Succulent Propagation Success
This is a post for anyone who is struggling to propagate their succulents because I've been there before. I did the whole "lay it on soil and forget about it" I also went through watering the leaves everyday or every couple days. NOTHING worked for me. Then I found that I could do a water propagation so I gave it a shot and I think the stars aligned because it WORKED!! Here's how I did it: I found a plastic container that was about 3 inches deep. Then I hot glued a wooden stick across the middle because the toothpicks were too short. Then I took two toothpicks and taped them together so that the space between them was just enough to snuggly fit the leaf without it falling through. Repeat that process several times. Finally all you have to do is place the toothpicks with the leaf so that one end is on the wooden rod, and the other on the edge of the container. Fill the water so that it is just under the leaf that hangs the lowest. This method has gotten me massive success. If you have ANY questions please leave them in the comments and I'll try to answer them the best I can.
Here's the setup:
Here is the leaf on the bottom right on March 3rd.
And here it is on March 26th (less than one month)
The far left is a leaf that started out with nothing
1. The actual bottom of the leaf itself is not in the water, some roots or leaves may grow into the water but I found that to be fine
2. DO NOT let the leaf fall into the water, if it does take it out immediately or else it will most likely die
3. I use tap water and don't have any problems
4. Of course not every leaf will live and grow but don't be discouraged, take out any dead or rotting leaves
5. Make sure the toothpicks are not cutting into the leaf they are holding
6. Remember to BE PATIENT this can be a long process
Sorry for the long post but kudos to anyone who read the whole thing. Looking forward to your questions. BTW I'm not claiming to be a professional, like at all :)
Comments (14)
- 6 years ago
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Ficus benjamina, is propagation successful.
Comments (26)Just thought I would post the latest picture of that stump with the geraniums and other cuttings in it. The last one did not have those. Plus those marigolds were direct sown in that stump. I use a high dome on a standard nursery flat trays like this for propagation. Those domes have two adjustable vents that I keep tad bit open so that it is not humid inside and there is a bit of air flow. That prevents (most of the time) fungal growth. I also mist it every few days and when I do I keep it open for 5-10 minutes. You see I have two trays - one plastic tray with no holes and inside that the stiffer tray that you see in nurseries/garden centers. The stiffer tray ensures that the outer more flexible tray does not bend and crack while moving or handling it. Wondering what is inside. Two new ficus benjamina. Pretty thick cuttings (almost an inch thick) and they are now about 7-8 days in there. Since they are so thick I have to use twine to keep them in place so that do not move around. Movement will destroy any new tender roots that will form.The other three pots are texas ebony. They were started June 5-6th or so. They are showings signs of life (new leaves). A few did not survive. Here are 4 thai lime (Kafir lime) cuttings that I started 3 months back. They are doing well on their own without protection. They were 2 months under protection. There are more cuttings in other trays. Both perennials and tropicals. Sometimes I will stick the perennials directly in the ground under a tree/bush for shade. Some will root but most will not make it using this method. Here are some boxwood that survived this ordeal. No special care or rooting hormone used. I will leave them there this year and pot them next spring. In general this method works better with evergreens. Late May / early June is a good time to start cutting for the garden. Like chrisanthemums, geraniums, verbena etc. For these it is better not to use very old growth. Last years branches with new green growth works nicely for this. Again I do not do anything special except find a shady spot to root and then transplant if needed. One more pic. A thai basil grown from cutting last year. Ok last one. This is regular basil being kept fresh in water in the kitchen. Exactly one week today....See MoreSuccessful propagation (with photos!)
Comments (5)Actually you have jogged my memory- LB is a plant sensitive to Fluorine and I think perlite can impart some to the soil. I think you can rinse perlite to remove some of that and the fine particles too. But you are right to question the use of perlite. (I must have been more tired than I thought last night when I wrote this, LOL) It probably isn't need anyway. Dracaena are usually an easy plant to grow, so yours should do fine in potting mix, you could add a small amount say 10-15 % of rinsed perlite or a small amount of crushed granite to keep the soil from compacting too quickly. The 50/50 mix I mentioned above is my standard for Sanseveria, a succulent. Bright indirect light is what I meant to say- good catch! Mine I keep in a south window and one in a bright north window, but I think you would do fine in a east window that gets the early light or any place that has bright light. The south window I have does not get sun all day due to trees and sun angle- in summer little direct sun gets into the house due to the high angle and my roof eves. I do not think you will have much trouble transitioning the plant to soil. The plastic jug can also be sealed up if you need more humidity- but if you do always allow the container to air out some every day. Plastic bags can be used also and take up less space. Feel free to ask more questions and to even "jog" my memory more too, LOL!...See MoreBlue Mist leaf propagation success
Comments (2)Awesome! I am (im)patiently waiting for something to happen with the leaves I set down...yesterday. XD...See MoreIs my Carob cutting propagation successful?
Comments (10)So far, it's still showing new growth, and today I tried to hold it up in the air from the cutting and it hung just fine, although the pot weighs over 1Kg. I've placed it from day one in a small sides-covered room without a roof, so it gets direct sunlight only at mid-day for 1-2 hours, otherwise it's under indirect bright light during the day, and I would love to know if I should take it out now in direct sunshine more often, or is it too risky? I'm too curious about this experiment, because the more I read online, the more it seems impossible to propagate carob from cuttings, and the adventurous me wants to take it out and observes it for real, but the logical me says it's too bad if it is just rooting and I stun it and kill it by such sudden a shock. One last question, in my experience new "fake" growth of a rootless cutting will always die in a week or so, and if that's true, does a new persistent grown mean the opposite? Does it mean: New Growth = The Cutting Developed Roots Already?...See More- 6 years ago
- 6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
- 6 years ago
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoIn the upper portion of the pic you’ll see a jade plant leaf that I buried in soil. After about two months a new plant sprouted off the original leaf.
nika_plants_zone6b thanked Gregg Boethin- 6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
update: I have decided that once the mother leaf turns yellow or translucent, that's when I will move the succulents to soil. Assuming the new growth is big enough to keep itself alive. Here are some pictures that show the leaf that is furthest to the left on the last picture in my original post. Today I decided I would plant it by just placing it on top of some cactus soil.
Here you can see the translucent leaf compared to a similar variety
Finally this is the leaf placed in soil (along with others that were not water propagated), to the left of it is the mother leaf with the very big water propagated succulent that is also featured in the original post.I am watering these every 3-4 days to encourage root growth on some cuttings I have in there too. P.S. I know these propagations are etiolated, they didn't get the best light in the container. :)
Chris (6a in MA)