How to propagate succulents by cuttings

This is a quick guide on how to propagate a succulent with cuttings.

What is propagation?

To prop or propagate succulents is to reproduce them. In short, it’s the act of creating more succulent plants. If you have one succulent, and you make a cutting and planted it, you’ve just made a second succulent plant!

You can propagate a succulent by seeds, cuttings, and depending on the succulent, by the leaves! This post focuses on propagating by cuttings.

Depending on the succulent, you may hear taking a cutting as “beheading” as it cuts the head of the succulent off. This is usually used for rosette-like succulents such as echeveria and hybrids thereof.

Why would you propagate your succulent?

If you don’t want to buy more succulents, you could propagate your own!

Or maybe your succulent is growing in a shape you’re not fond of. Maybe your plant grew too big, and you want to prune it back. Maybe it’s leggy, and you would like to try to grow it in a more compact form.

Maybe your succulent has been damaged from rot, frost, or pests, and you can save your succulent by propagating. You can cut off the bad parts and propagate the good parts.

Which succulents can be propagated by cuttings?

I want to say just about all succulents can be propagated by cuttings.

However, some types of succulents propagate more easily than others. This can also depend on the microclimate that you propagate them in. For example, small, thin sedums popular for groundcover are harder for me to propagate as I live in a hot and dry climate, and they don’t store as much water in their leaves.

Another catch is that if you cut some succulents, you might not like how the original or mother plant looks afterward. For example, if you take a cutting of an echeveria, which has a rosette form, your cutting will have the rosette form, but the mother plant will now be bare in the middle. Its stem will be exposed. To some, this may look unappealing. Plus, the mother plant will not continue to grow in the middle; instead, it will grow offsets.

When’s the best time to propagate a succulent?

The optimal time to take cuttings is at the start of the succulent’s growing season and a week or two after its last watering. This way the succulent has refreshed its water stores, and the soil is dry (or should be dry with the right soil for succulents). With water stores, your cutting will be better able to sustain itself while it grows its own roots.

However, if you are taking a cutting because your succulent is damaged, the best time to take the cutting is now before it gets worse.

Also if you want to cut your succulent now, you don’t have to wait for the best time. You can just take the cutting. (I still advise that if you plan to take a cutting, try to make sure your succulent was watered and then take the cutting a week or two later).

How do you propagate a succulent by cuttings?

What tools do you need?

You will need clean tools, and the best tool depends on the succulent.

If your succulent has a thin stem, a smaller tool like small gardening scissors works well. With a smaller tool, you can maneuver in tighter places without damaging other leaves.

If you’re cutting a thicker stem, you will want to use shears.

If you’re beheading a succulent with a rosette, like an echeveria, where getting a scissor-type tool near the stem without damaging other leaves is difficult, you could use floss or fishing wire. You loosely wrap the floss around the plant and slowly tighten the floss around it to the place where you want to make the cut, then criss-cross the two ends of the floss and pull very hard. The top of the rosette will lop off.

What are some things to keep in mind while making cuttings?

If you are propagating your succulent because of rot, frost, or pests, make sure to cut off all unhealthy parts as keeping them will set you up for failure. Rot can continue to spread. Healthy parts will propagate the best.

If you are making a cutting because your succulent is leggy, you might want to make multiple cuttings out of one long or tall stem.

For long or tall cuttings, I would remove some 1-2″ of leaves from the bottom, so that it has a bare stem, making it easier to stick into dirt. You can also propagate those leaves (for crassula, echeveria and hybrids thereof, graptopetalum, pachyphytums, and some sedums).

If you can, I recommend cutting the succulent, so that the mother plant still has some leaves. This will allow it to take in light, which helps it continue to grow. You can leave the mother plant without leaves, but it can take it longer to grow offsets.

Optionally, on the open wounds, you can protect them by dabbing cinnamon on them. This acts as a bandage and protects fungus or bacteria from getting into the plant. On the ends of the cuttings, you can put on root hormone.

Succulents are slow growers, and after a few weeks, the cuttings will grow roots. The mother plant will grow offsets.

I will post more about how to care for your cuttings.

• How to propagate succulent cuttings in soil
• How to propagate succulent cuttings in water (coming soon)

Leave a comment below if you have any questions!