Practical tips for leaf cutting propagation - don't miss these techniques

Text

Text and images: Le'an

Some people like leaf cuttings, not for propagation and sale, but to enjoy the various surprises and anticipation that leaf cuttings bring. You can try it too. Actually, leaf cuttings are not difficult; what you need is patience + patience + experimentation. At the beginning, the curator also failed many times, but after summarizing experience from each failure, he tried again, gained experience through constant exploration, adjusted the soil formula, adjusted the light, the depth of the leaf cutting pot, and what kind of leaf cutting method suits this variety... Gradually, the curator's leaf cutting success rate became higher and higher. Now let me teach everyone how to do leaf cuttings.

Because the curator likes all kinds of tin pots, succulent planting and leaf cuttings are also mainly done in tin pots (experience has shown that in northern regions, it seems that red clay pots and other particularly breathable pots are not very suitable for growing succulents; the weather is dry, and the soil in the pots loses water very easily. Instead, succulents grow better in plastic and tin pots). However, in summer, tin pots need to be shaded. The curator's method is to place some coverings around the pots, such as shade netting or wooden boards, which can block heat and prevent the pot soil temperature from getting too high and damaging the succulent roots.

After choosing the pot for leaf cuttings, I will first lay 3-5 cm of large-grained pumice on the bottom of the pot (the specific thickness depends on the depth of the pot; it is recommended that deep pots make leaf cutting seedlings grow faster).

Then comes the soil mix. The curator's soil mix is relatively complex, but personally I feel the success rate is still very high. The mix includes coconut coir, small crushed pumice, bamboo charcoal, granular soil for Iris vegetables, akadama, kanuma, and rice husk ash (it is recommended to add an appropriate amount of granular soil for Iris vegetables, which contains a certain amount of slow-release fertilizer and can provide some nutrients for succulents). After mixing these soils, mix coconut coir and various granular soils at a 1:1 ratio.

After mixing, put it into a pot lined with large-grained pumice, and spread 0.5-1 cm of pure vermiculite on the surface (the purpose of spreading pure vermiculite is to promote better rooting; vermiculite is the most suitable medium for rooting among all media. Of course, the soil under the vermiculite should be wet soil. After spreading the vermiculite, the vermiculite will quickly absorb excess moisture from the soil below, and after roots and buds appear, you can judge whether watering is needed based on the vermiculite. If the vermiculite is completely dry, it means the soil below is almost dry too, so you can water it.)

After spreading the vermiculite, you can place the varieties you want to propagate by leaf on the soil surface (what should be said here is that not all leaves are suitable for being placed directly on the soil surface for leaf cuttings. For varieties like Jingye, Chihuahua, and Yudie, the curator found that if the leaves are first left to become a bit soft before leaf cutting, the success rate increases greatly. For round leaves like those of Aeonium varieties, it is suitable to place them in a container or on a tabletop to let them sprout and grow roots first, and then place them on the soil surface; otherwise they will directly turn to water or dry out.)

Now all you need to do is wait quietly. Tough varieties like White Peony will basically grow roots and buds in about 1 week, and there is a high chance of producing multiple heads. Purple Pearl mostly produces double heads, Jingye can produce up to three heads, and single heads and double heads are about half and half.

After more than ten days of leaf cutting, you can basically clearly see the new buds growing. If a few have not come out yet, or only have buds or roots, it does not matter. Time can change everything, so wait patiently. When the small leaf cutting buds appear, carefully observe the dryness and moisture of the vermiculite. If the vermiculite is completely dry, you can use a spray bottle to spray water and water the soil below thoroughly. Small leaf cutting seedlings need more water than large seedlings, so more water will not be a problem. (Also, from this time on, move the leaf cuttings from the scattered light position to a place with sufficient sunlight, otherwise the newly grown small buds on the leaves will start to become leggy.)

After the new buds of the leaf cuttings appear, you will find that the old leaves of the leaf cuttings gradually begin to turn to water or dry up. You can completely ignore this; it is a normal phenomenon. In humid southern places, you can mix an appropriate amount of carbendazim with water when watering. In fact, bamboo charcoal in the soil can also avoid mold infection, so when planting succulents, the curator still highly recommends adding an appropriate amount of bamboo charcoal.

When doing leaf cuttings, the curator specially experimented with two large bowls. The bowl openings were very large, about 25 cm in diameter, but the bowls were 8 cm tall. The soil mix and planting environment were the same, and the leaves were also leaves broken off from the same few White Peony mother plants. But compared with leaf cuttings in a tin bucket with a diameter of 17 cm and a height of 15 cm, they were completely inferior. The largest White Peony in the tin bucket already had a diameter of 4.5 cm, but the largest one in the bowl was only about 2 cm. So deeper containers are still very important. Hehe.

Finally, what still must be said is that leaf cuttings definitely require patience + patience + experimentation.

The article was compiled by the Succulent Plant Boutique Pavilion. Copyright belongs to the original author. For some articles, the source cannot be identified and they are marked as from the internet. If there is infringement, please contact us immediately and we will handle it promptly.