Can aloe vera be grown hydroponically?

Can aloe vera be grown hydroponically?

Aloe vera is a succulent plant of the Liliaceae family and is suitable for hydroponics. You can see the white roots swimming in the water through the transparent glass container, which greatly enhances the ornamental value.

Method of hydroponic aloe vera

Selecting plants

It is best to choose a small aloe plant for hydroponic cultivation, so that it will be easier to shape in the vase. Cut the plants to be hydroponically cultivated with their roots from the roots of the mother plant in the pot; small plants can be dug out as a whole. And remove the diseased and rotten leaves, leaving only the intact and healthy ones.

Cleaning the roots

In hydroponics, the roots of the plants must be cleaned and disinfected to ensure the conditions for successful hydroponics are met.

Soak in clean water for 15-20 minutes, and wash gently several times until there is no soil on the roots and no mud or sand in the water. After cleaning, soak it in 0.1% potassium permanganate solution (the prepared solution is usually light purple-red) for 15 minutes, then rinse with clean water.

Colonization

To facilitate planting, you can add some hydroponic substrate, small stones, etc. into the bottle to help fix the roots of the aloe vera. When placing it in a vase, straighten the roots and spread them out. Be careful not to immerse the entire plant in water. If you are worried about root rot, you can just let its roots slightly touch the water surface. Otherwise, the leaves should not touch the water.

After planting, you can place the hydroponic aloe vera in a cool and ventilated place, away from direct sunlight. In order to allow the roots to grow quickly, you can cover the lower half of the vase with black cloth.

Precautions for hydroponic aloe vera

Water Quality

When growing plants at home, people often pour tea water or rice soup into the flowerpots, but this should not be done when growing plants hydroponically. For hydroponics, it is better to use clean water. Pay attention to changing the water regularly, change it every 2-3 days, remove rotten roots and clean the container in time to ensure there is no odor in the water.

Nutrient solution

Aloe vera is a foliage plant and has certain requirements for fertilizer. After aloe vera grows new roots after one month of hydroponics, you can use nutrient solution for foliage plants for long-term cultivation. Depending on the specific situation, the nutrient solution can be changed every half a month to a month.