Succulents are a type of plant that has evolved to thrive in dry environments by storing water in its stems, leaves, and roots. Cutting stems or leaves for propagation swiftly results in a plant that is similar to the original. To lessen the likelihood of a fungus attack and stem rot, one step in the growth of succulents via cuttings is drying the cut piece of succulent.
A sharp knife should be cleaned after being washed in soapy water. Slice off a brief portion of the parent plant’s stem or leaf, typically just below a stem junction or leaf node. When planted, these tips produce roots.
The chopped succulent piece should be spread out on a fresh, dry paper towel. Place the cutting in a spot that receives no direct sunshine and is consistently warm. To keep the succulent lifted off the paper towel, tuck a wooden pencil under the cut end.
Give the cutting at least two days to rest. Check the cut end visually to see if a callous is developing. The end shouldn’t be touchably damp. The injured tissue may need up to a week to recover.
Cactus dirt that is readily accessible commercially should be placed inside a tiny clay pot. With your finger, make a small hole in the soil’s middle, then insert the dried succulent cutting. So that the cutting stands straight, compact the dirt surrounding it. Put the plant pot close to the parent plant to expose the cutting to the same growing environment. Once the roots start to grow, new growth will follow.
How can I keep my succulent cuttings alive?
When the light is not directly overhead, bring back outdoor plants to the garden. Create a shallow depression large enough for spreading roots by working the soil until it is crumbly.
Place your plant carefully inside of it, then add a layer of soil about an inch thick to gently cover the roots. To secure, lightly tamp. After a day, give the plant’s surrounding soil a gentle misting of water.
Cutting
With the cutting method, all you have to do is cut off a portion of a leaf or a stem, let it dry, and in no time at all, you’ll have roots and shoots. To keep it completely dry is the trick.
These are two approaches:
Beheading
A plant that has become tall and spindly or whose lanky, bare limbs hang downward like a pendant can benefit from this treatment.
Simply trim off the plant’s head, leaving approximately an inch of stem still attached. Dry it, let it to develop roots, then plant.
A healthy beheaded plant’s remaining stem should produce new leaves in a tight cluster, strengthening and improving the plant’s appearance.
As said, plant heads and leaves used as cuttings need to dry out and develop roots before planting.
It’s easy, really! This is how:
What about propagating leaf cuttings?
Some soft succulents will re-root from leaves, though it is typically more difficult. Pick thick, healthy leaves that are close to the base. Take off the leaves and allow them to dry for 4 to 7 days inside or in the shade. once the calloused cut cease,
Plant the leaves cut side down, upright, in a bed of loose soil. Watch for new growth over the coming months and water as you would a stem cutting.
Can I plant cuttings outdoors?
Because of the more unpredictable climatic circumstances, repotting cuttings outside is difficult. You can try planting a clipping of a succulent outside during the growing season if you live in the appropriate hardiness zone. Choose a spot that gets some sun, either direct or indirect. Observe the aforementioned recommendations and pay close attention to moisture levels. Be mindful that not all cuttings will thrive.
Do I need to fertilize?
There is no need for fertilizer, and using too much will harm young or unrooted succulents. In the spring growing season, mature, rooted succulents may withstand low-nitrogen, slow-release fertilizer.
Why are succulent cuttings required to dry first?
Before doing anything else, it’s crucial to allow your cutting or leaf to dry out a little bit. You should let the leaf or cutting alone for one to three days so it can scab over, depending on the quantity of heat and sunlight.
If you water a leaf or cutting before it has a chance to scab over, it will drown since it will have absorbed too much water. If the cutting begins to shrivel up a little, that’s absolutely OK. It’s time to start watering once that begins to occur.
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.
Can succulents be glued?
Your closest buddy while dealing with succulents in unconventional pots will also be floral glue. This glue from the Oasis brand cures rapidly and keeps succulents firmly in place. The support needed to keep a succulent in place is minimal. This is something you should have on hand whether you’re making a wreath or a planter out of driftwood.
Hot glue is another option that is equally as effective and affordable. Although I used to use this a lot for my crafts, I’ve found that the floral glue holds its shape better. However, if you already have it, go for it!
What about hot glue?
Actually, using hot glue on succulents is acceptable. On the location where the glue is, it does burn a tiny bit, but the rest of the plant is unaffected.
There are still spaces at the leaf nodes (where the leaves join to the stem) at the stem’s base where new roots can grow despite the bottom of the stem being completely covered in hot glue.
Even though it is now more challenging, your succulents may still send out roots at the end of the stem that, as they grow, may either push the hot glue off or just push up around it.
Crazy! But it’s possible. Your succulents will still grow successfully in either scenario.
Since floral adhesive tends to stick to succulents better, I prefer to use it.
How do you dry out succulents?
Yes, I am aware that it seems illogical to remove extra water from the soil, but bear with me. This is the justification. Too much water has already put the succulent under stress, and exposure to sunlight makes matters worse. Direct sunlight is a big no because most succulents require brilliant indirect light.
Place the succulent that has been overwatered somewhere dry and bright, but out of direct sunshine.
2. Permit the roots to breathe.
Cut off any brown or black roots as they are already rotting. Dig the succulent out of the ground and remove any excess soil that has become stuck to the roots. Place the plant on a mesh or other strainer until the roots have had two to three days to air dry. Replant the roots in the pot once they have dried completely.
Remove the entire root system and any puckered, spotty, black, or brown stems if the roots are entirely rotted. The succulent stem can be buried in the ground for propagation.
Keep the overwatered succulent on a mesh screen or other strainer until the roots have had two to three days to air dry.
3. Modify the ground
You might not need to entirely alter your succulent if it is already rooted in homemade or commercial succulent soil. Algae (green living matter) typically grows on soil that is too wet. If so, it is your responsibility to remove all of the top soil from the area around your plants and replace it with new succulent soil.
How long should I let succulents air dry?
Put absorbent tissue, a permeable mesh, or a strainer down in the area you have chosen for drying. Put your clipped, cleaned, and dried succulent in a location with plenty of room around it, then prepare to wait.
Spend a few nights away, attend an exercise class, or go for a coffee because the air-drying requires time to complete its task on its own.
The recommended minimum amount of time for air drying is three days. Some plants thrive best when allowed to air dry for up to 7 days.
Every day, check on it and feel the moisture level. Your succulent will inform you it’s thirsty and dry enough if you see leaves that are turning brown or shriveling.
Is it better to grow succulents in soil or water for reproduction?
Using water as a medium to root succulent cuttings is known as water propagation. This may contradict popular perceptions of succulents. The general consensus is that succulent plants dislike sitting in water and that doing so encourages root rot.
Therefore, water propagation may go against what we have learned to be true about nurturing and propagating succulents. However, lately I seem to be hearing more and more about water propagation.
According on what I have heard and read, some people believe water propagation to be simpler than more “standard” techniques like roots on dry medium or soil.
I’ve heard a lot of success tales from folks who used water propagation after trying succulent propagation unsuccessfully for a long time. In fact, some people solely reproduce succulent cuttings using water because they see quicker outcomes and more overall success.
According to one notion I’ve heard, succulent cuttings don’t rot in water since water isn’t the main source of rot. When succulent plants are left in moist soil, they are exposed to fungi and other pathogens that can cause illnesses and root rot in the plant. The plants do not decay when propagating in water because they are not exposed to the pathogens that are often found in the soil media.
The fact that the roots generated in water are different from those required for a plant to thrive in soil is another worry people have regarding water propagation. They need to create new roots that are better suited for thriving in soil after they are planted. Others who propagate in water, however, claim that the plants flourish when transferred from water to soil.
As someone who has had excellent success with “soil propagation,” I decided to conduct an experiment to find out how water propagates. To see what might happen, I tried soaking three stem cuttings in water. I picked two distinct plants that I had no trouble establishing in soil. I reasoned that picking a plant that is simple to grow would increase my chances of success. I used stem cuttings from the aeonium (blushing beauty) and the jade (crassula ovata) plants.
The water was placed in three Mason jars, which I covered with clear plastic and punctured in the middle of. I used drinking water that has been treated. Some individuals drink simple tap water. Others have reportedly used distilled water. I didn’t enrich the water with any nutrients. This is not required, based on what I’ve read.
The three stem cuttings were then placed on the jar’s rim with their tips resting directly on the water. When rooting in water, there are two main approaches that people take. One technique is to place the cuts’ end just above the water’s surface. The reason for this is because the cuttings will start looking for moisture and roots. Another approach is to actually let the cuts’ ends touch the water. Although both procedures appear to be effective, I opted for the second one.
I placed the cuttings in a well-lit spot and made an effort to ignore them for a few weeks. The cuts still look the same as I had left them when we returned from a family holiday two weeks later. No roots developed. I just left them alone and kind of forgot about them because the water didn’t seem to need to be refreshed or changed.
I was surprised to notice that the two jade cuttings had a lot of pink roots after another two weeks (a total of roughly four weeks).
Six weeks after the experiment’s start, the jade plants continued to grow more roots while the aeonium remained unchanged.
I took the roots cuttings out of the water and placed them on paper to dry for approximately a day after deciding that it was time to transplant them into soil after around 6 weeks. All three stem cuttings appeared healthy and were not rotting.
The next test will be to evaluate how these cuttings fare in soil after spending five weeks in water and developing water roots. After five weeks, the aeonium cutting hardly developed any roots, but I will still plant it in soil. Since I have grown many aeonium cuttings in soil before, I am almost certain that this will flourish once planted.
I made a cactus mix and perlite mixture and put the potting mix in little pots. After that, the stem cuttings were placed inside the pot.
The same care is given to these potted cuttings as I do to my other stem cuttings. Keep them in a spot with plenty of light, but shield them from the hot afternoon heat or direct sunlight.
Increases in the quantity and quality of sunlight can be made once these plants are well-established and rooted.
Move to a more shady area if you see that they are getting sunburned. The plants can be moved around to observe where they thrive. After about three weeks, you can pull the stem out to check if the cuttings have rooted. The plant has rooted if it resists being pulled out of the ground and is challenging to do so.
Update:
Please click on to see how these plants are doing four months later “Click here to see updates and photographs for Does Water Propagation Work for Succulents?
A Step-by-Step Guide for How to Procreate in Water is Provided Below:
acquire a cutting. Snip a piece of a succulent plant’s stem. Leggy plants can be a fantastic source of stem cuttings. Leave the stem naked for at least two inches.
OR You can propagate plants by using leaves in place of a stem cutting, or by using both stems and leaves.
Pick healthy leafy plants. A healthy leaf is a better place to start if you want to succeed. Select leaves that are not ripped, torn, damaged, or irregularly shaped. Instead of dried and flat leaves, search for full, plump leaves.
Remove the leaves off the stem gently. Your thumb and forefinger should be used to carefully twist the leaves from the stem. Some leaves are loosely linked to the stem while others are securely attached.
To remove the entire leaf, gently wriggle it back and forth. The entire leaf, including the base where it connects to the stem, is what you desire. The leaf won’t survive if the base does not separate or if it sustains harm.
Launder the cuttings. Till the cut end has calloused or dried, let the cutting air dry for a few days.
Submerge in water. Select the ideal-sized cup for the clippings, then fill it with water. Place the cutting so that the stem or leaf’s tip is slightly visible above the water’s surface.
Another method is to let the cutting to touch the water at the end. From what I’ve heard, both approaches appear to be effective. (I chose to do the latter, where the cuts’ end was in the water.)
Plant the cuttings that have roots. After the cuttings have developed roots, let them dry for a few days. The roots cuttings can be planted in an appropriate potting mix once they have dried out.
occasionally use water. Compared to adult plants, baby plants require a bit more moisture. Spray the soil with a spray bottle sparingly once every few days or whenever it seems dry. Reduce watering to once a week after the plant has a stronger root system.
Keep away from the sun’s rays. When first planted in their own pot, shield young plants from direct sunshine to avoid sun damage. As a plant matures, gradually increase sunshine and sun exposure in accordance with the needs of the plant.
Some people opt to leave the rooted cuttings submerged in water rather than planting them as described in step 7 of the process. In water, the cuttings will perpetually live and thrive. Every few weeks or as needed, replace the water and add fresh, clean water.
Some individuals use hydroponics to grow succulents in water. They enjoy the way it seems and are very successful with them. They can be left with lots of light either inside or outside.
My opinions on the spread of water:
I don’t see the necessity to pursue water propagation since I have success with “soil” propagation. It does appear more simple, and I can understand why it could be appealing to others. Just submerge the plants or set them directly over water, then wait for the roots to form.
The aeonium cutting was the only plant that didn’t actually produce any roots at all when I attempted this procedure; it took approximately 4-5 weeks for roots to start to appear. Given that I only utilized stem cuttings and attempted two distinct plant species, I might have different outcomes with leaf cuttings or with other plant species. Additionally, the stem cuttings I left in water for five weeks were OK and didn’t rot or die.
Naturally, depending on the surroundings, the outcomes would definitely vary for others. Depending on the temperature, the type of plant, etc., some people have more success than others when it comes to soil propagation. I most certainly wouldn’t completely reject this approach and would encourage others to give it a shot, even if it’s only for fun or for those who haven’t had success with the “dry” approach.
According to what I have read and heard, many people prefer this technique because it is quicker and they have more success with it than with soil propagation. Therefore, this is definitely worth a shot if you want to experiment and try something new or if you’ve tried propagating repeatedly but without success. Please select “To learn about further succulent propagation techniques, read 4 Simple Ways to Propagate Succulents.