propagating is still a trial and error for me..i'm actually surprised all of them are still living..i purchased the grow light because of winter..theres just not enough sunlight..and i'm growing indoors..they've grown sooo much with the light now..

i've noticed with the grow light my succulents are sprouting in random places..like on the stem and by the base of the leaves..

i think i may at least give the spray bottle a try spraying daily...but youre right that whole trouble of getting rid of the dirt would be a pain later on..that was really a pain with transferring from what they came in to gritty mix...hmm decisions

The grow light is great for your succulents, I'm just saying the baby ones are a little more sensitive and don't need such strong light. In nature, if a leaf fell or was knocked off it would most likely land beneath the parent plant where it is shaded from full sun.

I must have forgotten to put it in my previous post, I use a spray bottle to just dampen the surface of the gritty mix two or three times a week, otherwise it would take forever to dry out.

I encourage you to experiment with different methods. That's the only way you'll find what works for you. It took me a while to figure it out and if you asked ten more people you would get ten more methods.

sorry ..i knew what you were saying..and right too..so far if it was growing where it was..i wasnt going to mess around and change it up too much..like i said...they are all still living...thats impressive for me..lol

true true..but i may of read a method i hadnt thought of and might work for me..i just figured to ask here to see what others were doing..maybe i was missing something.. :O)

Heather

Mine were doing the same even with soil but I also had the leave dry til so long method going. My house is so dry that I can water my 3 inch 50/50 cactus soil/perlite mix pot just about every other day if not sooner. I am still trying out locations for plants and pots.

Ok back to the baby's. I have found that even with the new leaves after callusing over need the soil moist/damp in my house.

I am now playing with a greenhouse type affect for some leaves to see if that helps but like people have said it's a learning experience. What works in my house might not for yours

Add on: checked the new "greenhouse" and it's a NO WAY! Thankfully nothing was ruined it's just not gonna be a method I use

true..my house is very damp..so mine is the complete opposite..not sure just how damp it is in the room they are currently in compared to other rooms (or the plants original location/home which they will end up back in that location)..I think whats saving me in this dry issue is the grow light..i didnt have to water this much in the summer just growing in a south facing window..but i'm not giving up the grow light for nothing..lol

What I do with mine now is after the leaves have done their calluses I put them in the tray of soil I moistened very lightly and let only the end that is going to grow the baby rest in the soil (or try my best to have it be)

Keeping an eye our for growth I use my judgement for water. But I am still learning and have only succeed in getting growth from 1 leaf cutting. But it's after I switched methods so hopefully I am onto something with my method

I have trouble propagating in gritty sometimes, but perlite works very well for me. I don't spray, though I sometimes water them with my other plants.

I just leave leaves on the surface of anything - sometimes on a tray. I don't spray them at all. I do not give them 'prime, best light' location either just as Patrick said. They grow roots and/or plantlets while there is still plenty of moisture in the leaf. Once there are many roots, I usually sprinkle just a bit of mix to cover them. I water the mix lightly sometimes after that. I never watered any succulent every other day, indoors or outside - they are in gritty mix made of grit, perlite and turface. Even plants in tiny pots (smallest I have is 1.75"). They would have to be in extreme heat to water that often IMO.

I use my normal succulent soil mix and depending on the plant I either place the end of the leaf in soil or just lay on top the soil.

2 leaves from a Kalanchoe, I would mist every 3-4 days, each leaf has 4 new plants.

Another Kalanchoe with end of leaf in soil, it has 1 plant.

This is where a question comes in. I have a few different types of succulents with different types of ends at the bottoms of leaves. Some look dimpled, some look kind of "pointed" and the one that just fell off a plant has the shape as if it's still on the stem. There are no calluses to form on these as they fall off with no injuries but these sometimes shrivel up fast and I don't understand why.....

The leaf that I found that is still growing a baby is still plump with only some shrivel up.

No, Jodie, nothing else needs be done to the leaf, not sure I'm understanding the Q as to what more you might think needs to be done. But the answer is nothing. And pls. remember NOT to water them until you see new growth.

Am unclear what you're trying to show in your pic w/ the the leaf tip, I don't know what I'm looking at. Perhaps try a side view of the leaf tip, like a profile?

Just showing that it was healed. No biggie. It's on dry soil right now. I have leaves that crinkle up and go transparent within a day or two but show no growth then I have some that stay longer but eventually do the same

Jodie, you said in a post above "There are no calluses to form on these as they fall off with no injuries". I just want to clarify a few things and I apologize if it comes off negatively, I just want to make sure we're all on the same page.

These leaves should still be protected from all moisture for at least a couple of days, they still have an open wound that needs to heal.

ALL of the leaves you are trying to propagate should be whole healthy leaves. If it is broken off of the stem or the site where the leaf attaches to the stem is damaged it does not stand a chance of growing a new plant.

If the leaves are turning translucent that means they were unhealthy and/or damaged from the start.

If a leaf FELL off it will likely not propagate, if you want to increase your chances of success you need to pluck healthy leaves off of the plant, ensuring that you get a complete intact leaf.

I HAVE MANY DIFFERENT ECHEVERIA AND SEMPERVIVIUMS GROWING NEW PLANTS THE WAY TO GET THEM TO GROW ROOTS AND TURN TO PLANTS IS TO PUT THEM ON TOP OF REGULAR POTTING SOIL WITH THE END OF THE LEAF UP AGAINST THE SOIL AND KEEP THEM WELL WATERED I DRENCH THEM (THE ENDS) 2X A DAY WITH A SPRAY BOTTLE AND THEY NEED 6-8 HOURS OF LIGHT AND STAY WARM WITH NO DRAFTS

Jodie,

I have to agree w/ Patrick: leaves that are translucent or transparent are likely goners & not worth the bother; I meant to say that earlier.

Sorry Julie, but no, I must respectfully disagree.

You're telling folks to keep them well-watered (which most of us believe will cause the leaves to rot as they have no roots w/ which to take up the water) while we're telling them not to water.

Pls. turn off your CAP LOCK, it's regarded as SHOUTING!!

ok but i have some that have made it also

i have grown a lot of succulents from leaves and thats just how i do it , im not saying you are wrong just stating what is working for me

Sadly, it's bad advice & will fail for MOST folks on here. You appear new, pls read around so you can see what's advised here, not just my opinion.

What works for you may not for others.

i'm kinda glad i finally got up the nerve to ask..i guess its whatever works for people..i've seen people online say they leave them alone..no watering and seen plants grow from the leaves..but seen the other way..where folks spray or water once roots start showing..

when i first started i didnt water..but noticed a few would shrivel up a little or wrinkled..and usually thats my go to sign for the rest of my succulents that they need water

"where folks spray or water once roots start showing.. "

but that's at least waiting to see roots (before watering) which above poster Julie doesn't seem to be doing.

Heather, sorry you felt you needed to get up 'the nerve' to ask.

Pls. always feel free to ask any question you wish, there's never harm in that. I'm sure most of the regulars on here would agree w/ my stating that.

well i kinda wanted to comment to make sure that i wasnt watering until i saw roots..more clarification...and cause it started to take a different direction..plus i didnt want to be rude and not acknowledge that others posted...

no nothing anyone did here..i just generally keep my mouth shut..been going through something and its just been better to keep to myself..

ugh..just realized in my title i misspelled propagation..lol *facepalm*

No problem Heather, happens to many of us at least sometimes. It did to me earlier today, posting from work too fast, forgot to proof last couple of lines ... oops.

Some pix of my leaf propagations, west window in Brooklyn.

a Sansevieria (Sans) leaf (kinda went nuts w/ pups, I love this thing).

A no ID Kalanchoe leaf, new growth is at center of the shot, the green against the white pumice.

Another Kalanchoe, maybe Beherensis.

At some point I made these guys roommates.

A Gesneriad interloper, Episcia, related to AVs. This is inside a container that is otherwise closed w/ a hinged cover for terrarium effect of contained humidity.

growing covered in moistened pumice.

I have a leaf sprouting roots and a plant, but the roots are on top, growing over the plantlet which is underneath. Will it correct itself?

Yes, it should correct itself. You can flip it but eventually it will be okay.

juliehughes19, just keep doing what works for you. I water much more than is recommended by many. I've lost more plants from under watering than over watering.

Edited for word change from minority to MAJORITY as that is what was meant. Sorry if that mix up offended people that was not my intent.

I understand that a lot advise to not water until you see roots. And while I know that works for the majority of people here (and I am glad it does) I think part of my problems is humidity in my house in general. It's very dry.

I have a thermometer that reads temp and humidity and it barely ever goes over 19 and I've been checking it and I just checked to see if it was working by putting it near a hot running faucet and the humidity number jumped up.

I have noticed when I do keep the soil moist I lose less cuttings. While when I let them sit on a tray or on dry soil I lose at least half in a day -2 days. I had a leaf that looked like a cigar shape all plump and another one just about side by side. One on dry soil one on moist (just happened that way. ) The one on dry soil was three quarters shriveled and gone the next day or so, the other one is still around and on moist soil. Now granted I'm not saying put the whole thing in or on the soil, but at least half of the leaf touching the moist soil depending on the type of succulent.

The more softer the outer layer play around and maybe only the tip needs to touch while the rest of the leaf needs to stay up. Different atmospheric conditions need different care.

I have 3 leaves that I found at I believe Shaws supermarket near the beginning of my start on here one was starting a baby and one had pink shoots which I am not sure if they were roots or what)

After losing almost all the pink shoots but getting white ones back and in moist soil I now have little green nubs on it. On the other leaf I have a little baby that is doing decent. The third leaf I am still struggling with but will win.

Well we may have to disagree Jodie, but I think not watering 'til one sees roots works for the majority here, not the minority.

If it only worked for the minority, it wouldn't be so broadly recommended.

Imontestella

Typo big time. Going to change that now. I meant to say MAJORITY . I apologize totally

...lol the much previous comment was right..posting would give me a lot of options..now i'm not sure what to do..i moved mine to soil that i had from repotting all my succulents and seeing if that would change them..plus it freed up a bigger pot for one of my succulents that i moved into that one..i'll test out the dirt and spray for now..i'm still not really sure how to do this..or what is or isnt working..i hate the lose what i have so far...they havent really grown at all in the last few months while my normal succulents have grown so much with the grow light..

Jodie,

Thx for the correction, I appreciate it. Those pink shoots were likely aerial roots. I've had Kalanchoes w/ hot pink/magenta type roots, hanging down from the stems to the mix.

Roots can be pink. Pls look up this thread where Rina showed a ring of leaves w/ pink roots( I think they were Ech leaves), but really pink, take a look.

I think Patrick made an important point about roots under lights might be getting burned.

BTW, w/ my longish handle, you can call me Lena (or Karen).

Also, re: my pix above, they're growing in west windows in NYC.

Karen,

My window is a southeastern type facing window. Not sure how far either way (East 's south) it goes But in the summer with the trees it's nice light.

The pink "roots" are what I keep fighting with on the third leaf I have from the store. It had a single one that got shortened and then came back and shortened again. It was never long to begin with, just long enough to see it decently. It has a stub one now that is hard to see.

I have actually been learning a lot through all of the people on here and there are parts that are just trial and error in your own house I am finding out. Or with yourself I should say.

The 7 plants I tried to save have all gone to the great garden in the sky except for 2. I think the healthiest one will make it and possibly the next healthiest but I found one mistake I have been doing. I have always buried plants deep when planting them and with succulents I tried going shallow but found I was still going to deep. So I just took most of the soil out from around the stems of the two remaining new plants. I know now to only go as deep as they need to stand on some plants and on others with long stems you need to leave room below the bottoms and soil of about 1/2 - 3/4 of an inch, not doing I found with my plants the small space of any closer traps the moisture and the leafs suffer for it. I have also started watering differently to minimize perlite floating. I may incorporate the corse sand I have that looks more like pebbbles on parts of the plantings but not for a while.

I checked my plants last night and a leaf cutting I took from my plant HAS a little root on it! I am so happy since its the first I have been able to do....

I have had a post written 3-4 different times in the past day and each time I forget to send it. I have 3 new plants. Panda plant, Super burros tail "Henry's Butterfield", and the 3rd just says Jade plant but I am not in my place so I can't show pics or read labels.

While buying plants, or just looking, I search for any leaves that have fallen and may have grown roots or beyond. (have found a couple in my travels) well this time I found one...But not only that I found a teeny baby in one of my plants that didn't have a momma leaf but it looked like it should have to me. It is in my smallest pot and in my "DCU" place (DCU = daily care unit)

I have also started watering using a squeeze bulb that most people use with babies for sucking extra mucus.. Well it works wonders for bottom, precision and limited size watering.

I have also figured out a way to recycle old medication containers I have from the drug store, make little pots out of them for the tiny plants that can't be placed in The other pots I have because of size. I modify them with my rotary tool set by placeing drainage holes and changing height if needed and then I have a perfect tiny pot. :-) will show a pic another time. Like I said not home right now. (at moms)

Jodie - For careful watering of rooting particularly expensive plants, I use graduated syringes. Very cheap online and I got blunt dispensing tips for precision work. Otherwise you can get them free from Walmart if you grab a bottle of children's medicine (purchasing the medicine is optional...). Drug stores often will give them away free too if you ask.

I also purchased a large quantity of 1" and 1.5" pots for rootless plants. Extremely helpful!

Jodie

I believe that should be 'Harry Butterfield'? (not Henry :). Is that what label said? I have one, it is xSedeveria 'Harry Butterfield' - wonder if yours is same plant. It grows a lot! Be prepared...just as S. morganianum, it will grow new plant from just about any fallen leaf. Mine filled 10" hanging basket/pot, and I have taken many, many cuttings too...

Ewwmayo,

The med bottles didn't work as well as I wanted but they are ok. I use the squeeze bulb water method for all watering now, for a couple of reasons, to keep the place neater....plants drier.... and to make sure the soil and plant are ok since I look at every plant when watering.

Rina,

Yes that's the name of the plant. From the time of your reply (jan 15) to now I am not sure if any of the plant has made it as I was trying to get most of it to propagate through leaves since my lovely 13Lb Chihuahua was being So nosy.

I have 3 baby plants. The one that came home IN one of my plants and I repotted, another is a leaf I found at a store that has a baby that I was able to keep alive and it's made it to being separated from the momma leaf. The third leaf I believe is one of the "super burros tail" that now has a baby on it and is still growing.

I also found about 7-10 leaves with roots at the store last trip and one had a tiny baby on it. So now I have a new bunch to try and get to grow up :-)

Jodie - These are what I use:

Eww

Cool. I wouldn't know where to get them with the metal part. Although I can probly ask a friend. I'll look into these as maybe they will work better for my teeny baby plants. Thankyou!

Jodie - Yes, they are what I use for very sensitive smaller rooting plants. You can buy them very cheap on ebay. Usually the blunt dispensing tips are purchased separately and are friction-fit or luer-lock.

If you get syringes with sharps, make sure to carefully remove them and dispose of them properly at a hospital, pharmacy, or similar location which has hazardous sharp disposal boxes. Hypodermic needles never go in the trash as they are quite dangerous.

Hi Heather, lots of good advice here, try a little of it all. I like to prop in trays of coarse sand, near me it is labeled playground sand, make sure it's clean. You can lay the leaves there until the root, then I wedge them sideways into the sand, this helps the roots go under where they can stay moist. Somtimes with a heavier leaf the rooting end wants to pop up, or arch up, where the roots can;t find the sand. You can use a small pebble on the leaf or right on the roots or both, this will make the roots contact the sand, where they'll go under and spread. Water by misting or just someway to drip tiny amounts. Hope this helps.

lisa...i'm currently testing out just plain ole soil and spraying them...so far one has really grown a lot...the other kinda died...and hoping that my donkeys tail grows roots for that to work...eventually when they get big enough i'll remove from the soil to gritty mix...i need more leaves though...need more plants!

lisasfbay

Play sand I know of is very fine. Is the sand available to you really coarse?

Heather

Donkey tail grows really easy, I never do anything for the leaves - do not even look at them :) and they grow just the same. Some succulents are bit more fussy.

Eww

I'll have to look for them. And I am getting better at getting leaves to grow roots :-) but it's still more fail than success. I have 3 jade type leaves sprouting roots, 1 leaf that I don't know what it is is also rooting and I am just waiting for a baby to pop out. 9 leaves from a store trip are still struggling to maintain their roots And I have one leave that is FINALLY sprouting a baby plant but I can barely see it.

Just parked at my Panda plant and it has new aerial roots on it lol. Since I'll be house bound all day tomorrow I'm gonna do plant maintenance.

@rina right now i'm having the most trouble getting mine to grow..and that was one of the reasons why i wanted them so badly was for easy growing

Heather

Maybe you are taking 'too much care' - what I mean, just throw them on top of mix, and forget about them. look back in a month and you'll see bunch of new plants. Here are some burro's tail plantlets growing (circled) - I never pay attention to them:

A

right now i have one leaf growing in soil thats doing better now then it was in gritty mix..my donkeys tail plant in general wasnt doing good..couldnt get it to stop droping leaves..i've cut it up..and hoping roots will start showing..

I'm gonna pop into this discussion. :) I have been skim reading and I realize I have a lot to learn. I grow African violets, and so I have a lightweight mix I use for my African violets, that someone told me would work for succulents. But I'm seeing succulents potted in ROCKS!! WHEW! :) this is terribly interesting. So would it be good to add some sand to my mix?? And some small rocks? Along with the perlite/peat soil I have? I have two succulents I got at Wal-Mart and a tray full of leaves I got from etsy. So I'm seeing that maybe I should let the soil dry out between waterings more? Some of these leaves are sprouting and some aren't.

Another question... Is it stealing to pick up loose succulent leaves and tuck them into pots I'm gonna buy?! :P

Many here (including me) use Manna Pro Poultry grit for 'rocks'. Avoid sand, except for super coarse stuff. You want your particle sizes to be between roughly 1/8 and 3/16 inches for optimum effect. You can just mix it in with a perlite/soil mix. I like to put a good amount of grit in.

I suppose it could be considered stealing, but it is better to ask an employee if they will allow it... From what I hear, most employees will let you take fallen leaves.

Also, when you have questions like this, it is best to start a new thread- you will get more attention :D

howdy joy! Nice to see you over this way lol

I took a fallen leaf a few weeks back..I felt so darn guilty about it...It didnt live either..so I guess that was my karma..I wont do it again..I still ..weeks later..feel really super guilty!

i'll say the gritty mix that is mentioned a lot here was a godsend! I have all of my succulents in that gritty mix. I do have a few that need way more water. But I just couldnt keep them alive in soil. Right now I only have leaf propagating in a small layer of soil.

Now I know you are an AV grower so I'll say ..I dislike av soil alone..I think its worse than just regular potting soil. You water it and it just compacts. I just recently changed two leaves that I'm trying to grow from just plan av soil into my av/perlite mix.

I could be wrong but I think folks here steer away from peat