How to propagate succulent plants from a leaf

Propagating succulents is so easy and fun. The thing that is required more than anything else is patience 😅. I have been doing this for quite some time now, with a lot of reserch at the beginning, now I have developed these steps without realising it! There is no right or wrong way, it's all about experimenting and see what works for you.

This is how I propagate my succulent leaves.

1. Carefully remove leaves from your succulents. You will need a complete leaf on the stem side, otherwise it won't grow. 

✨ Tip : Plump leaves have more chance of success than softer leaves, so you want to take the leaves 2-3 days after the mother plant was watered. Also, younger leaves are more likely to root easier than older leaves.

Left one is good for propagation. / Right one is not good as the end is broken.

2. Once I have the leaves I want to propagate, I will leave it to air propagate. Basically I will put them in a container and leave it in a ventilated and out of direct sunlight area (bottom shelf in the greenhouse works fine).

Excuse my dirty tray, but it's reality!

3. After a few weeks, some fresh roots will start to show. Now I will plant it. It's so easy, I just lay the rooted leaves flat on the soil and sprinkle a little soil just to cover the roots, so it doesn't get burned by the sun.

At this stage I do give some water if I remember 😅 but they don't really need it as they feed of the mother leaf. So it's ok if you forget to water it at this stage. How I water the leaves is I only water the soil where the roots are and don’t water on the leaves. I used to water everywhere and the leaves rot. If you do water it, wait until the soil dry before watering again.

🌿 Soil mix for leave propagation - I use my Super Gritty Soil Mix 50% and coco coir or compost 50%. Baby succulents like soil to stay wet for longer than mature ones.

4. After a few weeks or months have passed, you should see little pups showing. It's ok if some don't propagate or take longer as some will grow slower than others. The mother leaf usually dies off at this stage. If the mother leaf is gone, you need to water it regularly.

Little pups start to show up.

5. When the pup is large enough, I will repot them into their own pot. I use the same soil mix, I even reuse the one I used to plant rooted leaves.

Succulents pups are big enough to repot into their own pots.

Succulent babies in their own pots/cells.

Happy propagating everyone!! 🌵