Some time ago I wrote about How I Became A Plant Person. Well, a few months into this realisation, I got given a ‘close-to-dead’ aloe plant. Poor thing had black spots all over it, I’m guessing from overwatering. I wasn’t sure if it would survive, but knew I had to get it out of the water asap.

A quick trip to the nearest plant nursery, and I was armed with cactus soil. This kind of soil is a mix of sand and grit, and drains well. That’s VITAL! The more the soil mimics dry and desert condition, the better, and that’s the least I can give these sweet plants, since plenty of heat and sunlight is scarce in these parts. Overall though, cacti make great houseplants – visually as well as in terms of their needs.

After setting my new aloe plant in it’s very own pot filled with cactus soil, I set it on a west facing window and forgot about it. A few months later, to my delight, it had begun to revive and the spots had almost disappeared. It was now time to give it some help, so the next thing I did was buy a special fertiliser for cactus. I must have used this about twice on the cactus and in about a month, the most amazing thing happened.

One day, while watering, I saw two tiny aloe plants! I cannot tell you how exciting this was! It’s like that feeling of joy when your dog has puppies and you realise that they are the cutest, most adorable little things in existence. Well, aloe babies are too!

The cutest, most tiny aloe plants I’d ever seen!

I think that after this experience, I found new determination to be a good carer of plants and appreciate them more. There is a certain kind of peace with caring for plants and I love it!

Have you ever had an experience like this? What are the easiest plants to propagate? I’d love to learn from your experiences.