I was reading around the internet and thought I'd try a new approach to germinating aloes. I read on the BCSS forum about someone who had successfully germinated Aloe polyphylla seeds in a glass of water on a sunny windowsill and I googled around further and found another website with details about germination rates and general success. Further comments on the BCSS forum suggested it might work for other Aloes so I thought I'd give it a go with all mine.
I got 10 Aloe vera seeds, 10 Aloe parvibracteata seeds and 5 Aloe Polyphylla (not many, but it was what I could afford and what was easily available to me at the time).
On the 10th April 2018, I put the Aloe vera and Aloe parvibracteata seeds in water.
On the 12th April 2018, I put the Aloe polyphylla in water.
Thus far, 4 Aloe vera and 5 Aloe parvibracteata have germinated (its been 10 days). The first vera germinated after 4 days and the first parvibracteata after 7 days. The polyphylla have yet to germinate, but I have read that they can take over a month to germinate so I'm not worried.
Today, just under a week after the first germination, I put all the germinated seeds into their own pots to grow on. The rest of seeds are enjoying some more water time on the windowsill.
So currently this method seems quite successful and certainly faster than my previous attempts at Aloe vera (although that may have been because it was old seed).
A couple of photos:
Aloe vera
Aloe parvibracteata
Just visible in its pot!
Just thought I'd share my aloe seed growing progress
I'll update this as my seeds/seedlings progress
