Guide To Growing Succulents

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Start With a Potted Succulent, Cutting or Seeds

There are three ways to start your succulent garden: Buy a potted succulent; get a leaf or stem cutting from an existing succulent; or plant seeds. Here what to know about each option:

Potted succulents

Pros

• It’s the quickest and most popular way for beginners to start their collection.
• The plant often comes with care instructions on the label.
• It’s already filled with the correct soil.

Cons

• The most expensive option.

Succulent cuttings

Pros

• Stem cuttings and leaves can be free if family or friends are willing to share.
• Growing from cuttings or leaves takes less time than growing from seeds.
• Stem cuttings purchased online cost less than potted succulents.

Cons

• Time. It takes three to six months for these to produce their first roots.
• Requires rooting hormone to prevent diseases and encourage root growth.
• Some online sellers are not reputable. Look at ratings and read reviews.

Succulent seeds

Pros

• The least expensive way to start. Packets contain 10 to 1,000 seeds.
• Seeds are available for exotic and rare succulents you won’t find elsewhere.
• With patience, seeds are the best method to produce lots of plants for your landscape.

Cons

• It can take seeds up to a year to be large enough to transplant into a bigger pot, where they must grow large enough to plant outside.
• Succulent seeds are tiny, so be careful once you open the packet. A sudden breeze can easily blow them away. I dropped a packet once and lost countless seeds.
• Seed trays and growing pots require indoor space for a long time.
• Seed packets often contain mixed varieties, so you won’t know what they are until they develop leaves.

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Choose a Favorable Location

Outdoor succulents need three conditions for success:

Bright sunlight to partial shade

• Cacti, aeonium, echeveria, kalanchoe, sedum, Senecio and sempervivum can take full sun (eight-plus hours per day). Other succulents like partial shade, i.e. only four to five hours of sun per day, preferably in the morning.
  • Protect succulents from intense afternoon sun.
• Acclimate your new or young succulents to full sun by keeping them shaded for the first few weeks. Every few days, move them closer to the full-sun location. If the leaves start to change color after a few hours, move them back to the shaded site and wait a few days before trying again.

Well-drained soil

• Succulents need dry, well-draining, sandy soil with nutrients and minerals.
• Mix your existing soil with 50% to 60% organic material like tree bark, compost, coir, or potting soil for succulents.
  • You can also use a mixture of perlite, pumice and sand.
• Add minerals by mixing in gravel, lava rock, perlite or gritty sand.

Keep it dry

• Watering once a month in the winter and twice a month in the summer is enough.
  • If you get ample summer rain, don’t accidentally overwater with automatic irrigation.
• Signs of overwatering: Leaves start to drop, turn yellow, become squishy or start to rot. Whole stems fall over.

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How To Grow Succulents From Stems or Leaves

Succulents are easy to grow from a leaf or cutting from their stems. Here’s how:

• Take a three- to five-inch long leaf or cutting and air dry it for two to three days until it’s firm. The base should harden.
• Dip the base of the cutting into rooting hormone or honey, a natural rooting agent.
• Place cuttings on their side and press lightly into the soil in a seed starting tray with a lid, making sure the dirt covers the base.
  • You can also use small clay pots, or egg cartons with a hole in the bottom of each dimple for good drainage.
• Put the lid on the tray and place it in a bright, sunny location.
• Spritz with water once every two weeks to saturate soil, making sure the water drains. Propagating succulents in the winter will require even less water.
• When roots start to develop, take the lid off the tray.
• Your stem cuttings can be planted outside when you tug on them and they won’t easily pull out of the soil.

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How To Grow Succulents From Seeds

Succulents grown from seeds require patience. Here’s how to do it:

• Fill seed starting trays or pots with soil to an inch below the top.
• Water before planting seeds, making sure the soil drains well.
• Sprinkle seeds onto the soil, one to two inches apart.
• Cover with tray lids or plastic wrap to create a humid environment.
• Depending on seed variety, germination takes up to three weeks.
• Water when roots develop, and afterward only when the soil is dry to the touch.
  • Seedlings can die off if the soil is too wet.
• Move your succulents up to a four-inch pot when they are larger than two inches.
• Succulent plants could take up to two years to grow to six to eight inches, or large enough to plant outside. Looking for more tips? Here are a few essential tips to care for jade plants at home.

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Fertilize and Prune Succulents

Succulents naturally grow slowly. During the warm growing season, encourage growth by applying a fertilizer specifically for succulents and cacti. Follow the label instructions for amounts and frequency.

Another benefit of succulents: There’s no need for pruning. Leaves that are damaged or in decline can be clipped off. If a leaf falls off or detaches from the mother plant, take the “freebie” and propagate another plant.