It’s really important to water the succulent
plant a day or so before you take the leaf
cutting. This is because, once removed,
the leaf will rely solely on its store of
moisture to develop new roots, which
might take a few months.You will need:
Sharp, sterile knife, scissors or secateurs
Pots or trays with drainage holes
Cacti & other succulents compost
(see over the page)
Spray mister or watering can1 Select some leaves from the middle of
the stem – these are likely to be fairly
mature but still young enough to have
plenty of rooting power. You may need to
remove some of the lower leaves to get to
those higher up.
2 To remove them, gently pinch each leaf
between your thumb and index finger as
close to the stem as possible. Carefully
tweak the leaf back and forwards, up and
down until it comes loose, taking care notto rip it. It is essential for the leaf to come
awaycleanly at the point it connects to the
stem, because this is the only spot that
roots can shoot from. If easier, you can use
a sharp, sterile knife for this step. If possible,
choose quite a few leaves – ten or more –
as not all leaves will produce healthy roots,
and even those that do may not survive
long-term. It’s best to take more than you
want to make sure you are left with plenty
of strong babies.
3 Lay the leaves on a dry, clean surface and
leave them indoors somewhere fairly
bright but out of direct sunlight. This is so
that the leaves don’t dry out while the ends
callous over. After a minimum of three days,
they are ready to be planted.
4 To prepare your rooting pot or tray, give
it a good clean and fill it with a layer of
compost. Spray the surface with water to
dampen it slightly.
5 If you are propagating echeveria, simply
lay the leaves on the surface of the
compost, where they will take root without
being buried. For other succulents, stick
the calloused leaf ends into the compost
just deep enough for them to stand
unsupported. Keep the tray somewhere
warm and bright. Over the following
weeks, keep the soil moist but never wet.
6 After some weeks or months, depending
on the season, you will spy the first tiny
signs of growing roots, and often a
miniature rosette of leaves. At this point
you can cover the roots with a little
compost to encourage more growth.
Don’t be tempted to remove the original
succulent leaf, as it will still be providing
water and nutrients for the tiny plantlet.
7 A while later, when the babies are
more developed, you can carefully
transplant them to new, individual pots
using a small spoon as a shovel. Keep
the baby succulents somewhere bright
and continue to care for them as you
would your other succulents. From now
on, it is best to water them from below
by filling (but not swamping) a drainage
tray. After six months or so, you will notice
the original leaf either drop off naturally
or dry up and wither, at which point it
can be safely removed or simply buried
under more compost.How to take succulent
leaf cuttings“You have the potential to grow ten or
20 more from a single succulent plant”
A
mazingly, succulents
have adapted to
multiply with no help
from us at all. They
often shed their juicy
leaves to conserve
energy, and each healthy leaf contains
enough hormones to root without
having to be buried.
The process couldn’t be more
straightforward. With just a shallow
tray and some cutting compost, you
have the potential to grow ten or 20
babies from a single succulent plant.
This makes sharing certain succulents
really easy; if you discover an exotic
plant at a friend’s house or on your
travels, you can simply tweak off a few
leaves without spoiling the look of the
original plant much at all. A matchbox
or small pot makes a good case to
protect the leaves in transit till you get
home. Don’t keep them in the dark for
longer than a few days, though.
Not all succulents will reproduce
in this way: those from the sedum,
crassula, echeveria, kalanchoe and
rhipsalis genera (families) are
a great place to start.
Many succulents also produce offsets
or suckers, which are miniature clones
that appear below the soil level and
can also easily be separated.NEST (^) | GROWING
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