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 will be was many (even a dozen or extra!). So whether or not you’re seeking to develop your individual assortment or reward some crops to mates, it is a enjoyable and simple course of to strive!
And as you’ll see, propagation can be a useful method to care to your succulent assortment. Pruning is a essential a part of houseplant upkeep and these strategies will show you how to flip an overgrown plant (or one with an awkwardly tall offshoot) right into a bunch of recent new plant infants.
What Is Plant Propagation?
Propagation is the method of rising new crops from elements of an present plant similar to its leaves, stems, roots, or seeds. You’ll be able to propagate nearly any houseplant your self, though the strategies range relying on the plant. Fashionable strategies embody water propagation (the place you possibly can watch new roots develop in water) and soil propagation (when new roots develop immediately in a pot of soil). Succulents will also be propagated within the air! In all circumstances, after the cuttings sprout wholesome new roots, they are often potted in soil and cared for similar to the mum or dad plant.
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When To Propagate Succulents?
Succulent propagation is finest finished within the spring and summer time, through the plant’s lively rising season. It may be efficiently finished any time of the yr, although. Outcomes could 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 reality, pruning prompted the propagation of the succulent you’ll be seeing at present!
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 mild (a course of known as “etiolation”). We don’t thoughts the way it seems, however we realized this etiolated succulent can be an awesome alternative for a number of propagations! Sure, we obtained 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 elements of the plant and many alternative strategies, typically producing dozens of latest crops from a single succulent! We’re not going to undergo all of them at present 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 outdated leaves had been.
- Root propagation: Lower off all the pieces above the soil line and permit roots to develop a brand new plant within the present 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 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 here 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 development develops. So remember to evaluate all steps earlier than starting.
- Water your mum or dad or mom succulent, wait 3 days.
- Lower stem on the soil line
- Take away backside leaves
- Let all the minimize/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 calmly 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 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 present 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 brilliant oblique mild and proceed to take care of it as you had earlier than. After a couple of weeks it is best to see new pups creating close to the minimize finish of the leaves.
Step 3: Take away Backside Leaves
Subsequent, flip your consideration to the plant you simply minimize off. Our stem was so lengthy, we really minimize it once more a bit additional as much as create a small piece to work with at this step. However this will not be essential 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 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.
Should you’re replanting the highest of the minimize 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 gained’t look leggy anymore!
Additionally, relying on how lengthy leggy your stem is, you can even minimize 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 offer your leaves and minimize stem a couple of days to callous over. After 3-5 days, the ends ought to develop into exhausting and dry. That is essential as a result of in any other case, these ends will soak up an excessive amount of moisture within the subsequent steps, inflicting your items to rot and damage your propagation. So all the time err on the facet of extra callous than much less, perhaps giving all the pieces at the least per week earlier than you progress on.
Step 5: Replant Your Naked Stem
Subsequent, let’s maintain the minimize 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 simple method to get a “completed” trying succulent rapidly. To do that, fill a brand new nursery pot with well-draining potting soil. A cactus or succulent combine works nice, or strive an ordinary potting combine with additional perlite combined in. Be sure that your pot isn’t too large. Succulents prefer to be comfortable!
Use a finger or chopstick to poke a gap within the middle of the soil, and plant your minimize stem inside. You can too dip the tip in rooting hormone first, nevertheless 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 true magic begins! Every leaf has the potential to develop into 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. You must 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 possibly can merely lay your callous leaves atop the moist soil. Many desire this methodology 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 methodology, discover a dish or tray to put them on… or string them up on fishing wire or thread. This methodology will be finicky, however we thought it might be enjoyable to strive!
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 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 Vivid, Oblique Daylight
It doesn’t matter what portion of the succulent you might be 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 brilliant oblique daylight every day. Windowsill, bookshelves, or facet 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 obtained sturdy morning solar, ensuring it was brilliant however not as scorching and direct as sturdy afternoon mild.
Step 8: Maintain All the pieces Evenly Watered
Water often (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 could range relying on their location in your house. I discovered my tray was drying out rapidly, so I normally sprayed them each day or two.
We discovered it best to mist our leaves utilizing a small spray bottle. This stored us from overwatering and in addition made it simple to mist the strand of leaves hanging within the window. You’ll be able to see that in motion in our video as effectively.
Step 9: Pot Rooted Crops
It would take a number of weeks to your succulents to indicate indicators of development, relying in your circumstances. You’ll steadily start to see indicators of latest roots in addition to new crops (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 below are the identical leaves after 2 months. Notice how some leaves are rising sooner than others. Some – just like the one on the tip – 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 have been able to be indifferent but, so you possibly can simply go away those that didn’t need to break off alone – to allow them to develop a bit bit longer. Or you possibly can proceed to the following step with the leaf nonetheless connected.
We had comparable progress on our hanging leaves after 3 months. It’s exhausting to say if the outcomes have been higher or sooner utilizing this methodology, 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 recent moist soil and made a small gap to position the brand new roots in.
As soon as the brand new roots have been planted, we cared for the pup the identical method we cared for the mum or dad plant – which suggests we stored it in a spot with a lot of oblique daylight and watered it each time the soil dried out.
What’s the Finest Methodology to Propagate Succulents?
It’s exhausting 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 essentially 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 essentially the most enjoyable to observe!
Total, it’s useful to do not forget that succulents aren’t quick rising crops, so that you gained’t see outcomes as rapidly as you would possibly when propagating crops like pothos.
Extra Plant Guides
Should you’re in search of extra data on a few of our favourite crops, take a look at a few of these posts under:
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