Is succulent leaf propagation really pointless? Get these points straight before you draw a conclusion

Time flies. The leaf-propagation babies in my little succulent garden from last time have all grown up, so I bought another batch of new leaves and did leaf propagation once again, expanding my succulent ranks and slowly turning my home into a real little succulent garden.

Many gardening friends who read my last article said that propagating succulents from leaves is a time-consuming, labor-intensive thing with slow results, and some friends in my succulent group said outright that leaf propagation is pointless, no better than a waste of effort.

At first I didn't understand why anyone would think that, because my little leaf-propagated succulents all grew very well. Later, more and more gardening friends began complaining that their leaf-propagated succulents grew very slowly once they sprouted, and some simply stalled and did not grow at all, staying tiny for months. They saw no hope and had no space to put them, so they gave up on leaf propagation.

So it turns out many people have always believed that succulents should be watered sparingly, because succulents do not like water, and they carried this idea over to caring for leaf-propagated seedlings. As a result, although the leaf-propagated seedlings did sprout and root, they stayed in a "half-dead" state the whole time and eventually dried up and died.

Actually, we all know that succulents are drought-tolerant plants, but that does not mean they dislike water. Water is the source of life. How could they grow without water? Properly restricting water can give succulents rich, varied colors and a plump, cute shape, but it comes with a problem: slow growth.

Watering succulents is a process of gradual reduction from small to large. Seedlings love water, especially leaf-propagated seedlings. When ventilation is good and the temperature is suitable, it is fine to keep the potting soil almost constantly moist. As the leaf-propagated seedlings grow, you can reduce the frequency and amount of watering. So if your leaf-propagated seedlings never grow bigger, it is probably because you are afraid to water them!

Go back and give your leaf-propagated seedlings a bit more water, and you will find that surprises arrive right away.