EMERGENCY!!! CACTUS KNOWLEDGE NEEDED?

Question

i have alot of aloe and prickley pear. Im very new to this but i want to make more plants out of what i have.

problem at hand : yesterday i pulled up a large aloe,when i did it fell apart like an umbrella. all kinds of smaller sections. i had to cut some of the roots to completley separate them. some have roots some don't. i'm panicked now there's so many i'm lost. because they grew off the main plant they are leaning and bending

PRICKLEY PEAR i cut off some pads and let the cut ends dry. i'm going to just push them down into the soil and watch the process. what will happen? do roots grow at the bottom? do pads just grow off the top? how long before i can transplant into a permanente location?

do i use transplanting products before i do anything?

answers to all or some are welcome......dena

Answer 1

Yes .

Answer 2

Well, I have both, and I 've been able to make so many different pots of plants, especially aloe. Both of these plants are very simple to transplant.

Aloe- The pieces you pulled up that grew from the larger sections can be pulled off carefully and put into another pot. I have to do this with mine often because aloe loves to reproduce! I just use miracle grow soil (i've found it's the best!) and put a bit of dirt in the bottom, gather my aloe so they are in line all with the long 'petals' facing the same way, hold them in the middle and take my other hand and finish filling the pot. Don't cut their roots, and the ones that don't have roots, don't worry. They should continue to grow just fine. Water the plant, and let nature take it course!

Prickly Pear-wow, what a hellacious plant! I don't ever let mine dry out before putting into the dirt. Get a good thick glove, and when the plant starts to make babies so to speak, carefully break the new growth off and stick it directly in dirt. Again, miracle grow! (Miracle grow has a cactus soil as well, but I always use just the moisture release kind). Yes, pads will grow off the top, and it will root. You can lay the pad on it's side even, and it will still root! Just give the pads a new pot and that can be their perm. location. If you ever need to repot the main plant, wrap newpaper around the entire thing, laying it down on it's side.

I never use any sort of product for the millions of plants I have.