how to propagate succulents

Succulents are as Southern California as surfing and palm trees. They’re planted in yards, sold at boutiques, and often the decor of choice in cafes and restaurants. They’re cute, they’re low-maintenance, and they come in all sorts of kooky shapes. I was sold. That said, constantly buying new succulents becomes a costly affair. Enter: succulent propgation, the process of using succulent leaves to breed new succulent plants.

I used this very handy, very visual guide from fellow SoCal bloggers, Needles + Leaves, to get started on my succulent that was beginning to take on a life of its own. If you’re looking to try this yourself, I highly recommend the Needles + Leaves guide, since they took better notes than I did. Ha! But for now, I recently transferred some baby succulents into the new pots, so I thought it would be a good time to share my progress. My number one tip? Let the mother/host leaf die before yanking it off. There were a few times that I pulled off the precious roots in the process.

For those that did survive, take a look:

February  MarchAprilA few weeks later in April. You can see the host lead if beginning to shrivel and die.
My balcony setup Trimmed rosettes replanted
Rosette replanted (left) and new baby succulent planted (right)

New succulent babes