Propagation of Tender Succulents

The main thing to remember when you take cuttings is that the cut must have a chance to dry and callous, overnight at least, or even up to about a month is fine. 

 I’ve had them make pink roots in the open air if they don’t get planted.

When I take cuttings, I try and get a small offshoot, or a miniature plant that forms on the stem of an older plant.

These root quickly and soon grow into a good sized plant that you can use in crafts.  I also simply plant them right into a mirror frame, topiary or address box where they can root in place. 

If small offshoots are hard to find most succulents of the Echeveria and related types will root from a single leaf.  I routinely take off the bottom few leaves and put them right on the surface of the mother plants soil to root.  Then I know which variety they are for future reference.  I call this method ‘propagating for

insurance’ as if the mother plant doesn’t do well, in most cases I’ll have a few new ones to take her place.

I also ruthlessly behead the succulents.  I’ll take off the top part (which is usually the nicest part) of all my Echeveria and other rosette forming succulents so that they will grow lots – sometimes over 20 – new offshoots.  In a few months, they are ready to cut off with a sharp razor or my bonsai scissors to propagate.

My new technique that I’m using for most of the succulent plant propagation that I do is to put the unrooted bits right on the surface of dry Sunshine Mix #4 in an open flat, rather than potting them into 2” pots which is how I used to do it.  They root quickly, and tend to do better with more root run, and as well as protecting each other they are much easier to water as the Sunshine mix has a water retaining polymer to help soak up the water.

I sell some of these succulent plants mail order and ship them bare root – saving on the environmental cost of a pot (which the customer may just pitch in the garbage), plus the shipping cost is lower too – a win/win situation.