Typically, the bagged mix labelled as "cactus" mix is just regular peat moss based mix with a little extra bark and some sand. It doesn't drain well or allow adequate oxygen to the plants roots, and decomposes quickly, worsening those problems. Ideally, you'd want to get them into a gritty mix, which you can turn up plenty of results on if you search these forums. Some people advise to cut cactus mix with perlite, but I won't point people in that direction because it's a bandaid solution to a poor soil problem.

As for cuttings, I've traditionally used the above mentioned gritty mix to root them, starting out dry until roots form, then providing water. For direct sun exposure, you'll want to acclimate them slowly, if it's an actual rooted plant. For cuttings, you'll want to stay in the shade to keep the transpiration down, or the rootless plants will lose their stored water. Specific advice is tough not knowing what you're working with though.

Joe

I disagree with the previous poster about grit. It is every bit as common to underwater grit as it is to overwater potting soil, and it is MUCH harder to tell what's going on in grit. Additionally, grit can require such frequent watering that people just can't keep up with it, and it is very hard for a new grower to get a cutting established in grit because it dries too fast. Furthermore, it's a crazy amount of work and money to get started making grit if all you're wanting to do is try it for a brand new plant. I won't even go into the difficulty in watering some plants in grit, like rosette type succulents that are flush or nearly flush with the soil surface.

Save yourself a lot of grief and stick with one new thing at a time: the new succulent. Tackle grit later if that's something you want to try. People have been growing succulents successfully in soil for a couple hundred years. You'll be fine. I mix it with 25%-50% perlite, but if you're careful, you don't even need that.

1st

Be sure the cut end is calloused. It takes a few days, so just set the cutting aside, take a photo, and post it here in this thread for more advice because not all succulents need the same care.

2nd.

Be sure the box has some good drainage holes

3rd

plant the cutting in damp soil and set in a warm place with bright, indirect light.

4th

keep it warm and just BARELY damp until it begins to show new growth, which might be months depending on species and conditions (one reason we need a photo).

Finally,

Move to where it has sufficient sun so it doesn't become etiolated, and enjoy.

It's easy to overwater succulents, but I've also found a surprising number of people who have killed them by keeping them too dry for fear of overwatering, so stick close and ask lots of questions. Meanwhile, upload a photo so we can get a better idea of what your plant needs.

Btw, perlite or peat pellets have also worked well for me for rooting succulents. There is more than one right way, but there are also thousands of wrong ways.

Thank you both for the information. I think I will try both methods and see what works for me. I have raised African Violets successfully and I am really looking forward to trying succulents. There is so much information, and finding this site has been very helpful.

Just note that those who speak out against using gritty mix, typically don't use it, and/or never have. It does not dry out in one day, and if it does, they made it wrong. It also does not cost a lot of money; I can make 100lbs of gritty mix for around $20. That's far cheaper than buying bagged mix and perlite, and you get an optimal mix with great drainage and aeration, that lasts for a very long time. It's true that there are many ways to grow plants, and each person will promote what works for them, and each person can choose to do what they wish, but I like to make sure that any misinformation being handed out is called out.

With that said, you can go either route here, and you'll probably do fine. However, I've been down both roads, and more, and my greatest success has been had in gritty mix. I don't see too many posts about people ditching gritty mix in favor of bagged soil, but I see a lot the other way around. Good luck with your new hobby, but be warned, you're liable to get hooked, maybe even obsessed.

Joe

Oh, Joe, I think the warning about becoming obsessed is too late! I have spent many many hours reading everything I can find about succulents and don't even have mine yet. I have been able to purchase some of the ingredients for the "gritty mix" and have ordered the rest. I can hardly wait to get started. My cuttings should arrive today or tom. I even ordered from 3 different sources, just incase!

Dannie, you are correct that it can be cumbersome if you are a city dweller and don't have the space or resources to get going with gritty mix. I'm simply making sure that people aren't spreading misinformation on it with absolutely no merits. The constant "need to water every day" myth is always spread by people who never actually used gritty mix, or who didn't assemble it correctly. As I stated, it's up to the plant grower to choose, so having accurate information available is important. With no offense intended, not everybody has the restrictions you do, and have no problems getting the ingredients, so it's not quite fair to shine a negative light on the gritty mix concept because you personally have issues with logistics. I also find that there really isn't much of a learning curve with gritty mix. It's actually quite simple if you read and understand the directions given by Al and others.

Joe

tijeras - Welcome to the Cacti and Succulent community. There will always be a debate over using a specialize mix (which is the girtty mix that almost 70% of the experienced growers here use) or modifying commercial mix to make it more porous. That will be a route you will have to decide down the road on your own on what's works best for you.

As for now, pertaining to your questions, you will find the information useful on propagating from this blog:

https://needlesandleaves.squarespace.com/blog/2013/5/31/propagating-leggy-succulents

As for beginners, I would highly suggest you read this blog:

http://saveyoursucculents.tumblr.com/tagged/beginner

Additionally, there are more diagrams and illustrations that will help improve your watering judgement at this page:

http://saveyoursucculents.tumblr.com/post/109107889346/id-intended-to-put-a-bit-more-polish-on-this-but

Happy planting! Hope you plants turn up well.

Whether Joe's claim about who speaks against grit has any merit or not, I do use gritty mixes, and in various formulas. Making it "wrong" is one problem with it because the "right" way depends on your climate, plant, watering habits, size of your pot, etc. Al tells people all the time that his 1-1-1 gritty mix recipe can be altered to hold more or less water. Few people know what the right ratios are for them BEFORE they ever mix it, which means one might have to adjust the ratios after the plant has been growing a while. Personally, I don't want to have to repot a plant after a few months to adjust its mix and experiment.

$10-$15 for a bag of Turface, $2-$15 for bark, $10 for granite, plus screens in 3 sizes, Foliage Pro fertilizer or calcium and magnesium to mix into the grit, and probably containers to store your grit and/or grit constituents, all seem like a lot of money to me for just one cutting, but everyone is different.

People who try grit but aren't successful with it often switch back to soil, leave GardenWeb, or stop posting about because posting anything that isn't in favor of the mix can lead to attacks and accusations from some of its almost cult-like followers, but a Google domain search of this site using "failure to thrive in gritty mix," "problems with gritty mix," "plants dying in gritty mix" and the like brings up plenty of posts by people who have problems with it, and people who gave up on it. I'm not sure why some people refuse to see both the pros and cons of the mix, but it is definitely a point of contention on this forum, which can lead to more problems because it then becomes difficult to get unbiased help with it when a problem does arise. That said, many people do like it, and are successful, but be warned that it can be difficult to adjust to.

One issue I find frustrating is watering densely planted pots. Water pours right through grit, so you have to water the entire surface rather than watering at an edge and letting the water flow over the surface and under the foliage like you can do with most soils. To keep rosettes dry, for example, I was dunking some pots for a while, but that meant a lot of wasted fertilizer, and it was a pain. I now use a laboratory squirt bottle to get into all the spaces under and between rosettes, but it still isn't a good method for some plants. I'll post a photo of my water bottle, and some photos of plants that are especially difficult to water in grit, just so you have an idea of that particular challenge.

Kwie, you are correct that gritty mix has it's downfalls. I'm never going to deny that, because I've altered my mix to get rid of the downfalls that I've encountered. The watering issue was one of them, and in my instance, it was the pine bark's hydrophobic ways. My solution was to nix the bark completely. I use only Turface and chicken grit; not only does it work better, but it looks better, and lasts forever. As for a complete soaking, I just make sure to use pots with a single drain hole, which I plug with a finger, fill up with water, and drain. I've had wonderful success with my gritty mix, and because of that, I'll only advise people on it. I've tried the bagged mix and perlite in the past, and while it worked fine at first, I encountered the same problems over and over as the mix broke down. So, while you and others may choose that route, I'm fine with that, but I just don't recommend it to others. I also won't tell people it won't work, because it will, just not to my satisfaction.

This topic is indeed a hotly contested one, but that usually stems from someone who refuses to even try gritty mix, yet spews out all these downfalls to using it, not even having ever tried it, or given up on it without effort. Laziness is also a reason people speak out against it, not willing to "run around all over the place" to obtain the ingredients, not willing to sift the stuff, and not willing to water more often. All in all, I don't actually care what people choose to grow in, but I always felt good about myself for trying to help others, and point them in the direction that works great for me, and many others. But honestly, I'm now quite tired with constantly having to dispel the false information being said about gritty mix, as well as answering the same old "what soil is best" questions, so from here on out I'm taking a pass on it.

Tijeras, I hope you've got enough information to make a decision that will work for you and your new hobby. Best of luck to you.

Joe

Joe, I like your method for dealing with the watering issue. Good idea. I'll look for single-drain hole pots when the time comes to up-pot. I'm also using some bark-less grit mixes. What ratios do you use in your mixes of just granite and Turface (or DE)?

For my plethora of jades, I find that a 50/50 mix works good. In winter I can go about 10 days before I need to water, and in the summer, about 4 or 5. My jades do grow through winter though, just not as fast. For some more sensitive succulents, like adeniums, and my ZZ plant, I use a 2:3 mix, Turface to grit. I've used 1:2 but found that it was drying out too fast. In summer. The amount of time between waterings does change though as the plants grow and fill the pot with roots. I also grow a few tropicals, including a Norfolk Island pine, and a large ficus alii, in a 2:1 Turface/grit mix, which they seem to be enjoying. I've started toying with red lava pebbles as well, but I'm not finding any real difference, except it looks great with the three colors. The biggest advantage is the simplicity of repots, because the mix is easily removed from the roots, and with no bark, the mix lasts forever, so there's no worry about any old mix staying in the rootball. I'll tell ya, plugging the drain hole and filling the pot up for watering makes it a breeze, and I suspect once you try it, you'll enjoy gritty mix much more.

Joe

Thanks, Joe. I have a bunch of 2:1 granite to DE pots that dry too fast and need repotting. I'll try some of your other ratios and hopefully have better luck. I haven't tried lava rock except as top dressing, but I do like pumice.

Didn't mean to hijack your thread, Tijeras

I am so grateful to everyone that responded to my questions. I love Joe's watering advice, seems like it takes a lot of guess work out of "how much water". I am not too worried about knowing when the mix is dry. I have ordered turface and grit. I am still waiting for my cuttings. I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas!