How to plant succulents from leaves

Video: How to Propagate Succulents Fast n Easy

Content

Steps
Part 1 of 3: Collecting and Drying Leaves
Part 2 of 3: Stimulating Root Formation
Part 3 of 3: Transplanting and Growing Young Succulents
What do you need

Diluting succulents from leaves is quite simple, for this you need to follow just a few steps and use only a couple of tools at hand. When a healthy leaf is cut from a plant, it naturally begins to root, and a new plant is formed from these roots. Succulents can be a great gift, such a plant you can greet new neighbors or exchange it for something else with friends and other gardeners you know.It is easy to grow succulents from leaves, but since not all leaves take root, it is better to immediately try to root at least two leaves.

Steps

Part 1 of 3: Collecting and Drying Leaves

1 Choose the right time. It is best to breed a succulent plant when a long, hardened stem has already formed in its lower part. This is often due to a lack of light, when the plant tends to grow taller and begins to thin its leaves to make it easier for them to access the light.
- An elongated succulent is a plant with a powerful stem and poorly developed foliage.
- Take the lower leaves from the plant, and the younger and smaller ones, leave them to grow further at the crown.
2 Choose healthy leaves. You have a better chance of success if you use healthy leaves for rooting. To choose healthy leaves for breeding, pay attention to those that:
- have a solid color without discolored areas;
- not damaged or injured;
- do not have spots and marks on them;
- look juicy and meaty.
3 Break off the leaves from the stem. For further rooting, it is best to gently break off the leaves with your fingers. Grasp a healthy leaf with your thumb and forefinger. Hold it firmly but gently right at the base where it connects to the stem. Bend the sheet slightly and gently rock it back and forth until it comes off.
- Be sure to hold onto the base of the sheet to avoid breaking it. The base of the leaf must completely move away from the stem, otherwise the leaf will not take root.
4 Dry the breaks on the leaves. When you pick the leaves, place them on a towel or baking sheet lined with baking paper. Place them in a warm place under direct sunlight to dry. Leave the leaves alone for 3-7 days until the break at the junction with the stem is tightened and a crust forms on it.
- If the leaves are planted in the ground before the break point dries up, they will begin to rot and die before new plants form.

Part 2 of 3: Stimulating Root Formation

1 Dip the dried leaves into a rooting stimulant. Pour some rooting agent into a small bowl. Use a damp towel to wipe the dried-out breakage of the sheet to slightly moisten it. Dip the moistened end of the leaf into a rooting agent. Make a small indentation in the ground for planting and immediately stick the leaf in there. Use your fingers to tamp the soil around the stimulated end of the leaf.
- It is not necessary to use a root stimulator to grow succulents from leaves, but it shortens the rooting time and increases the chances of successful plant breeding.
2 Place the leaves on the ground. Prepare a shallow tray with soil for cacti or succulents, or just wet sand. Place the leaves on the ground with the healed end up, not toward the ground.
- It is very important to use soil for cacti or succulents, as these plants need soil with good drainage properties to thrive.
- You can prepare such a soil yourself by mixing in equal proportions sand, perlite and ordinary soil for indoor plants.
3 Provide the leaves with plenty of diffused sunlight. Most succulents are desert dwellers, so adult plants need a lot of direct sunlight. But when growing succulents from leaves, they need diffused sunlight until a new plant forms.
- Keep the leaves in a warm window, but not in direct sunlight, or protected by tree foliage or window curtains.
4 Moisten the leaves daily until roots appear on them. Rooting succulents require a little more water than adult plants, but excess moisture can cause leaves to rot and die.Instead of watering, take a spray bottle and moisten the soil with it daily. You should make sure that only the topsoil is moist.
- If you live in a very humid climate, you may not need to moisturize the leaves at all during the root formation period.
5 Sprinkle the emerging roots with soil. After four weeks, small pink roots will begin to grow from the leaves at the site of the break. Sprinkle these roots with a thin layer of soil to keep them from drying out.
- Once the roots are in the ground, they will continue to grow to form a new plant. When a new plant begins to form and has its own leaves, it can be transplanted into an individual pot.

Part 3 of 3: Transplanting and Growing Young Succulents

1 Remove the mother sheet. Eventually, the roots of each new plant will get stronger and begin to form their own new leaves. In this case, the mother leaf that you used for breeding will begin to fade. Gently peel back and wiggle the mother leaf to detach it from the new plant. Be careful not to damage the young roots.
- From the moment the mother leaf withers, it is time to transplant succulents into individual pots.
2 Prepare small pots with good drainage. Start with 5 cm diameter pots with drainage holes at the bottom. Succulents do better in small pots than in large ones. Cover the bottom of the pot with gravel to improve drainage. Fill the remaining pot with purchased or homemade succulent soil.
- The ideal potting mix for succulents is a mix of equal parts sand, perlite and regular flower earth.
- You will need a separate pot for each succulent you grow.
3 Transplant young succulents. Use your finger to make a depression in the center of the pot. Plant the young plant in a depression and cover the roots with soil.
- It will take about a year for the young succulents to reach their normal size. As the plants grow, they can be transplanted into larger pots.
4 Water the plants after the soil dries. Once the new plants are fully formed and transplanted, stop watering them daily and switch to watering regime for adult succulents. Wait for the soil to completely dry out between waterings, and water the plants only as needed.
- When watering succulents, water the soil abundantly so that it gets wet well.
5 Provide plenty of sunlight for your plants. After transplanting young succulents, the plants can be rearranged in a warm place with plenty of direct sunlight. Most of the light (in the absence of obstacles) will be on the south or east window.