start looking crinkly. They'll probably have grown babies by then.
Why did you bother sterilizing the knief, when you kept handling the plant and its roots with those filthy gloves? Otherwise, I love your committment to everything in your care; we need more of that in this world. By the way, I live like 20 miles from there. Great to see some representation for our climate in plant care!
It probably wasn't great to leave them outside. Cold, rot, aloes, and the humid NE are not a good mix, lol. Aloes can re-root as long as they have some sort of basal tissue. If you have a rot situation, you want to cut off any roots that have formed on an offset and inspect the cut. If it is brown and yucky at the center... it is too late. If the tissue is still firm and healthy, just let it callus over for a few days -- a month if you forget, lol -- and then stick it in some soil. If your mix is already damp or has some moisture in it, you probably won't need to water for a week. If it is bone dry, you can give it a light watering. Just really enough moisture so that the plant wants to put out roots. Depending on how long you have let it callus over... it may already have root nubbins and you can be more liberal with water. I have legit left a. vera var. chinensis offsets on a table in the hot sun for like a month... and they lived to be a horrible gift to an unsuspecting victim. Most of what the big box stores sell as "aloe vera" is actually the chinensis demon spawn. It was bred to have an excessive pupping habit for people to more readily cut on it. No joke, in one year... a mother plant gave me 80 offsets.
I got one just like that one. I had a giant mother plant with 16 babies. I separated everything all my baby plants got rotted like your. But so far the giant mother plant seems awesome
Right! Because I would just pack it right up and take it back to the big box store to make use of their 1 year guarantee and hope to find the exact same plant.
I just saved a couple of the babies of my aloe that’s just like yours. It was huge & I bought mine from Lowe’s 2 yrs ago. It was very healthy, way too fulI for the pot it was in. Because it’s spring, I brought it outside & it got too much rain & rotted. So I guess it doesn’t like much water….hardly any at all! Lol
I always give it a try but have had about equal fails and successes. Part of the plant parent journey! If I buy from a Big Box store I transplant that same day because of how they water.
I just lost two different aloes to rot😔 The first was three separate aloe arborescens that got over watered. I separated all of them when I saw the first one starting to rot. The other two lasted a few weeks longer and I thought they were okay, but they both finally succumbed. The other was a really Aloe gasteria that I had had for years. I think water got in-between the leaves after I repotted it. Everything went mushy before I realized something was wrong and I was so sad. Fortunately I did have babies of that one.
Pop it out of the pot, separate all the pups, and rinse the roots off, and replant. No big deal. Trim any brown or rotten roots. If you are concerned about bacteria, soak the roots in H2O2 for an hour or so and then air dry before replanting.
