A small succulent noted for its beautiful dark green leaves with light green spots, the Aloe 'Tiki Zilla' is an easy-to-care-for house plant that will make a fantastic addition to your indoor garden collection. The 'Tiki Zilla' is a rare cultivar of the Aloe plant that originally comes from South Africa. Here's a full Aloe 'Tiki Zilla' care guide, including how to water the plant, what soil to use, what environment it likes, and how to propagate it.
Summary:
- Light: Full sun
- Water: Only water when the top 2" (5cm) of the soil is dry
- Soil: Well-draining soil (cactus soil mix)
- Size: The plant grows up to 6" (0.15 m) tall
- Size: The plant grows up to 12" (0.3 m) wide
- Zone: 10b (minimum 35 °F | 1.7 °C)
- Cold hardy: Not cold hardy
- Propagation: By offsets or dividing
- Toxicity: Generally not toxic
Contents
General Care for Aloe 'Tiki Zilla'
Although the Aloe 'Tiki Zilla' naturally grows in tropical to semi-tropical environments, it is a great houseplant that is easy to take care of and can be placed outdoors in the summer.
Watering
Like most succulents, the 'Tiki Zilla' tends to need only a little bit of water. It's not a problem if you forget to water this plant once. It's best to only water when the soil is dry. To make sure the soil is dry, put your finger 1 inch deep in the soil and if the soil still feels dry, you can water the plant.
Where to Plant
The 'Tiki Zilla' is not cold hardy, so if you live in a zone that gets colder than 35°F (1.7°C), it's best to plant this plant in a container that can be brought indoors if the temperature is going down in the winter months.
It does well in full sun and does best when it gets between 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight per day. Plant in an area that gets a lot of direct sunlight!
How to Propagate Aloe 'Tiki Zilla'
The easiest way to propagate the 'Tiki Zilla' is by offsets, but it can also be propagated by division.
Offsets
The first and easiest way to propagate the Aloe 'Tiki Zilla' is through offsets, which grow throughout the whole year and are actually baby versions of the plant. Offsets can grow with many at once and grow in the soil.
To propagate 'Tiki Zilla' through offsets, you only have to cut the roots that are connected to the mother plant. The best way to do this is by using a sharp knife or pair of scissors. Now you want to gently pull the baby away from the mother plant and you can repot the baby plant into a smaller pot. Because these baby Aloe 'Tiki Zilla' already have a root system of their own, they will quickly start growing!
Tip: Don't start chopping away offsets (babies) as soon as they pop up. Wait till they're at least 1" (2.5 cm) before removing them from the mother plant. The bigger the baby, the more success you will have growing a new 'Tiki Zilla'!
Division
The Aloe 'Tiki Zilla' naturally grows little bundles of roots with stems and leaves growing out of it. If it's time to repot the plant (in spring), you can carefully divide the plant to propagate it.
First, you want to get the plant out of its pot, and carefully remove the soil from the roots. If the soil is removed and you can clearly see the roots, you want to carefully divide the roots. Make sure before you do this, the plant is big enough to be divided.
After you have cut away the dead and damaged parts of the roots (if there are any), you can pot each division separately in a pot with the right soil mix (cactus soil mix).
Lastly, you want to put a zip bag over the pot with the divisions to provide a moist environment for the plant to grow in (mini-greenhouse). Place the pot with the bag over it in a spot where it receives full to part sun.
If you see new growth (usually after a month) you can remove the zip bag and now you have two beautiful Aloe plants.
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