Succulents are among the best houseplants to propagate as a result of there are a number of methods to do it. Right this moment we’ll present how one succulent may be changed into many (even a dozen or extra!). So whether or not you’re trying to develop your individual assortment or reward some crops to associates, it is a enjoyable and simple course of to attempt!
And as you’ll see, propagation can be a useful option to care to your succulent assortment. Pruning is a needed a part of houseplant upkeep and these strategies will assist you to 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 crops from components of an current plant comparable to its leaves, stems, roots, or seeds. You possibly can propagate nearly any houseplant your self, though the strategies differ relying on the plant. Standard strategies embody water propagation (the place you possibly can watch new roots develop in water) and soil propagation (when new roots develop instantly in a pot of soil). Succulents can be propagated within the air! In all instances, after the cuttings sprout wholesome new roots, they are often potted in soil and cared for similar to the guardian plant.
Be aware: It’s also possible to watch this video on YouTube.
When To Propagate Succulents?
Succulent propagation is greatest executed within the spring and summer season, throughout the plant’s lively rising season. It may be efficiently executed any time of the yr, although. Outcomes may take longer to indicate within the fall and winter. So don’t fret if you’re beginning your propagation out of comfort or when your succulent wants pruning. In truth, pruning prompted the propagation of the succulent you’ll be seeing right this moment!
This Echeveria sits in our lavatory window, which is considerably shaded. The restricted daylight brought on the succulent’s stem to stretch out and look “leggy” because it reached for extra gentle (a course of referred to as “etiolation”). We don’t thoughts the way it appears to be like, however we realized this etiolated succulent could be a fantastic alternative for a number of propagations! Sure, we received 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 use many components of the plant and many alternative strategies, generally producing dozens of recent crops from a single succulent! We’re not going to undergo all of them right this moment 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 crops).
- Stem propagation: Place a naked stem chopping within the air, soil, or water to develop new pups the place outdated leaves had been.
- Root propagation: Minimize off every part 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 outline, listed below are the essential steps for this propagation tutorial. The method takes just a few days upfront after which a number of weeks of ready (and occasional watering) till new development develops. So make sure to evaluation all steps earlier than starting.
- Water your guardian or mom succulent, wait 3 days.
- Minimize stem on the soil line
- Take away backside leaves
- Let the entire reduce/eliminated items callous over for 3-5 days
- Replant naked stem in new soil
- Lay, dangle, or plant leaves
- Place in shiny oblique daylight
- Maintain propagating items flippantly watered
- Pot any rooted crops in new soil
Propagation Provides
Fortunately, it takes only a few provides to propagate your succulents. Right here’s what it is best to have helpful earlier than you begin:
Step 1: Water Your Succulent
Water your mom plant and wait about 3 days earlier than chopping 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 every time you water your succulent, ensure that any extra water is ready to drain out the underside of your pot.
Step 2: Minimize The Stem At The Soil Line
Begin by chopping 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 abruptly look very naked. Don’t fear!
Your current pot isn’t trash. The roots can develop the primary of many “new” crops you’ll get from this course of. Place this pot in a spot with shiny oblique gentle and proceed to take care of it as you had earlier than. After just a few weeks it is best 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 really reduce it once more somewhat additional as much as create a small piece to work with at this step. However this might not be needed to 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 necessary to get a clear break from the bottom as a result of ripped leaves can’t be propagated. Any yellow, brown, or mushy leaves received’t be wholesome sufficient to propagate both.
For those who’re replanting the highest of the reduce stem, depart just a few 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 due to this pruning, it received’t look leggy anymore!
Additionally, relying on how lengthy leggy your stem is, you can even 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 present your leaves and reduce stem just a few days to callous over. After 3-5 days, the ends ought to change into exhausting and dry. That is necessary 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 break your propagation. So at all times err on the aspect of extra callous than much less, possibly giving every part 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 simple option to get a “completed” wanting succulent rapidly. To do that, fill a brand new nursery pot with well-draining potting soil. A cactus or succulent combine works nice, or attempt a regular potting combine with additional perlite blended in. Ensure that your pot isn’t too large. Succulents prefer to be comfortable!
Use a finger or chopstick to poke a gap within the heart of the soil, and plant your reduce stem inside. It’s also possible to dip the top in rooting hormone first, however it’s not needed. 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, Hold, or Plant The Leaves
Right here’s the place the true magic begins! Every leaf has the potential to change into a brand new succulent. There are just a few methods to perform this. We experimented with 3 strategies this time round, only for enjoyable.
The one technique we skipped was water propagation. You must rigorously droop the leaves over a glass of water so solely the guidelines keep moist, which at all times feels unnecessarily difficult – 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 possibly can merely lay your callous leaves atop the moist soil. Many choose 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 also can 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 may be finicky, however we thought it might 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, similar to a popcorn garland.
As soon as every part 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 Vibrant, 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 need to discover a spot in your house the place they are going to get a number of hours of shiny oblique daylight every day. Windowsill, bookshelves, or aspect tables are nice spots – simply ensure that it’s not burning with tons of direct daylight.
We hung our string of leaves in a windowsill that received sturdy morning solar, ensuring it was shiny however not as sizzling and direct as sturdy afternoon gentle.
Step 8: Maintain The whole lot Evenly Watered
Water usually (each 2-3 days) to maintain the soil moist, however not soggy, whereas your leaves are propagating. That is totally different than grown succulents whose soil ought to totally dry out between waterings (each 1-2 weeks). The timing and quantity of water might differ relying on their location in your house. I discovered my tray was drying out rapidly, so I often 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 possibly can see that in motion in our video as nicely.
Step 9: Pot Rooted Vegetation
It’ll take a number of weeks to your succulents to indicate indicators of development, relying in your circumstances. You’ll progressively start to see indicators of recent roots in addition to new crops (referred to as pups) starting to type 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. Be aware how some leaves are rising quicker than others. Some – just like the one on the top – didn’t take in any respect and rapidly withered!
We waited a full 3 months earlier than transferring our new crops into their very own pots. To do that, we rigorously eliminated the leaf from the soil and, if attainable, gently broke the pup free from the mom leaf. Not all had been able to be indifferent but, so you possibly can simply depart those that didn’t need to break off alone – to allow them to develop somewhat bit longer. Or you possibly can proceed to the subsequent step with the leaf nonetheless connected.
We had related progress on our hanging leaves after 3 months. It’s exhausting to say if the outcomes had been higher or quicker utilizing this technique, or in the event that they had been simply simpler to see once they had 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 had been planted, we cared for the pup the identical approach we cared for the guardian plant – which implies we saved it in a spot with a lot of oblique daylight and watered it at any time when the soil dried out.
What’s the Finest Technique to Propagate Succulents?
It’s exhausting to choose our favourite propagating technique as a result of every one was fairly easy and profitable and there have been professionals & cons to every.
- The trimmed stem had probably the most dramatic development, however that’s to be anticipated as a result of it had an enormous head begin. It’s able to trim and propagate once more into ten extra plant infants!
- The leaves positioned on soil produced taller thinner development and total appeared to supply 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 observe!
General, it’s useful to do not forget that succulents aren’t quick rising crops, so that you received’t see outcomes as rapidly as you would possibly when propagating crops like pothos.
Extra Plant Guides
For those who’re searching for extra info on a few of our favourite crops, take a look at a few of these posts beneath:
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