[Blog Feature] Needles + Leaves || Guide to Propagating Succulents

(Photo: Needles  + Leaves)

 In the past couple of years I've tried propagating my own succulents but have often had partial success. I figured just plucking the babies from the 'mother' would be sufficient, only to find that they had no roots and often withered away before they rooted. I also had several succulents that lost their tight coils and got a little leggy, so they weren't looking too good in plantings.

While I tried to figure out the next step, I met fellow succulent-lover Tawni of Needles + Leaves who wrote a fabulous post on how to propagate succulents, which was perfect for my situation: some of my indoor succulents got 'leggy' due to lack of sunlight. Instead of ignoring them, I realized I could still propagate them and start fresh with a new outdoor batch of succulents.

(photo: Needles + Leaves)

 

 

Patience is a virtue: the stump started growing babies too! (photo: Needles + Leaves)

After reading through Tawni's guide, I realized I made some big mistakes in my last attempts: I threw out the stump when I could have saved it and produced more babies. It seems like a 'duh' moment now, but at the time I wasn't thinking and figured I had enough leaves to propagate. Tawni doesn't waste a single part of the plant. Lesson learned. 

So I followed Tawni's guide, and so far, so good. I have all of my little leaves laid out on some cactus soil and letting them callous over. As of now, I'm playing the waiting game. Some leaves have already sprouted roots, and I'm hoping to show my succulent's progress within the next few weeks. You can see the rest of Tawni's steps/results in her blog.

 
Be sure to check out Needles + Leaves, there are great posts on taking care of succulents, and even a tutorial for making your very own succulent crown!

Cheers to new friends and succulent lovers!