I have 4 tall Climbing aloes that I have grown as housepolants in a rectangle pot, but I am about to move them to a round pot and would like some thing to go in the pot with them. Any one ever grown this aloe with a companion plant that you liked. I would love some suggestions.

Golden sedum, mexican ghost, verigated jade and most rhipsalis will trail, they could make a nice counterbalance to your aloe- staying low (6"-8") and pouring out and down over the edges instead of growing up.
Burro's Tail (Sedum morganianum) and blue chalk sticks are other options

My experience with that aloe is that it is a good container plant up until a point where it starts getting tall and top heavy, falling to the side, going everywhere... and needing to be pruned. That is probably more of an issue sooner indoors due to the lower light. Aloe ciliaris & similar plants can easily take over any size pot over time.

So actually I would think it might be best to avoid a companion plant, just to avoid undue competition. This of course depends on the actual location and care. The trailing plants that Paula has mentioned could be a good match because they would grow relatively low compared to the aloe, and not require any special care.

The ciliaris hybrid I put in the ground here is growing above a set of smaller aloes (brevifolia, Crosby's Prolific, oficinalis, juvenna) which are a nice contrast in habit, but still need to be liberated every so often by hacking the ciliaris hybrid back, so they get some light. The situation is quite easy to manage by pruning, actually. Otherwise the climbing aloe tends to grow into a large amorphous bushy clump and overrun the stuff around it.

Thank you guys. They are pupping so I may decide to them just chop them back. I have loved watching this plant grow. They are about 18 or so inches high and are ready to flop any second. I was thinking of providing a trellis for them to climb up, and put in some trailers. For some reason I love this plant. It's indoors except for about 3-4 months over our summer. I love the blue chalk stick idea. Thanks

I agree with Baja on cutting- especially if they already have pups, Mama and babies will both thank you for cutting the cord, so to speak.

I do personally like multiple plantings. A well planned grouping with contrasting colors shapes or growing habits beats looking at bare dirt and often a ground cover or trailing plant is a cheap easy (and more attractive IMo) option that bare dirt in a fancy pot.

Hi guys, thanks for your expertise. The Aloe is my first priority tomorrow morning. Not even sure what pot I have for them. This will put me up to 4 pots of these guys. I have a nice tight clump about 4 inches high. If any one would like a batch of Climbing Aloe, I can sure send it on. I will post pics tomorrow.

Here is an update on my climbing Aloe @Baja_Costero and @Turbosaurus, Paula.

This is a pic of the Aloe in it's pot before repotting and separating the pups.



This pic is of them right out of the pot, showing their roots with lil pups attached. I was surprised how far the roots were from some of these pups.


This pic shows where I cut the root between the pups and the mother plant. Thank heaven for my knife sharpening skills, because this needed a very sharp knife. It was a little tricky keeping plenty of roots for both pups and mothers.

Another pic of divisions


Here are the pots I ended up with. The second one, with the aloe laying on its side, is just me wanting to see it grow from a stem. And yes, that first pot does have good drainage. I have a glass drill bit, so it's full of holes. I love that thing.







And the last one, with the biggest aloe. This tall boy has been teetering on it's side for a long time. I let it stay on it's side and bermed some soil up to barely touch along the stem, hoping to see how they grow and ramble outside. Just an experiment!
If you have advice or corrections do not hesitate. My succulents are really pupping, so I better be good at repotting.

Thank you guys. Hope you can see I followed your advice with the pics on here. If any one needs a start of this guy, just treemail me an address.

Laurie B

Looks good! It looks like you took great care in separating everybody. Those pots will be full in no time flat. Be sure not to water deeply for a week or two so that the parts you had to cut can heal over properly.

I put my bigger Aloe plants in hanging pots & they have not tipped over once since then.

Is there a plant swap section on this forum, or a section by geography? Maybe you can trade... Its always nice to share and to try something new!

Thank you, @Baha_Costero, the soil was damper than I wanted when repotted, but I placed them on my heat pad and they are drying up well.

@purpleinopp, Hi Tiffany, I would love to see how those pots look. Pic??? I have a very sunny bathroom with a large high shelf that would be a great spot for a heavy big o pot like they would need.

@Turbosaurus, Paula; If you would like to grow this plant, I am glad to send you a starter pot. If so, treemail me an address. Thanks for the tips.

Have a great Sunday all!

That's very kind, thank you, but I'm already overloaded and planning a big move/relocation from NY in January 2019. I need to downsize SIGNIFICANTLY before next fall. Step one is NOT adding to my collection.

You can always give them to your nextdoor neighbors- that's been a really successful way to establish good friendships and helpful relationships IME. Just a really nice way to begin a helpful and generous sharing of resources-
I gave a neighbor a diffenbachia cutting I had no room for, a week later, she made soup and brought me some, then one day I needed an egg, so I called her, then she needed some AAA batteries and the next thing you know we're shoveling each other's walks and feeding cats while on vacation!

@lauriebasler Wow, your plants look great! They're so happy they look like they may take over your house lol.

Another trailing ground cover that is really nice and hearty, is aptenia or baby sun rose, etc. Easy to grow from cuttings and grows pretty fast.

I am growing some cuttings I'm going to plant as a companion plant/ground cover in my Zuni crepe myrtle tree pot on my balcony.

This is a really nice photo showing it in a group planting:



The flowers open and close with the light. It also comes in different varieties, including a variegated one. I just think it's a happy, cute little plant.

Finally got around to taking & posting the promised pics. One combo in a frying pan, with drain holes added. Companions are Neoregelia, various Rhipsalis, Gasteraloe. This was in greenhouse for winter.



Another one in a more traditional clay pot, but hung unconventionally, in a double-decker way. Pot-sharing with Kalanchoes, Euphorbias, Kleinia (Senecio) petraea AKA trailing Jade. This was hung very close to a south window for winter.

Tiffany, am I thinking you are moving all your plants outside already? No more chance of freezing temps ( I hope )!

Zuni said:@lauriebasler Wow, your plants look great! They're so happy they look like they may take over your house lol.

Another trailing ground cover that is really nice and hearty, is aptenia or baby sun rose, etc. Easy to grow from cuttings and grows pretty fast.

I am growing some cuttings I'm going to plant as a companion plant/ground cover in my Zuni crepe myrtle tree pot on my balcony.

This is a really nice photo showing it in a group planting:

• Baby Sunrose (Mesembryanthemum cordifolium)
• Uploaded by skylark

The flowers open and close with the light. It also comes in different varieties, including a variegated one. I just think it's a happy, cute little plant.

Zuni:
Thank you for sharing this pretty little groundcover. I agree. It's a perfect little plant. I went out and researched a bit online. The little flowers look like Ice plant. It's related to ice plant, in fact. I will definately try to find this to trail over my Aloe pot.

I always have a combo pot with african daisy as the main attraction over the summer, and these mimic that flower so well. The yellow of each plant are such a match it would be just adorable together. Thanks, just one more reason I am chomping at the bit for spring.

Hi Tiffany:

Thank you. I have fallen in love with everything about first pic in the frying pan. I counted 7 different trailers peeking out the side of your skillet planting. I have never seen a trailing succulent I did not love. I have some sort of learning disability with them. They just never thrive for me. This pot is going to be one of my favorites to see this summer. The Moses with the gasteria, and the trailers growing down. It's going to be amazing. I

cook on cast iron. Antique, 3 generation. If they are well maintained, they are the best pans I have ever used.

Kristi, yes, there can be a risk of frost until about the first week of April here, but none predicted at this time. It's always a gamble before then, but it would take about 30 mins to put everything back in, so I don't mind.

Laurie, TYVM! And agree, I wouldn't dedicate a pan to plants if it was still usable. That was supposed to be a non-stick pan but was just painted black apparently. The first time I used it, the coating came off in chunks & ruined dinner. It felt good to put holes in that thing & make it hang outside full of dirt. :+)

Once I can get a plant growing from cuttings, it usually goes well. The original roots are usually hopelessly enmeshed in peat that won't come off of the roots, so sad.

This pot got such positive comments, I offer an update.




I love the way plants look so shiny & clean in the rain. It's not raining directly on this pot, but it does get some wind-blown drops when it rains, hanging under front porch.

It does look great! What are the cute little pink bromeliads?