my poor aloe

[debra916]

I noticed that my aloe leaves were getting very heavy and were hanging downward. Upon further inspection I noticed that the root and stem had separated from the base of the plant. What is weird is that new shoots were growing from the center of the plant for several months and other than the heavy sagging leaves appeared to be healthy. What can I do? I noticed that the base may have what appears to be a single root, but can not be sure. I hate to lose a plant that has alot of sentimental value and was quite beautiful.

Debra,

aloe can be grown from cuttings, my own one is.
You may have overwatered it, but if it is otherwise healthy, take a cutting and
plant it, just in case, and see whether your orignal plant survives too.
Make sure that it gets enough water but doesn't have "wet feet".

Aloha,

Maren

[Newt]

Hi Debra,

Sometimes aloe grow that way. There are many different varieties of aloe. You can remove the offshoots (pups) once they have their own root system and pot them up. You can't take a cutting just from a leaf as far as I know. You should find these helpful. Take a look at the first site to see if you can id which aloe you have. This is only a list of a few that are out there. Some of the pics have numbers below them with additional pics.

http://www.belgicactus.be/succulenti...loe/index.html
http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/c...249017614.html

Click on 'A' at this site and scroll down to 'Aloe' and the different varieties.
http://www.plantcare.com/catalog/tep...yPlantName.php

If you still need help, let us know.
Newt

As for cuttings, you con't have to wait until they have roots.
I don't remember whether I put mine in water until it did, I've
had it growing in the yard (in Hawaii, mind you) for over 10 years,
and I don't prune, water (it usually rains a lot here) or fertilize
it. It is in a well drained place though.

But, as Newt points out, you can't just take a leaf cutting, there has
to be some stem to it.

Aloha,

Maren