Succulents are a number of the best houseplants to propagate as a result of there are a number of methods to do it. At this time we’ll present how one succulent might be was many (even a dozen or extra!). So whether or not you’re seeking to develop your individual assortment or present some vegetation to mates, this can be a enjoyable and simple course of to attempt!
And as you’ll see, propagation can be a useful method to care on your succulent assortment. Pruning is a essential a part of houseplant upkeep and these methods will assist you flip an overgrown plant (or one with an awkwardly tall offshoot) right into a bunch of contemporary new plant infants.
What Is Plant Propagation?
Propagation is the method of rising new vegetation from elements of an current plant similar to its leaves, stems, roots, or seeds. You may propagate nearly any houseplant your self, though the methods fluctuate relying on the plant. Standard strategies embrace water propagation (the place you may watch new roots develop in water) and soil propagation (when new roots develop straight in a pot of soil). Succulents can be propagated within the air! In all circumstances, after the cuttings sprout wholesome new roots, they are often potted in soil and cared for identical to the mother or father plant.
Observe: You may as well watch this video on YouTube.
When To Propagate Succulents?
Succulent propagation is greatest completed within the spring and summer time, in the course of the plant’s lively rising season. It may be efficiently completed any time of the yr, although. Outcomes may take longer to point out within the fall and winter. So don’t fret in case you are beginning your propagation out of comfort or when your succulent wants pruning. Actually, pruning prompted the propagation of the succulent you’ll be seeing right now!
This Echeveria sits in our lavatory window, which is considerably shaded. The restricted daylight precipitated the succulent’s stem to stretch out and look “leggy” because it reached for extra mild (a course of known as “etiolation”). We don’t thoughts the way it appears, however we realized this etiolated succulent can be an ideal alternative for a number of propagations! Sure, we bought greater than ten new succulents from simply this one leggy stem!
Strategies To Propagate Succulents
Individuals love propagating succulents as a result of you should utilize many elements of the plant and many various methods, generally producing dozens of latest vegetation from a single succulent! We’re not going to undergo all of them right now intimately, however right here’s a fast overview:
- Leaf propagation: Take away particular person leaves and place within the air, soil, or water to develop new roots and pups (small new, child vegetation).
- Stem propagation: Place a naked stem slicing within the air, soil, or water to develop new pups the place previous leaves had been.
- Root propagation: Reduce off all the pieces above the soil line and permit roots to develop a brand new plant within the current pot.
- Soil propagation: Place succulent leaves or stems in or atop well-draining soil and permit new roots to develop.
- Water propagation: Submerge the guidelines of leaves or stems in a jar of water and permit new roots to develop earlier than transferring to soil.
- Dry or air propagation: Lay or dangle leaves or stems with no soil or water, and permit new roots to develop earlier than transferring to soil.
Succulent Propagation Steps
As an summary, listed below are the essential steps for this propagation tutorial. The method takes a number of days upfront after which a number of weeks of ready (and occasional watering) till new progress develops. So remember to overview all steps earlier than starting.
- Water your mother or father or mom succulent, wait 3 days.
- Reduce stem on the soil line
- Take away backside leaves
- Let all the reduce/eliminated items callous over for 3-5 days
- Replant naked stem in new soil
- Lay, dangle, or plant leaves
- Place in brilliant oblique daylight
- Maintain propagating items flippantly watered
- Pot any rooted vegetation in new soil
Propagation Provides
Fortunately, it takes only a few provides to propagate your succulents. Right here’s what you need to have useful earlier than you begin:
Step 1: Water Your Succulent
Water your mom plant and wait about 3 days earlier than slicing something. Succulents retailer water of their leaves, and giving them one final drink beforehand helps fill them up with moisture and vitamins for the “journey” forward. As with all time you water your succulent, be sure that any extra water is ready to drain out the underside of your pot.
Step 2: Reduce The Stem At The Soil Line
Begin by slicing your succulent’s stem proper on the soil line. All the time use clear sharp scissors or snips when pruning your houseplants. Cleansing them first (a spritz or wipe of rubbing alcohol is nice) helps forestall the unfold of micro organism. Your pot will all of the sudden look very naked. Don’t fear!
Your current pot isn’t trash. The roots can develop the primary of many “new” vegetation you’ll get from this course of. Place this pot in a spot with brilliant oblique mild and proceed to take care of it as you had earlier than. After a number of weeks you need to see new pups growing close to the reduce finish of the leaves.
Step 3: Take away Backside Leaves
Subsequent, flip your consideration to the plant you simply reduce off. Our stem was so lengthy, we truly reduce it once more a little bit additional as much as create a small piece to work with at this step. However this is probably not essential on your succulent.
With our smaller items, we eliminated leaves from the underside up. To take away a succulent leaf, gently transfer or twist it side-to-side on the base.
Most ought to break off simply, however take your time. It’s essential to get a clear break from the bottom as a result of ripped leaves can’t be propagated. Any yellow, brown, or mushy leaves gained’t be wholesome sufficient to propagate both.
If you happen to’re replanting the highest of the reduce stem, depart a number of layers of the rosette on the high. We’ll be replanting this portion in soil, which ought to give us our second “new” succulent. And because of this pruning, it gained’t look leggy anymore!
Additionally, relying on how lengthy leggy your stem is, you too can reduce your naked stem into small items and propagate the stem clippings. In that case, simply deal with these stem items the identical because the leaves.
Step 4: Let Items Callous
Earlier than you proceed, you’ll want to provide your leaves and reduce stem a number of days to callous over. After 3-5 days, the ends ought to develop into arduous and dry. That is essential as a result of in any other case, these ends will take in an excessive amount of moisture within the subsequent steps, inflicting your items to rot and spoil your propagation. So at all times err on the facet of extra callous than much less, perhaps giving all the pieces not less than every week earlier than you progress on.
Step 5: Replant Your Naked Stem
Subsequent, let’s deal with the reduce stem. Utilizing soil or water propagation, the naked portion of this stem ought to develop new roots. We picked the soil technique as a result of it’s a straightforward method to get a “completed” trying succulent shortly. To do that, fill a brand new nursery pot with well-draining potting soil. A cactus or succulent combine works nice, or attempt a typical potting combine with additional perlite combined in. Make sure that your pot isn’t too large. Succulents wish to be cosy!
Use a finger or chopstick to poke a gap within the middle of the soil, and plant your reduce stem inside. You may as well dip the tip in rooting hormone first, however it’s not essential. We did that as a result of we had some readily available already – and it appeared to assist. As soon as planted, shake or squeeze the pot to permit the soil to fill in across the stem. The dust and the stem have to make contact for this to work.
As soon as it’s firmly planted, set it apart and transfer on to the leaves.
Step 6: Lay, Dangle, or Plant The Leaves
Right here’s the place the actual magic begins! Every leaf has the potential to develop into a brand new succulent. There are a number of methods to perform this. We experimented with 3 strategies this time round, only for enjoyable.
The one technique we skipped was water propagation. You need to rigorously droop the leaves over a glass of water so solely the guidelines keep moist, which at all times feels unnecessarily sophisticated – particularly contemplating how straightforward the opposite strategies are!
Planting Succulent Leaves In Soil
Fill a shallow tray, dish, bowl, or small nursery pot with potting soil. Mist or water the soil so it’s damp, not soggy. Stick the calloused finish of every leaf into the soil at a slight angle. It solely must go deep sufficient to maintain it caught in place.
Laying Succulent Leaves In Soil
Alternatively, you may merely lay your callous leaves atop the moist soil. Many favor this technique for its simplicity and since it makes it simpler to see new roots develop.
Hanging or Air Drying Succulent Leaves
Imagine it or not, succulents may also develop roots and pups with out soil. For this technique, discover a dish or tray to put them on… or string them up on fishing wire or thread. This technique might be finicky, however we thought it could be enjoyable to attempt!
We began by tying fishing wire across the stem scrap, which might make sure the leaves wouldn’t slide off. Then, we used a stitching needle to string the leaves collectively, identical to a popcorn garland.
As soon as all the pieces was strung collectively, we tied a loop on the high to hold it from a small cup hook by a window.
Step 7: Place In Shiny, Oblique Daylight
It doesn’t matter what portion of the succulent you’re propagating – the unique roots, the repotted stem, and the leaves – you’ll wish to discover a spot in your house the place they may get a number of hours of brilliant oblique daylight every day. Windowsill, bookshelves, or facet tables are nice spots – simply be sure that it’s not burning with tons of direct daylight.
We hung our string of leaves in a windowsill that bought sturdy morning solar, ensuring it was brilliant however not as sizzling and direct as sturdy afternoon mild.
Step 8: Maintain Every little thing Frivolously Watered
Water repeatedly (each 2-3 days) to maintain the soil moist, however not soggy, whereas your leaves are propagating. That is completely different than grown succulents whose soil ought to absolutely dry out between waterings (each 1-2 weeks). The timing and quantity of water could fluctuate relying on their location in your house. I discovered my tray was drying out shortly, so I normally sprayed them day by day or two.
We discovered it best to mist our leaves utilizing a small spray bottle. This saved us from overwatering and likewise made it straightforward to mist the strand of leaves hanging within the window. You may see that in motion in our video as properly.
Step 9: Pot Rooted Vegetation
It is going to take a number of weeks on your succulents to point out indicators of progress, relying in your circumstances. You’ll regularly start to see indicators of latest roots in addition to new vegetation (known as pups) starting to kind on the finish of every leaf.
Right here is a few of our progress 1 month into propagation:
Listed here are the identical leaves after 2 months. Observe how some leaves are rising sooner than others. Some – just like the one on the tip – didn’t take in any respect and shortly withered!
We waited a full 3 months earlier than transferring our new vegetation into their very own pots. To do that, we rigorously eliminated the leaf from the soil and, if potential, gently broke the pup free from the mom leaf. Not all have been able to be indifferent but, so you may simply depart those that didn’t wish to break off alone – to allow them to develop a little bit bit longer. Or you may proceed to the subsequent step with the leaf nonetheless hooked up.
We had comparable progress on our hanging leaves after 3 months. It’s arduous to say if the outcomes have been higher or sooner utilizing this technique, or in the event that they have been simply simpler to see after they have been hanging within the air.
To plant our new roots, we ready a small pot with contemporary moist soil and made a small gap to put the brand new roots in.
As soon as the brand new roots have been planted, we cared for the pup the identical means we cared for the mother or father plant – which implies we saved it in a spot with numerous oblique daylight and watered it every time the soil dried out.
What’s the Finest Technique to Propagate Succulents?
It’s arduous to choose our favourite propagating technique as a result of each was fairly easy and profitable and there have been professionals & cons to every.
- The trimmed stem had probably the most dramatic progress, however that’s to be anticipated as a result of it had a giant head begin. It’s able to trim and propagate once more into ten extra plant infants!
- The leaves positioned on soil produced taller thinner progress and total appeared to provide extra profitable new pups than hanging the leaves within the air.
- The leaves hanging in air produced smaller however thicker rosettes. This course of produced fewer profitable pups, however was probably the most enjoyable to look at!
General, it’s useful to do not forget that succulents aren’t quick rising vegetation, so that you gained’t see outcomes as shortly as you would possibly when propagating vegetation like pothos.
Extra Plant Guides
If you happen to’re in search of extra info on a few of our favourite vegetation, try a few of these posts under:
*This put up accommodates affiliate hyperlinks, so we could earn a small fee while you make a purchase order by hyperlinks on our website at no extra value to you.
