How to Propagate Succulents from Leaf or Stem Cuttings

You’ve certainly come to the right place if you’ve ever wondered how to propagate succulents from leaf or stem cuttings. Learn all about how to propagate succulent plants and create adorable succulent baby plants! There are thousands of succulent plants, which are propagated easily from cuttings.

It is easier than you think; I promise.

You must take the appropriate cutting type depending on the genus and species of your succulent to propagate it. Offsets, stem cuttings, leaf cuttings, or seeds from a mature plant can propagate succulent plants. Succulents can be propagated in water or in soil.

Here are some tips for increasing the success rate of succulent propagation and growing your succulent collection. 

Propagating Succulents from Leaves

How to remove a leaf for propagation

Leaves need a clean-cut or break from the mother plant as close to the base as possible or best results. Choose only healthy leaves otherwise, your leaf propagation has a high chance of failing. You can either grab the entire leaf and twist it from side to side until it pops off, or use sharp, sterilized scissors to make a clean cut from the mother plant.

I prefer leaf propagation because it allows me to use dropped leaves that have been accidentally knocked off plants; propagating those leaves makes it less painful when they fall.

Propagating Succulents from Stems

How to take succulent stem cuttings

Take stem cuttings from healthy stems that are actively growing. Use sharp, sterilized scissors to make a clean stem cut from the mother plant. 

Letting your cuttings heal/callus

You must wait until your cutting has healed or developed a callus before watering it. Succulent cuttings take anywhere from 2 to 15 days to form a callus. Don’t water before it is healed, or it could allow bacteria or fungi to infect and kill the succulent cutting. After the cuttings and stems have been placed on a tray or paper towel, wait for them to callus over for a few days.

You can propagate succulent cuttings with either water or soil.

Choosing how to propagate your succulents is about more than simply choosing between soil or water. You should think about the type of succulent, the time of year, care needs, and even the location of where you’ll keep your succulent leaves. For example, propagating an echeveria differs from propagating a cactus.

Succulent Propagation using soil is a popular way of increasing your collection, as it is inexpensive and relatively simple to do. Another option is the water method, which can be tricky for some people. I have used both propagation methods, and both worked for me.

Soil Propagation

• To use the soil propagation method, place succulent leaves on top of the soil and stems in the soil once calloused, then place them near indirect sunlight. You’ll need to keep a close eye on your cuttings and ensure the succulent soil remains moist. I like to use a spray bottle to mist to keep the soil moist.

Water Propagation

• The water propagation method requires you to suspend your succulents over the water. You can use pins or plastic wrap to hold your cuttings over the water. Once you see small white and pink roots develop, you can transfer your succulent leaves to succulent soil.

You may have to wait a few weeks for the cuttings to show root growth, but that depends on the succulent variety. Once the original leaf shrivels up and dries, you can either let them fall off on its own or remove them from your new baby succulent and cover the new roots with soil.

When your succulent plants are large enough, you can treat them as you would with any of your other succulents and plant in pots or give some babies to friends. Sharing is caring! Hope these succulent propagation tips help you grow your succulent collection.