enJOY it

an archived personal and craft blog from Elise Blaha Cripe.

SUCCULENTpropagating

see part one, part two and part three!

In mid-April, following this awesome tutorial, I trimmed the leaves off my "leggy" succulent plant in an attempt to propagate (grow tiny new plants) from the cuttings. I am sharing my progress in real time, to give you (and me!) a REAL idea of how long this takes.

Succulent4a

I think I am about ready to wrap this project up. The most successful part were the original stalks. There were six and five of them have re-grown florettes that look good (and I expect will continue to grow into mature plants).

Succulent4

The original tops are going to make it, I think. All six of them have shot down roots (when I tried to pull them up from the soil I was met with resistance). They look a little dry here, but some water after taking these photos has perked them back up.

Succulent4c

The leaves I am less impressed with. Lots of roots but nothing spectaular in the baby plant department. I'm hanging on to these ones a bit longer just to see if anything develops.

Succulent4d

They are all currently outside with my other thriving (store-bought) succulents. The summer sun (and heat!) has been good for them.

Succulent4b

Overall : fun experiment. But I am very glad I am not in the succulent growing business. 😉

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10 responses to “adventures in succulent propagating / part 4.”

  1. Jody Avatar
    Jody

    My leaves have all sprouted baby plants. They were all leaves that fell off while getting the momma plant out of the store container. The only downside is they grow oh so slow. My sister jokes we are opening a donkey tail farm.

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  2. Molly Avatar
    Molly

    My leaves have done the same thing! Little tiny florettes are finally starting to sprout. I started at the end of April with mine, so yes, they have taken their sweet time.

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  3. Erica Avatar

    I have loved seeing these posts and can’t believe the amount of time these are taking…!

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  4. Martina Avatar

    Of the 10 leaves I started with back in April/May only 3 have produced buds – they all made a ton of roots but barely anything else has sprouted and those that have buds are growing really slowly too!

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  5. Mel Avatar

    Not sure this is the same plant I saw my Dad propagate in years past (we called ours a money tree!)
    He put the leaves in water and they put out roots quite quickly. Both my sister and I have offspring from a plant my Gran had about thirty years ago. My Dad took cuttings about 15 years ago and our plants have grown away ever since.
    Thanks for sharing your propagating exploits.

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  6. Theresa Avatar
    Theresa

    This takes so much time!! I have started African violets for my wedding centerpieces which is 11 months away. I’m starting to worry I didn’t give myself enough time! I started the leaves in May and so far no progress on the surface…just hoping little roots are forming below!

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  7. Alicia | Jaybird Avatar

    I’ve had the same experience propagating a donkeytail with leaves vs original tops. The former have all shriveled up except for one that has the teeniest green bud on it and is growing at a snail’s pace. The tops seem to be rooting quite well! Thanks for sharing this post; your series was part of my inspiration for trying to propagate my own.

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  8. Mac Avatar

    The title of this series cracks me up! Oh, what constitutes an adventure when we’re knee deep in baby stuff! LOL Great job, Elise!

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  9. alyssa Avatar
    alyssa

    Inspired by your original post I had a go at propagating here in Australia (it’s autumn here) and I’ve had great success! All my leaves have little buds on them and strong roots. I think I’m almost at the ‘parent leaf withering off stage’. I water every three days or so and they’re on a window sill that gets morning light. I’ve enjoyed your posts on this, thanks for sharing!

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  10. Ashley Avatar
    Ashley

    How do you keep animals away from your succulents? I have weirdo squirrels who have decided my plants are a delightful snack.

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