Succulent

How to Propagate Succulents? Explained

Ultimate Guide to Succulent Propagation

How to propagate succulents? If you don’t own a big green garden around you, propagating succulents is a fantastic way to cherish a little gardening. It merely takes a few basic steps, and succulents don’t require much attention.

How to Propagate Succulents?

Propagation is synonymous with reproduction. Some succulents can be grown from both leaves and stems, while many others can only be propagated from one of them. There are additional species that produce offsets (baby succulents) that may be propagated.

Keep scrolling on this page if you don’t know How to propagate succulents but want to grow some beautiful succulents around you.

Common Succulent Factors to Consider

Here are some of the most frequent factors that people prefer to adjust for. Everyone may have their own tricks and tips for modifying these factors, and we’ll discuss as many of them as we can to offer you ideas for your own succulent garden.

Sunlight

This is a very important issue and generally dependent on where you reside and the sort of succulents you are attempting to grow. In most cases, indirect and filtered sunlight for part of the day is preferable, but if you don’t have a suitable window for light, you may use lights instead. Too much light will harm the leaves, yet too much darkness will stymie progress.

Humidity

The degree of humidity in the air can also affect your success rates, but as long as it’s not bone dry or dripping wet, this shouldn’t be a deal breaker. Humidity is more important with other types of houseplants or plants that are already established.

Time

How long does succulent growth take? At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it relies on a variety of circumstances, including the criteria listed above.

Even in the same tray, the same leaves from the same parent plant will grow at different speeds. There is no predetermined time, but anyone who has ever propped will tell you that it requires a lot of patience.

Soil

Selecting your medium is also critical. With succulents, you generally want something that drains well and isn’t too thick. Having said that, props have fallen onto the cold, dark cement floor in a corner and been discovered months later with growth and roots.

Misting

Some people prefer to mist their succulents while they’re sitting in their propagation medium, while others like to put a few drops of water around the roots. Excess water can actually cause your succulent leaves to decay, so this can go either way.

A short mist every day or two is usually a good idea, but whether it truly helps is arguable. You’ll definitely want to add some additional water when the leaf dries, and as long as you’re not drowning the leaves in mist, you should be good.

How to make a succulent cut for succulent propagation?

To make a new succulent from a stem, cut a section of a stem from an existing plant. To avoid damaging the plant, take your cutting using a sharp, clean cutting instrument (such as a pair of pruning shears).
Ideally, you’ll make your cut just above a leaf from a location that maintains or even improves the appearance of your parent plant, such as when the parent plant has grown tall and spindly & you take your cutting from the overgrowth. You may need to remove some lower leaves from your cutting in order to plant only the stem and not any leaves in the soil (the leaves will rot).

How to propagate succulents? There are 2 methods after you have your cutting:

How to propagate succulents from the Callous method?

Method 1: Use the Callous Method

Allow the cut end to be callous. The callous forms after the skin have dried out and become rough and shriveled. This procedure normally takes three to five days to complete (less time in a hot and dry climate, and more time in a cooler or wetter climate). Your cutting is ready to plant after it has calloused.

This procedure is free, although it is slower than using the rooting hormone method.

How do propagate succulents from the root?

Method 2: Hormone Rooting Method

The rooting hormone should be applied to the cut end. Rooting hormone is a white powder containing indole-3-butyric acid, a chemical that mimics the natural rooting hormone of plants. Synthetic rooting hormone can assist cuttings in growing their own roots more quickly, and a bottle that will last for years costs less than $10.

Remove a pinch of rooting hormone from the bottle it came in using a little spoon (do not get this substance in touch with your skin). Dip the cut end of the stem in the powder you removed, tap the stem to remove excess powder, and trash the powder you don’t use. If you unintentionally accept a sick cutting, you will avoid possibly infecting the entire jar of rooting hormone.

How to Plant a Succulent cutting?

Whatever choice you choose, you’ll want to plant your cutting in a pre-moistened, well-draining succulent soil mix.

Planting cuttings in garden soil, potting soil, or sand is not recommended (or mature succulents). These materials are thick and poorly drain. Your succulents will decay if they become soaked. You want to utilize a growth medium that has good drainage and isn’t friendly to fungus or germs.

Do not water the soil right after you plant your clipping. Wait till the dirt has dried out instead. Then, water well and don’t water again until the soil is fully dry when you stick your finger at least 2 inches deep.

Your cutting will be extremely loose in its new habitat at first. Your succulent will begin to establish its own root system after a few weeks. When you gently pull on it, you’ll discover that it’s rooted in the dirt. If you unintentionally pull it out, gently replant it. After roughly a month, you should give your succulent some plant food.

How to propagate succulents from Leaves?

First, hydrate your parent plant a few days before taking a leaf for a cutting to ensure that the leaves have enough moisture to proliferate.

To make a new succulent from a leaf, just twist and peel the leaf away from the stem of the plant you wish to reproduce. It’s fine if you get a tiny stem with your leaf. What you don’t want is a damaged leaf before the stem, because a broken leaf will not produce new plants.

You want to remove a leaf that is juicy, healthy, and mature, not one that is young, shrivelled, or overwatering. A yellow, transparent, or black leaf indicates overwatering and is unlikely to produce a new plant.

Once you’ve got a decent leaf, let the moist section where it was detached from the parent callous over. Keep your leaves in the shade, above wet succulent soil, coco peat, or horticultural pumice.

How to propagate succulents? Different people have different ideas on how, when, and if to water the leaves you’re propagating. Some houseplant growers claim that the leaves do not require water. Others advise spraying the foliage and soil every one to three days using a spray bottle. Others warn against getting water on the leaves since it would cause them to decay. They suggest using a succulent watering bottle with a long, narrow, angled nozzle to keep the soil near the callous moist.

Our point from these divergent viewpoints is that there are several paths to success. You may need to spray or water your leaves if you reside in a dryer region. You might wish to leave them alone if you live in a humid area.

Move it to indirect bright or filtered sunlight until you observe tiny succulents and/or roots sprouting out of the calloused end of the leaf (this may take three weeks or more). Keep your leaves in partial sunlight to avoid drying out or sunburning your young plants and roots.

Your young “pup” plants will grow big enough to remove from the leaf and plant in a few weeks.

Sunshine tips: If you have pets, be careful that some succulents are harmful to cats and dogs. Be cautious with what you grow in your backyard or bring inside your home.

How do propagate succulents easily?

If you’re new to succulent propagation, start by selecting plants that are simple to cultivate. When shopping for plants online, keep an eye out for the following succulents:

  • Graptosedum “Alpenglow”
  • Aeonium.
  • Sedum morganianum
  • Crassula.
  • Graptosedum “California Sunset”
  • Alovera
  • Echeveria.
  • Graptopetalum.
  • Pleospilos Nelii and Lithops

Any of them can be propagated using cuttings or leaves. By the way, while succulents are actively growing is the greatest time of year to propagate them. Depending on where you live, this might be all year or only during the growing season.

How to grow succulents?

Learn as much as you can about the succulent you wish to propagate: When does the growing season begin? When does it go to snooze? If in doubt, proliferate in the spring when the weather is pleasant.

Common Mistakes in Succulent Propagation

  • Overwatering. The succulent will die.
  • Putting leaf cuttings in direct sunlight. The cutting will be put under undue strain. Tender new growth might become sunburned or dry out.
  • Using a leaf or stem that is not fat and healthy. If you start with a thirsty or ill plant, your chances of success are much lower.
  • Using the incorrect type of soil. The improper type of soil will retain too much rainwater. These circumstances can encourage fungal and bacterial development or cause your cutting to deteriorate.
  • Being impatient. It takes many weeks for cuttings to develop roots.
  • Every endeavor is expected to succeed. Some will not, so take many cuttings or leaves from the plant you wish to reproduce. You’re doing well if 50% to 70% of them flourish.

Is it possible to grow succulents in soil?

Yes, it is possible to grow succulents in soil. Even you can easily use ordinary potting soil for succulents. It might work just fine, particularly if you often forget to water for lengthy periods of time and if your plants are little. However, make sure the soil dries fully between waterings or it may rot.

Is it possible to grow succulents in rocks?

Unfortunately, this implies that succulents cannot grow on rocks without soil for an extended period of time. They might survive for several days or even weeks on the stores found in the stems & leaves, but they will die slowly if not given continuous care.

Is it possible to grow succulents in water?

Yes, you may support the root system of your succulent leaf or stem to develop by dangling it over the surface of a transparent jar of water or allowing the calloused end to dip gently into the water. If you want to see the roots develop in plain view or reproduce succulents indoors during adverse growth circumstances, this approach may be for you.

Some people, however, will find this procedure boring. It is necessary to change the water to maintain it clean and at the proper level. When the cutting is smaller than the opening of the jar, you may need to use plastic wrap with a little hole drilled in it to suspend it over the water. It’s functional, but in this way, you have to work hard.

How to propagate succulents? – conclusion

Learning how to grow succulents isn’t rocket science, but it is science nonetheless. There’s also some art included. Will making gorgeous mandala designs out of your leaves help them grow roots & pups?

No, but it’s a great method to express yourself via art that will develop and thrive over time. It’s incredibly satisfying; you’ll find yourself racing over to check on your leaves every day, and eventually, they’ll begin to root, and all of your hard work will be rewarded! But keep in mind that succulent care often entails leaving them alone to do their thing.

Note not every leaf will develop roots. Many will grow a pup without any roots, while others will decay and turn black without producing anything. It’s all part of the process; no one has a 100% success rate.

Sunbal Razzaq

Sunbal Razzaq is the founder & CEO of Succulent Propagation

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