Simple Guide to Propagating & Growing Baby Succulents

Certain types of succulents, like the popular Echeveria and the resilient Ghost Plant (Graptopetalum), have a natural talent for propagation. When a leaf is gently removed and placed under the right conditions, it has the remarkable ability to grow new roots, eventually developing into a completely new plant. This easy method is perfect for expanding your succulent collection at home or in the classroom, creating thoughtful and inexpensive gifts, and inspiring a sense of wonder in children as they observe the miracle of plant growth.

Materials Needed:

• A succulent plant with healthy leaves
• A shallow dish or tray (around ½ to 1 inch deep)
• Slightly damp soilless potting mix
• Water (preferably in a spray bottle)
• Small pots for the new plants

Easy Steps to Multiply Your Succulents:

1). Choose Your Starting Plant

Succulents are widely loved and readily available in most plant stores. You can use a leaf from a succulent you already own or select a new one to be your “parent” plant.

2). Set Up Your Propagation Station

Find a shallow tray or dish, about 1 inch deep is ideal. Even a plastic takeout container can work! As long as you’re careful with watering, drainage holes aren’t necessary. Fill the tray with a ½-inch layer of soilless potting mix that has been lightly moistened.

3). Examine Your Parent Succulent

If you’re using a more established plant, you might see a stem that has grown longer as it reaches for the light. You can cut this stem near the soil. The individual leaves from this stem can become new plants, and the cluster of leaves at the very top can be replanted as a single new succulent. If you have a smaller, younger plant, it might be easiest to take the whole plant out of its pot to get to the leaves at the bottom.

4). Gently Remove Leaves

Starting at the bottom of the rosette with the larger leaves, gently hold a leaf and wiggle and twist it until it detaches cleanly from the stem. When you get to the smaller leaves near the top, you can leave them together as a small cluster and plant the remaining stem and top as one new plant. Before you start, take a close look – some leaves might have already started growing roots while still attached!

5). Give the Leaves a Resting Place

Simply place the removed leaves on top of the moist potting mix. Don’t bury them; the cut end where the new roots will grow doesn’t even need to touch the soil.

6). Find the Perfect Spot

Place the tray in a warm (room temperature) area that receives bright, indirect sunlight. Water gently with a spray bottle or by carefully adding small amounts of water when the surface of the soil starts to feel dry. The goal is to keep the soil slightly moist, but not soggy. (This is especially important if your tray doesn’t have drainage.) Within a few weeks, you’ll start to see tiny roots appear at the cut end of the leaf, followed by the growth of small new rosettes!

7). Watch Them Grow

The original leaf will eventually start to shrivel and decay, and you can remove it at that point. When the new rosettes are about ½ inch wide, gently move them to another tray to give them more space to continue growing.

8). Time to Pot Up

Once your baby succulents are about an inch in diameter, they are ready to be planted in their own individual pots. Enjoy your new additions and share the joy of propagation with friends and family!

This guide is inspired by the resources and educational materials provided by KidsGardening.org, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting garden-based learning.