PROPAGATING SUCCULENTS
Julia Nevins
WHAT DOES PROPAGATING EVEN MEAN?
PROPAGATION OF SUCCULENTS
(The method to this madness)
Propagation is simply the creation of one organism, through a cutting of a healthy one. In succulents, this is done quite simply. A healthy leaf is pulled off, laid into preferred median, then with water, sun, and a little bit of effort, roots will pop out and soon a whole new plant will start to grow! Once the steps are learned, in no time one plant can be turned into over twenty! Propagating succulents is fun and easy and I recommend that everyone gives it a shot. Keep reading to see the few simple steps to propagating succulents.
Picking Your Succulent
When picking a succulent, I found that its best to go for one that has a bunch of leaves. The process of propagation may not be fully successful on the first try, so if the original plant has a bunch of leaves, theres more opportunities for success! I'm not sure if its a coincidence, but in my experience, the rounder leaves seem to grow faster.
Preparing The Leaves
Pulling off the leaves is one of the most important and critical steps in this process. You want to make sure you chose a healthy leaf, to heighten the chances of success. When pulling off the leaf, gently twist it as close to the stem as possible; its super important to pull the entire leaf off the stem in one piece. Once you have the leaves, lay them out on a plate to let them callous over in the spot they were pulled off from. If you skip this step, they absorb too much water and Strat to rot since they have a fresh hole.
Leaf Care
Once you have the calloused leaves, lay them out on a tray of soil by a window that gets plenty of sun light. Mine do just fine in indirect light, but as long as theres at least 6 hours of light, it should be fine. For me, I like to make tin foil trays because they're disposable and I can make them to fit in any space I need. For watering, I've found that using a spray bottle every 2 or 3 days works best. Roots should start to sprout in about a week to two weeks, but every plant is different! Don't worry if your is taking its time, everything will grow at a different rate.
Sprouting roots
Here is an example of every leaf being different-both of these were in the same tray and received the same care, but they handled it...differently. On the right leaf, the roots are a bright pink and white. This is what you're looking for in the roots. The others are brown and crusty, due to too much sun or not enough water. If you're thinking the succulents are in a spot with harsh sunlight, cover the roots with a thin layer of soil and/or water more frequently. Its a learning process so problems like these may occur on the first try, so just grab some more leaves and start again if it doesn't  work the first time.
Sprouts
With time, weeks or months depending on how your leaves develop, roots will grow longer and leaves will start to sprout. Here you can make a choice to cover the roots with a thin layer of soil. I would recommend doing that, because it helps prevent them from drying out-once you make it this far you want to risk anything. Next, you know that the new little succulent is sufficient on its own without the leaf when the big leaf its growing off of shrivels. Originally, that big leaf is where it got all of its nutrient from, but if it looks dead, it means the succulent is producing it on its own and is ready to be removed from it. The leaf should come off if you wiggle it gently. If you need to use more than a little bit of force, its not ready but will be soon.
Further Care
Once your new little succulent is growing on its own, care for it as you would a normal succulent: water once a week, maybe twice a week, and keep them in a sunny spot. The precess is slow, but super rewarding. It does get easier with experience. With every attempt, valuable lessons will be learned. Feel free to email us with any questions or concerns you may have, happy planting!