Propagating Succulents

Propagating succulents is a magical experience. Ok well it’s not and it’s got a scientific explanation but once you see it happen, you will have to restrain yourself from hacking your succulents apart continuously to multiple them. Then you will become a crazy succulent lady which quite frankly I think is far more economical than a crazy cat lady.

Those of you who follow the blog and/or my Pinterest will know about my new found love of succulents. Back in March I posted Succulents for Beginners which much to my delight, was a hit!

My Original Plants

If only my succulents were as successful as the blog post. Yes. RIP, my flower babies, I hardly knew ye! As you know, I was home in Ireland for an extended stay and I entrusted my my dear sweet (soon-to-be ex) husband with the care of my succulents. Bless his heart, he clearly didn’t read my blog post! Those bad boys died a serious death. Some were scorched, some drowned, others I assume died of  broken hearts. In fairness I only gave husfriend a watering timeline and little instruction. I just assumed their location was fine and casually forgot to consider that the sun’s position coming through my skylight would change in six weeks. Oops! He redeemed himself though by buying me a beautiful Pachyveria and a prickly but cute, climbing Aloe.

Of course that couldn’t be the end of the story. As I was shooting photos for this post I went out to the back porch where my Aloe was sunning itself and I found my brazen-faced Labradoodle out there munching its roots! Soil everywhere and a mouth full of roots, that Dood RAN, fast. Watch this space for a post on the fate of my Aloe which I semi-saved and re-potted.

Propagating Succulents

Propagating my succulents wasn’t on my agenda just yet but alas, it’s time. I sadly disposed of my shriveled leaves and trimmed what healthy stems remained. Placing the cuttings aside, I removed any healthy leaves I could salvage by carefully wiggling them away from the stem. My biggest loss was my Eceheveria ‘Pearl von Nurnberg’ which saddened me as it was so beautiful! Once you have all stems and leaves that you want to propagate, you will need to leave them to dry away from bright light for a few days to a week. After they are dried and have calloused you can place them in a shallow dish or tray that has a layer of well draining soil (mixed with sand and small pebbles). Dampen the soil but do not drown it. Watch the magic happen! Within a week you should see tiny succulents budding from the parent leaf/stem. The parent leaf will loosen after a while and it can be easily removed. This is when you can plant your brand new succulents!

It is said that when life hands you lemons you should make lemonade. When life hands you a husband who can’t keep your succulents alive, propagate more!

P.S. No husbands were harmed during the writing of this post 😉

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