One of the coolest things I have learned about succulents so far is how they can be propagated. I am actually in the middle of this process now and I’m really hoping it works.
How to Propagate
I keep reading that you can take stem cuttings of your succulents and propagate them that way, but none of my succulents are tall enough to do that yet. Truthfully cutting them down would probably make me a little nervous anyway, especially since there is no way of knowing if propagation will be successful.
I had no idea I would be trying this process so soon because I haven’t had these plants for very long; but some of the leaves on a few of my succulents looked like they might be trying to die. So I was able to wriggle several of them away from their stems and set them aside for propagation. This is the other way to propagate a succulent. Each leaf from one succulent has the potential to be another succulent through the process of propagation.
Prepping the Leaves
Once I had removed the leaves I wanted to use I set them on a paper towel and let them dry for almost a week. I have read conflicting information on exactly how long to let the leaves dry. Some things I read said you should let them dry a week, others said 1-3 days. Mine ended up drying for about 5 days.
I think the point is to let the ends of the leaves callous over. This happened rather quickly so I may have actually left them drying for longer than I needed to.
Moving Day
Once my leaves were finished drying out it was time to move them onto some soil. Research indicated that I would need to get a shallow pan or tray, fill the bottom with pebbles (luckily I still had quite a few leftover) and cover them with dampened, well-draining soil. I then placed the leaves on top of the soil.
Apparently you are not supposed to actually place any part of the leaves inside the soil, as if you were planting them. Laying them on top of the soil is supposed to be enough.
And Now We Wait
From everything I’ve read it takes about a week to see new growth from these parent leaves, as they’re called. In the meantime I am supposed to spray the top of the soil with water every day to keep it damp.
Soon, tiny succulents are supposed to start forming out of these parent leaves. When this happens the parent leaves should loosen so they can easily be pulled away from the buddings. At that point I’ll need to plant the new succulents in a container. If this works I plan on letting my younger cousins plant them so they can have succulents of their own. I’m also hoping to try propagating an aloe plant that belonged to my grandmother. Wish me luck!
Do you have any tips on propagating succulents? Pitfalls to avoid?