I’ll aim to cover two key topics related to succulents: 1) how to maintain your existing succulent gardens or plants, and 2) how to propagate by chopping pups off the mother plants.
Here is a sizable, well-established Echeveria Agavoides Lipstick garden with a number of activities going on that I will discuss. See how some of the rosettes have withered flower bloom stalks? Once dried, just cut them or gently take them apart before throwing. On Echeverias and the majority of other succulents, the flower blossoms cannot typically be used for propagation.
Cut and throw. Search your surroundings for any regions that have dried or dead leaves. These can be taken off or cut away. This is crucial, please read! Succulents frequently lose their lower, older, outer leaves on their own. Occasionally, they simply shrivel up or lose their color and disappear. Your succulent is not dead or dying as a result of this. Customers will occasionally reprimand us for telling them that their succulent is dead because it has a few older, dead leaves underneath although, in most cases, this is NATURAL!
Do you see anything? Dead leaves and several pups (smaller babies) attempting to reach the light and the outside world! It does several things by eliminating the dead leaves. It helps take away critter hiding areas and enables pups to move out into the light.
Now remove any dead leaves with care. You can use tools like tweezers, cutting edges, and your fingertips. Additionally, you can use your cutting tools to gently take out any pups so that you can plant them in new containers and create a better starting habitat for future pups.
Cut, clear, and tidy! Throw away the many older, dead leaves that are present. It’s completely normal for pups to have dead leaves on their butts.
I want to talk about a few topics here.
Many methods can be used to spread echeverias. If necessary, seeds, but they take a long time. You can also use single leaves or petals; see the link to our Leaf beginnings below. an excellent technique to multiply inexpensively and wisely if you only have a few or little plants. Making entire cuttings from pups or even the main head/rosette is the quickest method. I’ll write another blog post soon about this!
How should overgrown succulents be handled?
After a few years of vigorous growth, succulents can become overgrown and root-bound. Repotting them into a bigger container with new soil, pruning the leaves sparingly, and making sure the light and soil nutrients are ideal will all help them look better.
How to Repot Overgrown Succulents
- Gently remove each plant from the old container by gently pulling from the base of the stem.
- Partially fill the new, larger pot with a grittier, better-draining soil, such as a potting mix for succulents and cacti.
- With a fresh pair of scissors or pruning shears, remove any unwanted leaves, then position the plants in the new pot.
- Soil should be poured into the pot to the last bit.
- Optional: Apply a top dressing to the soil’s surface.
- Place in the Appropriate Lighting (see succulent product page)
- When the soil is totally dry, wait until it has been let dry for 3–7 days before deeply watering it again.
Can you prune succulents that have grown too large?
Succulents benefit most from pruning at the start of their growing season, although you can prune them at any time. If you prune around the end of the growing season, new growth might not appear as rapidly, but it will develop gradually and accelerate once they begin to grow vigorously again.
There are numerous succulents that grow best in the summer, but there are also quite a few that grow best in the winter. To determine when your succulents are actively developing, check at this dormancy table.
My succulents are often pruned in the spring, after spending the winter indoors. Typically, they become quite stretched out and lose some of their initial beauty.
I can freshen the arrangement by pruning them without needing to buy new plants. It’s a fantastic approach to grow your garden!
How are lanky succulents cleaned?
- The plant should be cut, leaving approximately an inch or so of stem at the base.
- For a day or two, or longer if your area is humid, leave the stem cuttings in a dry location away from direct sunshine to dry. Launder and seal the wound. To hasten the rooting process, it is optional to dip the cuttings in rooting hormone.
- Put the cuttings in a well-draining potting mix after the cut has healed. Perlite and a cactus mixture are my preferred combinations (1:1 solution). You can find soil and soil amendments here.
- Every few days or whenever the soil gets dry, mist or water the area.
- The stem cuttings usually take two weeks or longer to root.
- Avoid direct sunshine and keep watering every few days or whenever the soil starts to feel dry.
- When the plant reaches maturity, increase sunshine while reducing watering.
The portion of the plant from which the cuttings were taken will keep expanding and generating new growth. Rarely, the base will stop expanding and eventually disappear. However, if this occurs, hopefully you have already grown new plants from the stem cuttings.
Decide where to cut the plant. In order to conveniently put the plant you are cutting into soil and propagate it, you should ideally have at least half an inch of stem on the bottom of the plant.
When you cut the plant, make sure to salvage as many of the roots as possible. These already have roots sprouting, so they will thrive when replanted in soil.
What happens if you cut a succulent’s top off?
It’s time to get the shears out and remove the head of any echeverias that are growing tall and out of control. Your succulent won’t appear as stretched out and leggy when you remove the top and transplant it in soil. Grab a good pair of gardening shears or a knife.
Why is my succulent gaining height rather than width?
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Your succulent does it appear different? Are you perplexed as to why it is becoming so stretched-out, tall, and leggy?
Your succulent is experiencing etiolation if it is expanding vertically rather than horizontally. Your succulent needs more light, to put it simply.
Sadly, damage that has already been done cannot be undone. But it can bounce back. Your stretched succulent can be propagated, which will result in more plants. Win!
Let’s examine this stretched Crassula perforata more closely. Find out what caused this to happen and how to solve it.
Visit How to Grow Succulents Indoors to catch up on general care for succulents.
Your Succulent Isn’t Getting Enough Light
All plants require light, but succulents particularly crave it. Your pal may be leggy if you don’t provide a sunny area where they can soak up the light.
Insufficient sunshine causes succulents to develop lengthy stems. They begin to turn and spread out in search of light during a process known as etiolation, which gives them a “leggy appearance with a long stem and smaller, spaced-out leaves.
It can be challenging to determine how much light your plant needs right immediately because every plant is unique. Try transferring the succulent to an area where it will receive more light if you find it starting to grow a long stem without adding more leaves. You might want to think about buying a tiny tabletop grow light if your house doesn’t have a place where the sun shines.
How are succulents shortened?
Start by removing the succulent’s top with a pair of sharp scissors. Leave at least an inch or two of your succulent’s base with two to three leaves when you cut it. Make sure the snip has enough stem on it to be planted in soil later. If you leave a few leaves on the base to absorb sunlight, the base will thrive. To continue growing, you can move your base to a new, sunny location.
Allow the base and the cutting to dry for a few days. until the cut’s end has dried fully and appears “You can plant it in soil when it has scabbed and start watering it. You can discover more about succulent regrowth.
Within a few days, maybe, but most definitely within two to three weeks, the cutting should begin to give off roots. Reduce the amount of watering given to your new succulents as their roots become stronger.
Within a few weeks, the base, or original plant, will begin to produce additional offshoots. You can continue to take care of this plant as you did before you chopped it. The leaves you initially left on the foundation plant can eventually fall off or perish. Although this process is quite typical, it won’t always occur. But if they do come off, don’t worry! Without the old rosettes, the young ones will still be able to grow “a parent departs.
How are lanky plants fixed?
A leggy indoor plant can be pruned to foster the growth of new stems, which will help it regain its former lushness in addition to being moved into more light. Snip just above a node to remove one-third of the length of very long, lanky stems (the point where leaves grow from the stem). If your plant is already producing new shoots from the ground, trimming back gangly stems around it will give the new growth space to absorb sunlight and thrive.
Can succulent cuttings be planted directly in the ground?
What is there to love other than a succulent? Obviously, a full garden of succulents! Fortunately for us, it’s simple to propagate a variety of these resilient, vibrant plants at home. We can’t wait to see succulents growing all year long in containers around the house and garden; there are various easy ways to reproduce them.
Propagating by Division: Plants that have gotten too leggy perform best with this method, which produces new succulents from cuttings. Start by delicately removing any leaves that may be attached to the stem below the rosette; be sure to preserve the leaf’s base while you do so. After all the leaves have been eliminated, cut the rosette with shears, leaving a brief stem intact. The cuttings should be let to dry in an empty tray for a few days until the raw ends have calloused. The cuttings can then be rooted in either water or soil.
Soil: After the stems have calloused, set the cuttings on top of a shallow tray filled with well-draining cactus/succulent soil. From the base of the cuttings, roots and little plants will start to emerge in a few weeks. Once the roots start to show, water sparingly once a week; take care not to overwater. The parent leaf will eventually wither; carefully remove it while taking care not to harm the young roots. Your propagated succulents can be replanted once they have established roots. As soon as the plants are established, keep them out of direct sunlight.
Water: After the stem has calloused, place a cutting with the end barely visible above the water’s surface on the lip of a glass or jar filled with water. Pick a sunny location for your glass. The incision will eventually produce roots that extend toward the water. Once roots have sprouted, your new succulent can either be replanted in succulent potting soil or allowed to remain submerged in water as illustrated above.
Offsets are little plants that develop at the base of the main specimen, and many species of succulents, such as aloe, hens and chicks, and some cacti, will generate them. Check for root growth after an offset has developed for two to three weeks before carefully twisting, cutting, or using a sharp knife to separate it from the main stem. Be cautious to prevent destroying any already-formed roots. Follow the directions above for propagating in soil or water, letting the offsets dry, establish roots, and then repot when they have had time to callus any exposed regions. Removing offsets has the added benefit of enhancing the health of your current succulents and redirecting energy into the growth of the primary plant.
When ought to succulents be potted again?
Evergreen succulents have always captured my heart. Succulents are low maintenance plants that thrive in containers because to their unusual forms and thick leaves; I have a large collection of these well-liked varieties.
Repotting succulents every two years is a good general rule of thumb, if only to give them access to new, fertile soil. The beginning of a succulent’s growing season is the optimal time to repot it because it provides the plant its best chance of surviving. My gardeners, Ryan and Wilmer, took advantage of the snowy weather earlier this week to repot many succulent plants and propagate a variety of cuttings. Here are some pictures of the steps we took.
In times of drought, succulents, sometimes known as fat plants, store water in their fleshy leaves, stems, or stem-root systems. Because of their eye-catching shapes, succulents are frequently planted as attractive plants.
I needed to repot a few of the succulents in my collection either they had outgrown their pots or I wanted to relocate them into more attractive clay containers.
He stamps my name and the year the pot was produced on the reverse side. When I host big events in my home, they invariably look fantastic.
To aid in drainage, a clay shard is placed over the hole. Additionally, I like using clay pots because they permit adequate aeration and moisture to reach the plant via the sides.
We always keep the shards from broken pots; it’s a fantastic method to use those parts again.
Wilmer carefully takes a succulent from its pot without damaging any of the roots.
Wilmer then conducts a meticulous test to determine if the pot is the proper size for the plant. He picks a pot just a hair bigger than the plant’s original container.
Prills are the name for osmocote particles. A core of nutrients composed of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium is covered by the prill’s beige shell.
For the finest drainage, we mix equal parts of sand, perlite, and vermiculite for succulents. The correct soil mixture will also aid in promoting rapid root growth and provide young roots with quick anchoring.
Wait a few days before watering the succulents after repotting to give them time to become used to the new soil.
Wilmer shifts to the following plant. This one too need a little maintenance attention. He picked up any fallen leaves.
In order to promote new development, Wilmer lightly pruned the roots after manually loosening the root ball.
Wilmer inserted the plant into the pot after adding some Osmocote and a little amount of potting soil.
The pale blue-gray leaves of Echevaria runyonii ‘Topsy turvy’ curve upward, are prominently inversely keeled on the bottom surface, and have leaf tips that point inward toward the center of the plant.
Echeverias are among the most alluring succulents, and plant aficionados greatly respect them for their brilliant colors and lovely rosette shapes.
An aeonium is a succulent with rosette-like leaves that grows quickly. Aeonium is a varied genus that includes little or medium-sized plants, stemless or shrub-like, and plants that favor sun or shade.
Succulents should be placed on a table so that they can get enough of natural light even when the sun isn’t shining directly on their pots.
Moreover, propagation is fairly simple. Here, Ryan uses sharp pruners to cut a three to four-inch portion of stem off the mother plant.
There should be about a half-inch of stem showing. A handful of them are ready to be planted here.
Ryan provides plenty of space for the plants. There will be plenty to use in mixed urns during the summer if all of these take root and grow into succulent plants. Four to six weeks following planting, new growth should start to show, at which point each plant should be repotted independently.
Inside my main greenhouse, all of my priceless plant collections are kept on long, sliding tables. They all have such lovely looks. Which succulents are your favorites? Please share your feedback in the spaces below.