Succulents are a few of the best houseplants to propagate as a result of there are a number of methods to do it. At present we’ll present how one succulent could be changed into many (even a dozen or extra!). So whether or not you’re seeking to develop your individual assortment or present some crops to associates, this can be a enjoyable and simple course of to attempt!
And as you’ll see, propagation can be a useful approach to care in your succulent assortment. Pruning is a mandatory a part of houseplant upkeep and these methods will show you how 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 corresponding to its leaves, stems, roots, or seeds. You possibly can propagate nearly any houseplant your self, though the methods differ relying on the plant. Fashionable strategies embody 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 may also 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 mother or father plant.
Notice: You can even watch this video on YouTube.
When To Propagate Succulents?
Succulent propagation is finest completed within the spring and summer time, throughout the plant’s lively rising season. It may be efficiently completed any time of the 12 months, although. Outcomes could take longer to indicate 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. In reality, pruning prompted the propagation of the succulent you’ll be seeing as we speak!
This Echeveria sits in our rest room window, which is considerably shaded. The restricted daylight prompted 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, however we realized this etiolated succulent could be an excellent 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 various methods, typically producing dozens of latest crops from a single succulent! We’re not going to undergo all of them as we speak 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 reducing within the air, soil, or water to develop new pups the place previous leaves had been.
- Root propagation: Lower off every thing 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 information 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 grasp 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 fundamental steps for this propagation tutorial. The method takes a couple of days upfront after which a number of weeks of ready (and occasional watering) till new progress develops. So make sure you evaluation all steps earlier than starting.
- Water your mother or father or mom succulent, wait 3 days.
- Lower stem on the soil line
- Take away backside leaves
- Let the entire lower/eliminated items callous over for 3-5 days
- Replant naked stem in new soil
- Lay, grasp, or plant leaves
- Place in shiny oblique daylight
- Preserve propagating items evenly 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 you need to have helpful earlier than you begin:
Step 1: Water Your Succulent
Water your mom plant and wait about 3 days earlier than reducing 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, be sure any extra water is ready to drain out the underside of your pot.
Step 2: Lower The Stem At The Soil Line
Begin by reducing 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 stop the unfold of micro organism. Your pot will instantly 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 a couple of weeks you need to see new pups creating close to the lower finish of the leaves.
Step 3: Take away Backside Leaves
Subsequent, flip your consideration to the plant you simply lower off. Our stem was so lengthy, we truly lower it once more a bit additional as much as create a small piece to work with at this step. However this might not be mandatory in 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.
If you happen to’re replanting the highest of the lower stem, go away a couple 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 received’t look leggy anymore!
Additionally, relying on how lengthy leggy your stem is, you may as well lower 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 lower stem a couple of days to callous over. After 3-5 days, the ends ought to turn out to be arduous and dry. That is necessary as a result of in any other case, these ends will take up an excessive amount of moisture within the subsequent steps, inflicting your items to rot and spoil your propagation. So all the time err on the aspect of extra callous than much less, perhaps giving every thing no less than per week earlier than you progress on.
Step 5: Replant Your Naked Stem
Subsequent, let’s maintain the lower stem. Utilizing soil or water propagation, the naked portion of this stem ought to develop new roots. We picked the soil methodology as a result of it’s a straightforward approach to get a “completed” wanting 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 blended in. Be sure your pot isn’t too massive. Succulents wish to be cosy!
Use a finger or chopstick to poke a gap within the middle of the soil, and plant your lower stem inside. You can even dip the tip in rooting hormone first, nevertheless it’s not mandatory. 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 filth 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, Cling, or Plant The Leaves
Right here’s the place the actual magic begins! Every leaf has the potential to turn out to be a brand new succulent. There are a couple of methods to perform this. We experimented with 3 strategies this time round, only for enjoyable.
The one methodology we skipped was water propagation. It’s important to rigorously droop the leaves over a glass of water so solely the information keep moist, which all the time feels unnecessarily difficult – particularly contemplating how simple 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 methodology for its simplicity and since it makes it simpler to see new roots develop.
Hanging or Air Drying Succulent Leaves
Consider it or not, succulents may develop roots and pups with out soil. For this methodology, discover a dish or tray to put them on… or string them up on fishing wire or thread. This methodology could be finicky, however we thought it will 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 thing 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 Vivid, 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’ll get a number of hours of shiny oblique daylight every day. Windowsill, bookshelves, or aspect tables are nice spots – simply be sure 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: Preserve Every little thing Evenly 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 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 shortly, 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 in addition made it simple to mist the strand of leaves hanging within the window. You possibly can see that in motion in our video as effectively.
Step 9: Pot Rooted Crops
It’s going to take a number of weeks in your succulents to indicate indicators of progress, relying in your circumstances. You’ll step by step start to see indicators of latest roots in addition to new crops (referred to 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. Notice how some leaves are rising quicker 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 crops 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 had been able to be indifferent but, so you may simply go away those that didn’t need to break off alone – to allow them to develop a bit bit longer. Or you may proceed to the subsequent step with the leaf nonetheless hooked up.
We had related progress on our hanging leaves after 3 months. It’s arduous to say if the outcomes had been higher or quicker utilizing this methodology, 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 mother or father plant – which implies we saved it in a spot with plenty of oblique daylight and watered it each time the soil dried out.
What’s the Finest Technique to Propagate Succulents?
It’s arduous to select our favourite propagating methodology as a result of every one was fairly easy and profitable and there have been execs & cons to every.
- The trimmed stem had probably the most dramatic progress, 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 progress and general 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 observe!
General, it’s useful to do not forget that succulents aren’t quick rising crops, so that you received’t see outcomes as shortly as you may when propagating crops like pothos.
Extra Plant Guides
If you happen to’re searching for extra data on a few of our favourite crops, try a few of these posts beneath:
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