Growing succulents More houseplants, the easy way
YOU CAN’T HAVE TOO MANY SUCCULENTS. HERE’S HOW TO GROW YOUR COLLECTION, WITHOUT IT COSTING YOU A BEAN
Amazingly, 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.
How to take succulent leaf cuttings
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 can
1 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 not to rip it. It is essential for the leaf to come away cleanly 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.
“You have the potential to grow ten or 20 more from a single succulent plant”
Cacti & other succulents compost
This medium is suitable for all succulent repotting and propagation purposes 1 part coir 1 part horticultural sharp sand or perlite Combine the ingredients and mix well. When repotting, remember the importance of drainage – make sure you have drainage holes, or add a base layer of stones and a teaspoon of activated charcoal. (A sprinkle of activated charcoal in among the drainage stones will help to filter out harmful bacteria; you can buy it online or from Robert Dyas.)
How to take leaf blade cuttings
Leaf blade cuttings are the solution for plants that don’t have obvious petioles (stalks) or stems, and no central vein. It’s also good to employ this technique when you would like to produce multiple plantlets from one leaf.
Because you only need a single leaf to experiment with, leaf blade cuttings are ideal if you have a favourite plant that you want to propagate, but would like to avoid altering its appearance too much; you can take a single leaf discreetly from the back and turn it into lots of healthy babies. For example, with just one slender leaf from a snake plant or a eucomis, you can easily produce five or ten viable cuttings. The key is that these leaves are particularly fleshy, so each slice has a reserve of moisture to keep it alive while it tries to take root. Even so, using a rooting chamber (see opposite) is essential to prevent cuttings drying out.
You will need:
A rooting chamber or propagation unit Compost Sharp, sterile knife and chopping board, or scissors Marker pen Spray mister
Grower’s note: For the best results, propagate leaf blade cuttings from spring to early summer, and remember to water the plant a few days beforehand. The example pictured here uses the snake plant, which is an ideal leaf blade candidate. But do note that the sap of the plant can be moderately toxic to humans and animals if eaten, so make sure to wash your hands after handling and keep plants safely out of reach of any curious hands or paws.
1 Start by setting up your rooting chamber. Once the compost is in place, moisten it before moving on to the next step – it should be moist throughout, but not soggy.
2 With one clean cut, remove a whole leaf, slicing as close to the base as you can. Lay the leaf down on the chopping board. The next step is to cut the leaf into horizontal sections, each portion should measure around 7–10cm in length. Only the lower cut of each leaf cutting can root, so during this step you might find it handy to mark the end with your pen, to avoid confusion.
3 Use your knife to carve channels in the compost, 3–5cm deep. This will reduce tissue damage to your cuttings when you position them. Push each cut end into the compost, pressing them in to secure them.
4 Partially cover your rooting chamber, and allow space for ventilation, which will prevent a build-up of moisture. Monitor the moisture level of the compost over the next few months, spraying the surface only when it feels dry to the touch. A build-up of moisture can cause mould, so make sure to open the lid (or bag) fully every couple of days to ventilate the cuttings. If you notice any mould, remove any affected areas as soon as possible to prevent it spreading.
5 After two to three months, you should notice little trumpet-shaped shoots sprouting next to each successful cutting. Once these shoots are around 10cm tall, it’s time to repot your plantlets.
“The results are really satisfying. It’s magical to watch how these part-leaf cuttings regenerate”