These are some succulent cuttings from my personal collection. The parent plants were producing so many offshoots that the containers were starting to get crowded, so I removed some of them to be repotted individually. I really admire and adore these little plants, and I am planning on giving these cuttings away to my friends and family once they have established themselves in their new pots. Sharing is caring!
Many of the popular succulent species (such as Echeveria spp.) tend to reproduce by creating offshoots, which are small versions of the original parent plant, at the base of the parent's stem. These can be separated from the parent plant, and if cared for properly, will survive to become a new individual plant. Growing plants like this is known as propagation. And yes, the succulents (among other kinds of plants) that you see for sale in home gardening centers were all grown like this-- not from seed, but from a piece of a plant, which is called a cutting.
Unlike with most plants, propagating succulents requires so little effort that anyone can do it. Many succulents can be propagated simply by breaking a leaf off and leaving it on top of some moist soil. It will eventually grow roots and sprout new leaves. Some species require part of the stem to be attached to the leaves; an offshoot would be an example of this, but you can also cut the entire parent plant into stem sections. Most species that can be propagated from a leaf cutting can also be propagated as a stem cutting, but the opposite is not true-- some species can only be propagated from a stem cutting.
After taking the cutting, it is usually best to let the wounded part of the plant dry out for a day before inserting it into soil. This minimizes the chances of fungus or rot developing in the cuts. After they have been potted, they should not be watered for another 2-3 days, and when they are watered it should be only sparingly at first, since the plant does not have a well-established root system yet.
All of the above photographs were taken by me. If you have any questions about succulents, please leave them in the comments!
~ Mel.
