Hello everyone
A buddy of mine wants to give me 2 very old aloe marlothii. The thing is they are growing in rocky soil and the 10-12cm trunk has taken the form of the rock cavities so it's impossible to pull off (we even tried with a 4x4 on low gear).
He is extenting his house so as our only option is cutting it. Do you think these things root eventually or they will slowly die? Yes it's worth a try but they are very big and bulky so i could use the space for something else.
I already posted this on several forums and the replies were very frustrating like "have you tried pulling it off?" "Please show us what the base looks like" "leave it as it"... I just want to know if it is possible to successfully root an old aloe marlothii or not.
Many thanks in advance!

Yes, it's possible. But whether it's likely is another question because there are a lot of variables (location, what it looks like and how it has grown, time of year, where it's being moved to, whether it is already stressed and if so, how, the treatment it gets afterward, etc). Pictures always help, which is why people have asked for them.

Thanks for answering!
What i meant by people asking for photos i meant photos of how the trunk was growing inside the rock cavities not of the plant. I will ask my friend to send photos.
The plants are quite healthy and are pretty big (50cm rosettes, 70cm trunks). We are thinking about letting the plants have a good drink to fill the leaves and then cutting. It's fall now so they'll heal till spring and then they will be planted in gritty mix and water introduced to encourage root formation. Im in zone 11a.

I have rooted a couple of aloe('s) from stem cuttings.... in comparison its easier to root than some plants that we(as C&S people) grow....
Thing is , i know of aloe marlothii(i might even have one or two) but the part that says "very old" means "very large" too me. And i do not know how "very large" cuttings may fare...
If it matters, id get a piece with a trunk at least a bit longer than the span (length) of the leaves....
As for the rest, sealant for the cut area, wait until callous, than place in soil.....
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Now, if you want something unusual as a solution ,among the lines of "its crazy, but it might just work" you could try AIR LAYERING the stem of the plant.......
But then again, i havent tried this nor do i have the rooting hormone to do it.......
I do like the hear the thoughts of the other members on this though....

So i found this while browsing but no feedback unfortunately:
https://gardening.stackexchang...
They suggest cutting close to the rosette.
Our two options other than cutting them were actually using a jackhammer (too expensive) and air layering because i've seen it done on an aloe x delaetii. However, he starts building soon and needs the plants gone so no time for air layering which is probably the safest choice

I wouldnt call that one reliable..... trying to clone aloe (and that particular type) from leaves isnt feasible..... And from what i saw, the stem might have been rotting......
From what i understood, the guy didnt even apply sealant to the cut area or letting it callous before sticking it the ground....He didn't even peel the plant from the dead leaves(which dont help if youre trying to root)......

Knowing where you are might help to give advice. You mention letting it sit around till spring, which seems like an awful long time to me. While many C&S handle that to some extent, the problem with re-rooting older tree aloes that are normally non-offsetting is that it could be a very finicky situation. I have tried rerooting a 4 foot Aloe dichotoma without success and while it sat around looking OK for over a year and half, nothing was really happening.

Are you waiting till the spring because you are worried it gets too cold? Winter rains?

My sense would be to cut it probably as close to ground level as possible - any kind of partial root structure would be beneficial - then let that sit around in dry and as warm as place as you can manage for at least a week, but not really that much longer. Get a heavy reasonably sized pot and fill it with pure pumice. Apply a good amount of rooting hormone to the cut and any remaining roots that the plant has and then plant it in the pumice using stakes to make sure the plant remains upright and does not get tippy. Then place in a location where it gets decent light, but not a whole lot of direct sun and under some kind of rain protection.

Then hope for the best. Some aloes are really good at re-rooting others are not, many tree aloes fall in the latter category, though I have successfully rooted an Aloe barberae cutting. Withhold water for as long as you can. You will probably see some of the lower leaves dry out. That is OK, if any kind of drying out behavior starts skipping leaves and moves towards the higher younger leaves you will know you have a problem.
It can take 6 months of more for anything to happen, some people will occasionally spray the pumice with water with mild fertilizer and/or more rooting agents in it.

If you can do this, there is a chance the plant might make some roots over the winter and could be ready for planting in the spring. If you put this off till the spring, you may not get your plant rooted until next fall and you certainly do not want to have a rootless aloe sit in the ground exposed to the elements of Fall and Winter unless you live somewhere where it hardly ever rains or freezes in winter and your soil is naturally super fast draining.

I have never tried something this ambitious, but based on my experience with other aloes, including marlothii hybrids, I would offer the following advice, on top of the very helpful tips that Thijs has already given you.

You will tend to have better/faster results with rooting when there is a younger stem involved. So I would cut relatively close to the rosette (maybe 5cm away) and sacrifice height for rooting vigor and stability during the interim period when the plant is rootless. You might try making a cut near ground level first just to see if you can get a bigger piece with a few roots attached, then trim the stem back if you don't get lucky that way. There is no need or benefit to using rooting hormone with relatively young-stemmed aloe cuttings in my experience.

Be sure to strip a few dead leaves from the base of the cutting so some naked stem is exposed and can be inserted into the soil. Stripping a few leaves from the base of the plant will also make a big difference when you actually take the cutting, because it would allow you to see the stem in there.

You need to give the plant plenty of time to heal before you attempt to set it up in the ground again, or at least when there is a probability of winter rain. I would think you might see good results in your zone over the winter, even with winter rain, as long as the stem has a chance to heal first. We are zone 11 too and winter is a very permissive time for rooting and growing. In cases like this I might take the cutting and set it over a reasonably big pot (like 25cm or wider) with no soil in it for a couple of weeks so that it still gets good light on top (as opposed to if you put it on its head to heal) and the bottom has air all around it to speed the healing.

Be prepared for the cutting to be incredibly heavy and hard to maneuver. This would be a difficult job under the best of conditions. The spines multiply the difficulty. I would go for a 2 step process where you drop it on an empty pot to heal for a couple of weeks and then put it right into the ground where you want it to grow afterwards. Don't worry too much about the winter rain as long as you provide excellent drainage in the planting site (like 50% pumice/perlite/equivalent mixed in with some compost or potting soil and combined with the native soil) and ideally a bit of a raised aspect to start with, so the base of the plant starts out above ground level. Because the soil will subside and the plant will end up below ground level, in a water-collecting hollow, otherwise. A low ring of rocks around the base at the planting site might help reinforce the raised area and help provide a bit of a structure to keep the heavy rosette from sinking into the soil right away.

I would skip a step involving rooting the cutting in a pot first, and just go for it in the ground. Winter is marlothii growing season here and in most super mild climates like yours where there is winter rain. You need to be attentive about watering during the first year or so, during periods when there isn't any rain (especially summer drought if that's a thing where you are). You don't want to water too much or too often up front when you know the plant is rootless, but you don't want the plant to sit there for weeks on end without any water if you'd like to encourage the roots to grow out.

Be prepared to provide more doting than a mature established marlothii would need for at least a year and probably a couple of years, until you see it going strong. Maybe start cutting back on watering every 1-2 weeks by the second time it has flowered.

Great advice from both Thijs and Baja.

The younger part of the trunk may root quicker, however it's not necessary to cut the older part of the trunk away in order to stimulate rooting in the younger section above. I believe it's better to let the plant decide where to root from. Cutting trunk away seems like it only decreases the amount of 'energy' reserves the plant has.

I also feel like soil is not really necessary at first–I've had plenty of Aloes develop aerial roots when the underground roots are compromised. I like to be able to monitor the progress and condition of the trunk. Once you see root initials, it's safe to pot the cutting up.

What I do feel is critical is to reduce stress on the plant during the rooting process. Give the cutting bright light, and no direct sun, unless you can limit it to one or two hours in the early morning. I have had stellar success by providing a tent-like enclosure over the entire cutting in order to raise humidity. This works wonders, even with large Aloe and Yucca stems which would seem to not need it. The enclosure should allow a slight amount of air circulation. I've used a tightly-sealed clear plastic bag, but I open it every couple of days in order to refresh the air. Balance air circulation and moisture so that there is just a little condensation on the inside of the plastic tent or bag in the mornings. If it gets too wet inside, just let it breathe for a while to dry out. In Zone 11, the conditions are perfect for rooting an Aloe over winter.

You can edit your profile to include general location and zone information in the header of your posts. There will always be follow-up questions, but that basic info will help the other members offer better and faster advice.

Wow this is some really awesome info. Thanks guys! However, after a few beers and a bet who can pull the plants, the small one broke around 20cm below the rosette so i guess we are back to square 1 and trying to root.
But if you said i can root it in winter in my climate, i can take from that i should water my aloes in winter? I leave my aloe v. Chinensis and aloe arborescens outside since they are more abundant than insects out here! However, aloe aculeata, peglreae, striata, juvenna, a very blue arborescens hybrid, x delaetii, x nobilis are all left dry i winter. So maybe water them monthly?

I leave all my potted aloes out in the winter rain and they get water weekly when it's not raining. I am careful to use fast draining media (with about 50% pumice in the mix) and do not overpot my plants. We are zone 11, too. Our winter temperatures dip to about 8°C for the annual minimum, with daytime temps around 15°C or more. 70% of our rain comes during Dec-Mar.

Seems i am being over careful with my plants! I too use 50 to 66% grit as a standard c&s mix and it has been treating me well over the years except heaving to water often in summer

That sounds good. Yes, it took me a while to discard the advice I was reading everywhere to greatly reduce watering frequency in winter. I guess you and I don't really experience winter the way people in colder zones do. Maybe when you reach near your annual minimum you might cut back a little, otherwise as long as daytime temps are reasonably warm (like 15°C or so) then there is no particular danger to watering like normal.

Great thread of advice here.
This is why I like this forum. People share great advice.
I have been cutting all of my plant stems shorter for rooting,
because of what I learned here.
Particularly better for Echeverias to root them on
a short 1/4 inch stem. A longer stem is more likely to rot.
I need to cut my Aloe noblis and can try a couple with a longer stem
as an experiment. But plan to use a 1 inch stem for the rest. (4 inch rosette)

Just to keep this thread updated in case anyone finds it useful in the future. This is how the cutting stands right now healing.
I will remove dead leaves soon since thats where roots will come from. However, im not very motivated to move it as it's terribly heavy and the spines should be called blades since it managed to make deep long cuts in my skin though i was wearing thick protective clothing. I will stand it over a big emtpy pot for a while and then fill around it with perlite. When spring comes it will have hopefully rooted and can be planted in proper soil.

Looking good!

I'm happy to announce that the plant rooted over the course of the last summer and i was surprised to see it starting to send out an inflorescence. It never did for my friend! Maybe it was the stress

Enjoy the flowers! They tend to be pretty spectacular. It would be great to see a picture when the time is right.