A Detailed Guide to Fertilizing and Propagating Succulents from Cuttings
As is well known, taking cuttings is an important means of propagating succulents. For hobbyists propagating succulents in a home environment, it is also relatively easy to do and does not demand much in the way of equipment, so it is widely used by growers.
What kind of material gives a higher survival rate when used for cuttings? Why is it said that succulents root more easily if left to dry for a while? Is it good for succulent cuttings to receive light? Why can succulent leaves placed on a stone slab grow little pups and roots? Why do leaves placed on moist soil surface not only fail to grow roots but instead rot? What temperature is good for cuttings, and is it good to take cuttings in summer? After reading this article, none of the above questions will be a problem anymore. Watch it together with the steady succulent cutting method, and succulent cuttings will never stump you again.
Echeveria pulvinata 'Frosty', also a tough and common variety, the passerby likes to propagate it by branch cuttings. In spring, summer and autumn it can be grown outdoors with no pressure, and water will not collect in its core either. In winter it must be moved indoors.
These two pots of mixed cuttings were taken recently, with varieties such as Firestorm, Graptosedum 'Francesco Baldi', Graptopetalum paraguayense, String of Coins, Echeveria pulvinata 'Frosty', Sedum rubrotinctum and Faucaria tigrina, accented with golden sedum, grown outdoors.
The general process for cuttings: first, cut side branches from the old stem, preferably ones with four or more leaves; second, place the cut branches in a cool, ventilated place to dry for four or five days, until the wounds have sealed; third, insert the branches into moist soil mix. Those with a stem can be inserted directly; those without a stem, such as Sedum 'Little Beauty', can have a small hole dug for them and be placed head up and tail down. Then put the pot in a bright, ventilated place; fourth, after about a week, start watering, watering thoroughly. After that, water when the soil is dry, and water thoroughly each time.