I've been trying to propogate succulents now for months with almost no luck. Out of 20, only about 2 actually root and flower! I have looked up all of the info about letting them callous for a few days, keeping them out of direct light until they are calloused (which I still can't figure out what entails them being calloused enough), then water them lightly daily in succulent soil, not letting any water pool, and put in direct sun for the roots to reach out. Even after following these tips, most of them end up looking like sad shriveled little beans. So, common sense tells me they are getting too much light or not enough water. How do I know when they are ready for direct sunlight and water? Why do my grown succulents look so sad and withered and what am I doing wrong to all of these poor babies? I thought succulents were supposed to be easy, but they are the ONE type of plant I can't seem to figure out, lol! Please help!! Thanks 😊
by Keek-the-Geek
10 Comments
Sometimes they just don’t want to prop! It’s also possible the soil was too dry so they couldn’t, I like to stick them in a little bit instead of just placing on top of the soil.
I’ve also propped them over a glass of water / holding them up with Saran Wrap and had good results.
I also don’t think I ever let them callous, so maybe try not doing that next time 🤷🏼♀️
I definitely didn’t water mine daily, I maybe sprayed with water like twice in a month. But I honestly didn’t feel like they needed water until they had roots. I also don’t understand why they would need to callus in a dark place
i keep my hands off the watering can! i find that the watering makes them rot.
My approach has been to let them callus over, by sitting them on a clean plate in a bright, sunny spot. Maybe a day or two. Then stick them cutting-down into a pot of 50% succulent mix, 50% perlite. I don’t give any regular water, they’ve got what they need in the leaf itself.
Then I wait. If a few weeks pass and they’re getting a little wrinkly, I’ll bottom water the pot. If they plump back up, congrats, they spent their energy on putting out roots that are functional. If they don’t, they weren’t meant to be.
I feel the same way. I’m going to try with fluval next.
You may be giving them too much light. As far as the 1-2 day callousing time, they don’t need to be in the dark. And until they are fully rooted, fully developing plants you do NOT want to put them in direct sunlight. They like bright, indirect light: think-grow lights or north facing windows (in the Northern Hemisphere). Even though mature succulents LOVE lots of sunlight, direct sunlight will kill props…which I have a sneaky suspicion is what happened to yours. 🤷♂️ I’m by no means a succulent expert, botanical guru, or any other such, but I’ve proplifted my fair share of succulent pieces. While it’s VERY true that not all are destined to become the larger versions of themselves and will either rot or shrivel into nothingness, a significant majority have rooted and are on their way to full planthood.
You can dip the tips in rooting hormone before they’ve started growing any, be it commercial or (what I began to experiment with today from something I read {so no personal empirical data to offer yet 🤷♂️}) the sap/goop from an aloe leaf, if you want to hedge your bets…and just a very LIGHT layer on the tip at that…or what I’ve had the most success with, just sit them on top of a well-draining potting medium, that I keep BARELY moist by spritzing in the morning then again in the evening (because it dries out in between), and set your container in a brightly lit area but no direct sunlight. Once they start to root or sprout babies, I arrange them so the roots are in direct contact with the growing medium. Then continue with the mostly dry soil, spraying twice a day until the roots are significant, then I carefully dig it up and put it in its forever home. 😊
I let them sit on a plate for a couple days, then dip the ends of my leaves in rooting hormone, plop em on some gritty dirt, and wait. Yellowing or translucent leaves means over watering. The roots and pups will devour the mother leaf’s water and nutrients to form, no additional water needed.
https://preview.redd.it/q4if1swv43kd1.jpeg?width=4080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7106ca56b4cd7ce3a02b2425c7c5c7dc0f1c9de5
Usually I will put mine on already moist soil. And then I spray/sprinkle some water maybe every two weeks. That’s worked for me!
Watering daily, even lightly, is too much. Giving a little mist once every two weeks is sufficient. These don’t really need to be fussed with.
I let them sit in dry dirt for 2 weeks. Then I lightly mist them with a spray bottle every two weeks after that. It always takes longer than I think it should, but I have had pretty good success. If they wilt and change colors, I throw them out right away. Those never work out.