One great thing about succulents is that they are relatively easy to propagate. Because of the harsh environments that they grow in, they've developed survival techniques that allow them to take root quickly. You can produce a number of offspring from a single plant.
You can propagate succulents any time of year, but it works best when the temperature is about 70 degrees F. Be sure to provide them with a porous soil that offers excellent drainage and aeration. Equal parts of coarse sand (don't use fine sand) or baked clay, perlite or vermiculite, and peat moss is the ideal succulent soil.
Here's how to pot the plantlets:
- Remove the offsets from the mother plant by gently twisting them off. In most cases, they have already put out tiny roots.
- Place a shard over the drainage hole in the pot to keep the soil from draining out.
- Fill the pot two-thirds full of soil.
- Top-dress the soil with a layer of coarse sand or baked clay. The top-dressing keeps humidity down and helps hold the cactus upright.
- Push the offsets down into the top-dressing so that the roots are touching the growing medium--the body of the cactus should not be in contact with anything that holds much water.
- Water if the soil isn't already moist. Let the soil dry out between waterings.
For rooting rosette and leaf succulents, start by taking a good size cutting from the mother plant. Twist off leaves on the lower few inches of the stem--but don't throw the leaves away. Stick the cutting into the medium. Put the leaves that were set aside in a well-lit, but not sunny, spot; they'll make more plants later by growing plantlets.
Be sure not to let these plants get root-bound. The plant will expend too much energy on the roots, and the plant will suffer for it. Divide succulents that have outgrown their pots. One crowded succulent can create a bounty of new plants that can be shared with other gardeners.
Guests Ray Jorgenson
Plant Expert
Garfield Park Conservatory
300 North Central Park Ave.
Chicago, IL 60624-1996
Phone: 312-746-5100
URL:
www.garfield-conservatory.org
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