How to care for lace aloe: watering, repotting and where to position them

A hardy houseplant with peachy orange flowers in spring that needs minimal watering
Aloe aristata closeup in a pot with pebbles isolated on white background
Alamy Stock Photo
George Hudson18 June 2021

Despite its delicate name, the lace aloe or Aristaloe aristata is a tough houseplant that will withstand neglect and even a London winter.

Its fleshy leaves grow in swirling rosettes, and each leaf is covered in pale green bumps and tapers to a soft spine.

In mid spring a spike of peachy orange flowers emerges from the middle of the plant.

How to care for lace aloe

Endemic to South Africa, and according to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, naturalised in parts of Southern France, the Aristaloe plants enjoy bright light and free draining soil. Aristaloes are succulents, as such they have evolved to withstand long stretches of time without water.

To conserve water when faced with drought, their leaves are able to close up into a ball, opening again when water is available. This adaptation means you can be pretty sparing with the watering — a couple of months without water probably won’t kill an established plant, it just won’t look quite as green as it did when it came off the shelf in the plant shop.

To keep it looking green, water just before the compost has dried out completely. Avoid leaving it sitting in water for long periods of time, as the roots are liable to rot.

They also enjoy lots of sun, and are perhaps even best grown outside through the summer. In a sheltered corner of a London garden, they can survive all year outside. Inside choose a bright south facing window for the best results.

How to propagate lace aloe

Aristaloe are best propagated from ‘plantlets’ or offsets. These are small clones of the parent plant that form around the base of the main rosette of the plant.

To do this you will need an Aristaloe plant that is producing baby plants. These are normally older plants. If you look carefully when you are shopping for houseplants or visiting a friend, most hand-sized plants have at least one plantlet.

You will also need a new pot with good drainage for the new plant. Terracotta works well as excess moisture evaporates from the sides of the pot.

Your compost needs to be free draining, we use two parts peat-free compost mixed with one part horticultural sand and horticultural grit.

Gently ease the parent plant out of its pot, it doesn’t matter if you disturb the roots, or the compost starts to fall away, use it when you repot the parent.

The baby plant or plants will have thick a pale green or white stem with some finer root hairs that connects it to the parent plant. Gently peel away the offset until the white stem breaks away from the parent plant — the aim is to get as much of the connecting stem as possible.

In the new pot, bury the stem and about one quarter of the plant, water well and allow to dry out almost entirely before watering again.

You will have the most success if you try this in spring or summer.

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