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:
Can a succulent’s stem be multiplied?
In case you wished to propagate your own plants, we will start by explaining how to cut your succulents or cacti. What kind of cuttings you take will depend on the kind of succulent or cactus that you are cutting. While some plants can spread by a leaf, others require real cuttings to increase their size.
It’s crucial to obtain the full leaf, all the way up to the stem, if you’re trying to propagate utilizing a leaf. Your leaf will probably die if it is chopped or breaks off before the stem. Just twist the leaf to remove it from the stem; be sure to remove the entire leaf.
Use sharp scissors or pruning shears if you’re taking a full cutting to propagate your succulent. Just above a leaf, cut the stem. You have a choice of taking your cutting from the succulent’s stem or an offshoot.
What you cut for cactus cuttings depends depend on the kind of cactus you have. If the pads on your cactus are growing, pick a mature pad—not a tiny one at the top—and clip it. You should clip a columnar cactus a few inches from the top if you have one. Try to select a thinner stem for columnar cacti as they will root more quickly than thicker ones. You should make your cut as straight as you can.
What should you do with succulent stems after beheading them?
As a result, your succulent infant appears to have suffered some damage. extended and stretched. Or, if you want to use my new favorite SAT term to dazzle your friends:
The succulent in this image hasn’t received enough sunlight. It prompts him to reach out in an effort to catch more light. Stretching is a rather regular occurrence with echeverias and other rosette-style succulents, like this little one. In the colder, darker months, they are also more likely to exhibit similar symptoms.
To make it easier for your Echeveria to eventually plant himself back into soil, cut off the top of the plant (where the rosette is still tightly bound) with just an inch or two of stem remaining.
Bonus! To try and propagate (produce more) even more plants, you can also pull off the lowest leaves. In a subsequent post, we’ll talk more about spreading. Succulents are like the kind of plant that never ends.
A few weeks after being severed, the stem of this light-green succulent is already hardening and developing new, tiny roots. Be patient; this could take a few days to a few weeks. Until it is ready to be replanted, you can just lay the severed plant on top of the dirt.
Simply give your plant some time to recover. Consider this to be her time to eat ice cream, watch awful girl flicks, and debate altering her hair. You’re aware of the process. You can immediately bury her back in the ground once she has grown calloused all over and possibly grown a little stronger as a result. or when you notice roots sticking out by about an inch. To promote more root development, you can also start watering the area around the plant softly.
Once your baby has recovered and is healthy enough to venture back into the world. She will be prepared to plant some roots, rather than oats. ready to meet some wonderful soil and sun that will treat her very well outside.
You don’t want to saturate her with water, though. Don’t bombard her with friend requests or water just yet; she’s just dipping her toe (roots) back into the world. She must have some time to get used to it. Return to your regular watering routine once she has a solid base of roots. Once every week, possibly more or less. Depending on the surroundings. For further information, see our post on watering succulents.
Have more questions? We concur! Let’s talk! We’ll be pleased to assist you if you send us an email or leave a comment.
How long does it take for beheaded succulents to take root?
The spring or the active growing season of a given plant is the ideal time to cut any succulent (some succulents are summer dormant, the majority are winter dormant). The greatest time to buy succulents is in the spring because this is when they grow the fastest. There is a good chance that a plant may die before it can send roots or heal from being cut if you behead it outside of its growing season.
Beheading is the practice of removing the top portion of succulents that form a central primary head or rosette-style succulents rather than succulents that branch out. It’s simpler to behead some succulents than others.
In order to complete this task correctly, the “victim” plant must have enough stalk so that the top portion doesn’t crumble and there are still a few leaves at the bottom, root end, as this is necessary for new growth to begin. Some plants can never recover and may not survive if there are no leaves remaining. Due to their short stalks, some low-growing plants, including Echeveria Chihuahuensis, can make this quite challenging.
Making ensuring your plant is a good size and can withstand the chop is the most crucial step. Second, only apply this to succulents during their growing season, as was already explained. It is bad for the plant when it is dormant and not growing because the bottom of the rosette will likely rot away and the top portion of the rosette will probably not send roots. Spring is the best season for succulent growth, making it the best time to propagate any.
Gather your cutting tool after you have your plant. A Stanley knife is a fantastic option because it is thin and extremely sharp. Other options are a strong piece of thin string or a pair of sharp garden scissors (can be fishing line or similar).
After that, clean your cutting instrument. Although not absolutely necessary, using clean, sterile instruments will stop fungus or other harmful organisms from getting into the open wound and damaging your plant. Dipping something in methylated spirits is a reliable method of sterilization. Boiling water can be used to heat up metal tools.
To be quite honest, I don’t usually disinfect my cutters when propagating because I can take a lot of cuttings—thousands—in a short period of time. However, I always clean my tools thoroughly before using them to cut. Even so, I strongly advise sterilizing the equipment, especially if you plan to behead a very rare or pricey succulent.
When you’re finished, make sure to cut at the lowest point while still leaving a few leaves at the root end. Make the incision near the top of a stretched succulent where the concentration of leaves is thickest, leaving a small amount of the stalk intact. When the cut is finished, place the top and the bottom in a light area that is also covered and shaded to aid in the healing process. By doing this, diseases won’t be able to penetrate the plant through the cut.
In 24 to 48 hours, the wound will have healed sufficiently. The plant’s top portion is now prepared for planting. Select high-quality succulent potting soil, then place the top cutting—which now just has a few leaves and roots—and the bottom portion in a sunny but safe location.
Choose a location that receives some morning light and then bright shade in the afternoon depending on the type of plant that was removed. The plants should have 30% shade-cloth covering them because this will protect them from damaging UV rays that would otherwise burn them and still allow them to receive the necessary amount of sunshine for healthy growth. Before developing a sufficient root ball, the cutting (top portion) will be a little tender.
Some plants, like the Haworthia, demand a deeper shade than succulents that thrive in the sun. Place the cutting when beheading a Haworthia in a bright area where there is no direct sunlight, only filtered sunlight (under a tree), or shade cloth.
Succulents that enjoy the sun must be gradually introduced to it if you don’t want them to start stretching once more. However, if they are covered with shade fabric, this will allow enough sunlight in to keep them content all year long. Almost all succulent varieties will thrive in soil that contains less than 30% shade cloth (more that 30 percent will be too dark for sun loving succulents). It would be worthwhile to invest in a basic greenhouse and buy 30% shade cloth to cover it if you’re cultivating rarer plants.
In my observation, few succulents thrive inside (there are a few exceptions, of course). Unless you have a very bright area with sufficient airflow, I’d advise against keeping your succulents inside because they love fresh air and a ton of sunshine. However, a sunny balcony or veranda are acceptable.
Your beheaded succulent should have some roots in about a month (some species may take longer, some will have roots in 2-3 weeks). New growth should also be emerging from the cut on the bottom stalk. The rate of growth will vary depending on the species. While some plants may only produce one rosette, others can produce three or more. Checking for mealy bugs, aphids, and slugs is always a good idea because pests are drawn to tender growth.
Finally, beheading succulents can be a fun method to experiment with your plants and propagate them. It might also be a crucial piece of maintenance equipment. I would not advise messing with your plants, though, if you’re unsure of how to proceed, are anxious, or have a pricey plant.
Can I remove the succulent’s top and replant it?
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. Additionally, you should put on gloves. Succulents can irritate your skin since some have milky sap while others have thorns.
Can you transplant a succulent stem after cutting it off?
I make a lot of movies and posts about succulents because I have a lot of them in my yard. They are perennial gifts, so to speak. You can simply cut them to acquire more.
Because the vast majority of succulents spread in the same manner, I wanted to write one post that you could refer to whenever I write about a particular succulent. These are the two incredibly simple methods.
Let me demonstrate how to grow succulents:
I usually divide succulents using stem cuttings. Ensure the sharpness and cleanliness of your pruners. Simply trim the stems to the desired length, remove the bottom third of the leaves, and then wait 2 weeks to 4 months before planting them to heal off (the cut end of the stem will callus over).
I either plant them straight in the ground or in a pot with planting mix for succulents and cacti. I use one that is made nearby; it’s also good. Succulents require a loose mixture so that the water can drain completely and prevent rot.
I rarely use individual leaf cuttings to propagate succulents, but it’s still simple. Lay the leaf on top of the mixture after removing it from the stem, making sure to remove the entire leaf all the way to the stem. Off the cut end, there will be a new plantlet.
I suppose I could propagate succulents in my sleep because I do it so frequently! Although many succulents make excellent houseplants, mine all grow outside. If you have just one or two of these bizarre plants, you can easily grow more using these simple methods.
Aloe Vera must be multiplied by division, which involves removing the pups from the mother plant.
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.