A plant genus with hundreds of species, some closely related to one another and others not at all related, is collectively referred to as “succulent.” Their botanical relationships range considerably, from sedums, sempervivums, and echeverias to cactus, aloes, and agaves. Succulents, however, share a common trait in that they retain water in their leaves, stems, or roots.
Dehydration can be a major concern when propagating non-succulent plants like hydrangea or rose cuttings. That’s unimportant for succulents. Instead, the emphasis is on preventing rot and fungal disease in leaf and stem cuttings. 2
This distinction means that you should give yourself a few more days between the time you take cuttings and planting day when growing succulents from stems or leaves. The cuttings should be let to dry in a warm, dry area away from the sun. In three to four days, the exposed wounds should develop protective calluses.
Prepare the Pot
Cuttings can be grown in a temporary pot while they develop roots, or you can just plant them in a permanent container. In either case, you’ll need a pot with a drainage hole that’s big enough to give each cutting 2 to 3 inches of space.
To shield your succulents from standing water and root rot, fill the container with a grittier, well-draining soil. Cactus/succulent potting soil is typically available at garden centers. Alternatively, you can create your own by mixing 3 parts potting soil with 2 parts coarse, salt-free sand and 1 part perlite or pumice.
Plant the Cuttings
Insert the cut end of a stem 1 to 2 inches into the ground. If the succulent has leaves, you might need to remove a few of them to reveal the stem’s base. The lowest leaves shouldn’t contact the soil; they should rest just above it. To help the cutting stand straight, softly compact the dirt around it.
Remove any necessary leaves from stemmed succulents to expose 1 to 2 inches of stem for planting.
Pick the Right Location
Choose an area with enough of airflow, bright indirect light (not direct outdoor sun), and succulents that are still young. Cuttings require sunshine to develop new roots, but direct sunlight might cause them to quickly dry up. On indoor succulents, good airflow helps avoid gnat and mealy insect infestations.
Water
Cuttings require constant hydration until they can form roots, unlike mature succulents. Water the soil just enough to prevent it from drying up, but not too much that there is standing water. Actual frequency varies depending on humidity and temperature but is often 2-4 times each week.
Care for Rooted Succulents
A very slight pull will reveal whether a cutting has roots after 4-6 weeks. Change to deeper, less frequent watering for succulents with roots. Water just once the soil is completely dry, which takes about 2-4 times each month. If necessary, repot the succulent and relocate it gradually to the right lighting. Don’t increase light exposure for 1-2 weeks to give the plant time to adjust. Maintain your succulent’s care, and in the upcoming months, keep an eye out for above-ground development.
Why are succulent cuttings required to dry first?
Succulents with numerous stems or branches are the greatest candidates for stem-based propagation. Echeverias don’t grow very high off the container or the ground, thus they are probably not the ideal succulent to reproduce from stems. The best echeverias for this technique are those that have etiolated, or become leggy from a lack of sunshine. You must first choose your preferred cutting position. To make your own gorgeous succulents, you can experiment with one of five basic cutting kinds. In the image below, the five different cutting methods are labeled A, B, C, D, and E to illustrate various cutting reasons.
A   Pinching out is the term for cutting thus high on the stem. To encourage development for numerous cuttings or to have the plants grow into multi-headed plants, squeeze the stem of the plant this high. Cutting this high will force the growth of side stems, which, after they have grown out, will make for good cuts. Throw away the top portion that was cut off because it is not a good cutting and won’t take root.
Cutting at this point is the best option for starting a new plant from the top portion and inducing new shoots to emerge from the stem. The stem recovers most quickly and produces the most new stems using this strategy if a few leaves are left on it.
C  
Deadheading is the term used to describe cutting at this point. A plant that is cut here will have an easy time taking root. The stem may progressively wilt and most likely won’t produce any branches.
D  
Cutting the stem lower makes the stem longer, but it takes a lot longer for the roots to take hold. A few sprouts may emerge from the bottom stem, but it may also wither away.
E  
It is not advised to cut the stem any further down because the lower stem is likely to perish and the head will have to work hard to establish itself.
Once the cutting point has been determined, cut a section of the succulent through the stem using a good pair of pruning shears or scissors. The leaves on the stem side of etiolated succulents can be cut off. The head and the stump, which are produced after cutting a stem, can all be used in plant propagation.
The head and the stump, which are produced when a stem is cut, can all be used to propagate succulents.
The beheaded portion must dry out for a few days before being buried in soil to avoid rot from moisture. Next, place it in soil, and water it when the soil is dry a few times each week. The formation of roots during stem propagation can take up to 4 weeks.
You can either leave the stump in its current container or replant it in a new one with fresh soil. In a few weeks, baby plants will begin to erupt around the stem to replace the leaves we removed before to planting.
Keep the stump in the current container or transplant the succulent with fresh soil.
Gather Your Succulents To Plant
For this video, we’ll be planting a variety of succulent species using both cuttings and discarded leaves. Amass the materials you want to plant. You can either utilize fallen leaves or cut cuttings from an established plant. If you can’t locate cuttings anywhere else, you can usually find them online and at most florists. Although these are also available on Amazon, I got mine from a vendor on Etsy.
Prepare your succulents for planting.
The most crucial step in this method is preparing your succulents. Make sure you have enough stem to plant in the ground so it can support the plant. Any excess leaves at the stem’s base should be removed. It’s good to leave approximately an inch of the stem exposed for larger cuttings, and you can use less for smaller cuttings.
After that, examine the base of your cutting. The plants ought to have a “callous” on them, which denotes that the plant’s base has dried out. You should wait a few days before planting freshly cut succulents because this forms a few days after the succulent is cut. By letting the cut end dry more quickly on a paper towel or paper bag, you can hasten this process.
Succulents are wonderful because you can also plant their leaves, so hold onto the ones you pulled off the stem. Verify your succulents for any bad components. Any area of the plant that is dark contains rot, which can spread to other areas and ultimately destroy the plant. Simply cutting it will allow you to get rid of the rotten parts.
Mix your soil.
If you aren’t using a pre-made succulent soil mix, you’ll need to prepare your soil so that it will drain effectively and support the growth of your succulent plants. To make the soil drain well, I combine one part potting soil with one part sand. In order to help larger plants become more firmly rooted in the ground, I also prefer to have a supply of tiny rocks nearby.
To fill a pot or tray, pour your soil mixture. I’m repurposing an old baking pan that I can’t bake in as a planting tray.
Plant!
We’ve reached the enjoyable part now! Make a little, inch-deep hole in the ground. After inserting your cutting, fill up the depression with soil.
Make careful to space your cuttings, if you’re planting more than one, roughly 2-3″ apart.
Ensure that your plants receive adequate water. Although succulents don’t often require much water, you may need to water them every 2-4 days while they are developing their roots, depending on how dry the soil becomes. It’s normal for the leaves to initially appear a little dried out because the plant is using its reserves of stored energy to develop new roots. New growth should begin to appear in around four weeks. Change to weekly watering or watering only when the soil is dry once the plants have set their roots and have started to grow.
Admire and Show Off Your Work!
Well done! Show off your incredible craftsmanship and green thumb to all of your friends! These plants will be prepared for repotting if you desire once they have developed roots and begun to grow, which should take around 3 to 6 weeks. They make wonderful Christmas gifts for friends and coworkers when planted in a tiny Mason jar or vibrant pot!
Do cuttings need to be dried before propagation?
All cuttings must be immediately placed in a setting with 100% humidity after being made. The cuttings won’t thrive if they become dry. Keep them moist, cool, and hidden. Use damp burlap or cheesecloth to wrap the cuttings as you go if you are working in a broad area. Should we wait a little while for the cuts to dry up before putting them in medium? No, because they have less lignin in their stems than woody plants, herbaceous cuttings not only root more quickly than those from woody plants. Do not allow them to dry out. To keep the auxins going down the stem, where they are needed, process them as soon as you can. A word of caution here: since these propagation units depend on this to control the supply of water to a cutting, it might be advisable to cut the cutting stems at an angle to allow for water penetration if you, the grower, use a rooting chamber that sprays a mist onto the cutting stems but does not include top humidity control.
How long does it take a cutting of a succulent to take root?
Succulents can be propagated in water, but doing so goes against the ideal growing circumstances for these plants. Start your leaves and cuttings in shallow planting trays or tiny containers packed with potting soil for the best outcomes. Succulents can be grown in individual containers without having to transplant them right away.
Follow these easy steps once planting day arrives and your leaf or stem cuttings have callused:
1. Get your planting trays or containers ready. Use a coarse, quick-draining potting mix made for succulents and cacti and gently moisten it. 2 Make planting holes with a little stick.
2. Add a little RootBoost Rooting Hormone to a serving dish. When pouring, only utilize what you’ll need and discard the remainder.
3. Cut one piece at a time. Wet the cutting stem or leaf base before dipping it into the dish of rooting hormone. Completely round the stem or leaf base. Get rid of any extra rooting powder by shaking.
4. Carefully tuck leaves or stems into the rooting powder so it doesn’t fall out. The potting mix should then be carefully pressed around the cuttings.
- Insert the base at an angle just below the soil line to accommodate leaves. Put curled leaves in an upwards-curving position. (On that side, the new tiny plant grows.)
- Insert the bottom half of the stem into the potting mix so that it covers at least two bare nodes when taking stem cuttings.
5. Wait until roots start to form before watering. Once the dirt has dried, give it a good watering before repeating the process. The majority of succulent leaf and stem cuttings should root in two to three weeks, while rooting times might vary greatly. The fastest-rooting cuttings are those from stem tips.
6. After the roots have taken hold, transplant your new succulents from trays to tiny containers. Use the same kind of potting soil as you did previously. Be careful not to disrupt young, delicate roots.
Take the Cutting
Choose a suitable location on your succulent to make the cut. Make a quick, even cut through the succulent’s stem with your pruning shears to separate a cutting. Make sure that there is around 1 inch of stem exposed on the cutting before planting. The bottom leaves of the cutting might need to be removed for this.
Let the Cutting Callous
It is not possible to immediately put the cutting in the ground after it has been taken. Allow the “damaged” stem of the cutting to callous over for 24 hours by setting the cutting aside in a dry place. The stem should be healed and not seem to be “wet” in any regions after 24 hours. It’s now time to plant the cutting.
Plant the Cutting
Put a succulent mix or well-draining soil in a small terracotta or plastic planter. Make a tiny hole in the middle of the soil, and after placing the succulent cutting’s stem there carefully, firm the earth up around it. To prevent rot, make sure the cutting’s lowest leaf is perched just above the surrounding soil.
After planting, avoid watering the cutting. Give the newly planted succulent cutting two or three weeks in a spot with bright, indirect sun.
Begin Watering Once Roots Sprout
It’s crucial to hold off on watering a fresh succulent cutting until the roots have formed, unlike when propagating other plants. Since succulents don’t need much water to begin with, watering a cutting before it has roots might cause the cutting to decompose under the soil very rapidly. Succulent cuttings may go quite a while without water, so don’t worry!
Give the cutting’s top a little push to check for roots after letting it sit for two to three weeks. If there is any resistance, the cutting can now be watered because the roots have started to form. Once the cutting has grown roots, it might need to be watered more frequently than usual succulents until it becomes established. Make sure the top inch of the soil dries out between waterings to prevent overwatering.
Patience, Patience, Patience!
Be patient while you take care of your new plant because succulent cuttings grow slowly. But after a few months after planting, you should start to see fresh growth.
Growing succulent cuttings can be gradually put back into stronger lighting as they become older, eventually reaching the full sun conditions that most succulents enjoy. Remember that succulent cuttings are susceptible to death from excessive affection. Once the soil dries out, they simply require light watering because they thrive on neglect.