Growing Succulents From Cuttings

Succulents are by far, my favorite type of plants to grow.  They have such interesting shapes and thrive despite my tendency to forget to water them.  Succulents are not only beautiful, but are easy to grow.  All you need are a few leaves. Getting started with growing succulents doesn’t cost much money. Ask your friend or neighbor if you can have a few leaves from their favorite succulent or purchase a small one from your favorite nursery. After that, growing succulents from cuttings is easy!

Learn how to grow and care for haworthia succulents.

To start, snip off a few leaves from your favorite succulent(s). You can also use stems; just remove the bottom leaves so you have at least an inch of stem.

Before planting, succulent cuttings need to ‘callus’ over where they were cut or else they can rot.  This is done by placing the cut leaves on a paper towel and keeping them in an area with light shade for 4 – 5 days.

Next, fill your container with well-drained potting soil specially formulated for succulents/cacti.  Don’t use regular potting soil because it will hold onto too much water that may cause your succulents to rot.

Plant your succulent leaves so that the soil is covering the bottom half of the leaf OR you can simply lay your leaf flat on the soil surface.  Both ways will work for growing succulents.

Your newly planted succulent leaves will need to be watered regularly until they begin to root.  However, it is important NOT to over water them.  A good guideline is to water them using a spray bottle when the top of the soil dries out.  A succulent grower described the perfect soil consistency as that of a “wrung out sponge”.

After planting,  your succulent will start to root and grow new leaves in 6 – 7 weeks.  Note: It is best to plant a few extra since not all of your succulent leaves may grow new roots.

Succulents that are easy to propagate from leaves include Crassula, Jade plants, Echeverias, Ice Plant, Jade Plant and Kalanchoe ‘Chocolate Soldier’.  Succulents make great gifts – start growing succulents now and you will have some beautiful new plants for yourself and more giveaway as gifts in time for the holidays.

Psst—We’re hopping with excitement over this adorable bunny succulent.