PROPAGATION BASICS

What do you do with the leaves that fall off your succulents? Grow more succulents. These plants are truly the gift that keeps on giving. Propagating your fallen leaves or cuttings from a leggy succulent is a time consuming but rewarding process to gain more baby succs!

There are two basic ways to propagate your succulents.

Propagating by Division: This technique, in which new succulents sprout from cuttings, works best with plants that have grown too leggy. To begin, carefully remove any leaves on the stem below the rosette-- wiggle them gently from side to side and make sure to keep the base of the leaf intact. Once all the leaves have been removed, use shears to snip the rosette, leaving a short stem attached. Allow the cuttings to dry for a few days in an empty tray until the raw ends have calloused. Next, the cuttings can be rooted in soil or water.

Propagating with Offsets: Many species of succulents-- including aloe, hens and chicks, and some cacti-- will produce offsets, or small plants that grow at the base of the main specimen. Once an offset has grown for 2-3 weeks, check for root development and remove it from the main stem with a sharp knife or snips, or by twisting gently. Be careful to avoid damaging any roots that have already emerged. As a bonus, removing offsets also improves the health of your existing succulents, returning energy to the growth of the main plant.

Soil: Once the stems have calloused, fill a shallow tray with well-draining cactus/succulent soil and place the cuttings on top. Within a few weeks, roots and tiny plants will begin to grow from the base of the cuttings. Water minimally until the roots appear, then approximately once a week; try to avoid overwatering. Eventually the parent leaf will wither and you can carefully remove it to properly plant the cutting.

Water: Once the stem has calloused, rest a cutting on the rim of a glass or jar of water, with the end of the stem just above the surface of the water. Choose a sunny spot for your glass. Over time, the cutting will sprout roots that reach toward the water. Once roots have developed, your new succulent can continue to live in the water (as shown above) or be replanted in succulent potting soil.

Personally water propagation works best for me in my snowy Michigan home. Different methods work for different scenarios so try them all!

All information about propagation in this post was borrowed from shopterrain.com. Check out their blog for more interesting succulent content! Happy propagating. :)