Succulents are truly amazing life forms. Besides being easy to take care of and being small enough to fit in almost any living environment, you can also create new succulent plants from existing ones rather than having to breed two different plants. Much like succulent care, succulent propagation and growing robust succulent stems is a simple process that anyone can do. If you’re interested in creating more succulents, here is an easy four-step process to propagating succulents.
Step 1. Remove a Small Portion From Your Current Succulent Plant
In order to produce a new succulent, you will need to take a small portion out of your old succulent. The best way to do this is by choosing a leaf and removing it all the way down to the stem. If you cut too small of a piece, though, you probably won’t succeed in developing a new plant. You will also need to make sure that you do not take leaves from small plants or from plants that are not healthy. This will not only reduce your success in propagating but it will also increase the chances that the parent plant will die.
Step 2. Prepare Your Leaf and Container for Transplanting
Once you’ve removed your leaf from the parent plant, it is recommended that you leave your leaf out in the sun to dry (although some state that a successful transplant can take place without a completely dry leaf). Start packing soil into your chosen container while the leaf dries out so that transplant can take place immediately.
Step 3. Place Your Leaf Into the New Container
You can now transplant your leaf into the fresh soil. To ensure that your transplant is successful, lie your leaf down flat on the top of the soil with the portion of the stem as close to the soil as possible. The new roots will come from the stem and dig their way down into the soil.
Step 4. Care for Your New Succulent Plant as You Would Your Current One
All that’s left to do is wait! Make sure that your new plant is receiving plenty of sunlight and water. You will know that the propagation is successful once you see roots coming from the stem and producing a new bud. You may also notice that the transplanted leaf is drying out. This is perfectly normal and there is no cause for concern. The initial process will take two to four weeks but the overall growth of the plant may take a few months or a year until you see a noticeable change. Be patient!
That’s all there is to it! Your leaf is now on its way to becoming its own succulent. Remember, as long as you have a healthy, large succulent, you can always repeat the propagation process with old and even propagated succulents. If you follow the steps above and are careful with your succulents, you will always be successful in your propagation efforts. Good luck!
