What Are The Easiest Succulents To Propagate + [Those To Grow Indoors]

What Are The Easiest Succulents To Propagate

You could be wondering how to add life to your garden or house plants using succulents and what are the easiest succulents to propagate. Succulents are easy to propagate and an inexpensive way of growing and adding diversity to your plant collection. 

The easiest succulents to propagate are Echeveria, Sedum, Sempervivum, and Graptopetalum. Small succulents that propagate easily, such as Aloe vera, Jade, Zebra, Panda, and Crown of Thorns, are a beautiful addition to your homes. There isn’t one propagation method that works for all succulents. 

Read on to find out the different and fastest ways to propagate succulents. It’s probably much simpler than you think!

Also Check: Can Succulents Go Without Water?

What Are The Easiest Succulents To Propagate?

Propagation describes the act of producing a new succulent by using a part of the parent plant. The part can be the offset, seed, leaf, or cutting from a mature plant. 

Propagating your succulents allows you to save a dying plant, share your collection with friends and even create more for your garden. It’s the most rewarding part of owning a succulent collection.  

Discussed below are types of the easiest succulents to propagate: 

Echeveria’ Purple Pearl’

It’s one of the easiest succulent species to propagate by tip and leaf cutting. Most landscapers love Purple Pearl because of its vibrant neon-purple foliage.

Sedum Rubrotinctum(Jelly Beans Or Pork And Beans)

It fills out container gardens pretty quickly. Twist off the leaves of this plant and lay them down on well-draining, moist soil to get more succulents. Sedum usually turns green in the shade and a bright red in full sun. 

Echeveria ‘Lola’

It’s one of the most successful Echeveria species propagated from a leaf. Most collectors love its lustrous pearly pink foliage and the perfectly round, beautiful rosettes. The Lola sprouts fast and grows from being propagated by leaves. 

Sedum Nussbaumerianum

This species is tough in sunny warm climates with low water. It propagates easily by tip or leaf cuttings. Give the cutting a week to form a scab, and then plant it in the soil. Sedum nussbaumerianum comes in many different color and leaf form varieties. 

Sempervivum Arachnoideum(Cobweb Houseleek)

Cobweb houseleek grows so fast, producing more offsets than you’ll need. Propagate this species by cuttings that you plant directly in moist soil. The roots form quickly in just a week.

xGraptoveria ‘Debbie’

It’s an intergeneric mixture of Echeveria and Graptopetalum amethystinum species. It readily propagates from leaf cuttings.  

Graptopetalum Paraguayense (Ghost Plant)

It’s an attractive hanging rosette succulent that turns bronze, pink, purple, and orange in different conditions. It’s quite easily propagated by using its leaves. Interestingly, you can find it sprouting on its own. 

Sedum Morganianum ‘Burrito’

 It’s a hanging succulent that has 6″ strands. The Burrito propagates naturally. The leaves fall off from the dangling stems effortlessly. 

Echeveria Colorata

It produces the most beautiful red-tipped leaves. It would be best to wait until the mother leaf dies before cutting a leaf from the new plant. 

Echeveria Lilacina (Ghost Echeveria)

You’ll often find it propagating itself. However, the leaves tend to curl up quickly. To fix this, plant the new plant gently in the soil with the roots down and the leaf up. 

What Are The Easiest Succulents To Grow Indoors?

Succulents are a perfect beautiful addition to your home. They come in various colors, sizes, shapes, and textures and require minimal maintenance. Smaller succulents make attractive container displays for your home. 

Most plants require a wet environment to thrive; however, succulents can store water in their leaves and stems for long periods. It, therefore, makes them practical to grow in the warmer and dry conditions usually found in homes. 

The following are the easiest succulents to grow indoors:

Aloe Vera

Aloe vera should be watered whenever the leaves feel dry. Also, please place it in full sunlight, for example, by a bright window, and enjoy its beauty.

Did you also know that the sap found in the inner leaves of this plant is used to soothe burns and heal wounds? Besides, aloe vera has been used for medicinal purposes for a long time. 

Jade Plant

This plant has glossy green leaves and thick stems. It’s native to South Africa. It would be best to water it when the soil becomes dry and, as with aloe vera, keep it in bright sunlight. Nonetheless, be careful when watering it; it can be killed by overwatering.  

Zebra Plant

Its name is derived from the horizontal stripes that cover its leaves. This plant grows 5″ tall and 6″ wide. It’s a perfect, contained, and tidy addition to a small indoor space. This succulent requires a moderate amount of water and sunlight to thrive. 

Panda Plant 

The Panda Plant is a Madagascar native with little white hairs, giving the plant a fuzzy texture. It thrives in the dry, winter air condition in heated homes. 

It requires just enough water to keep its leaves from withering. 

Crown of Thorns

This beautiful plant adds a splash of color to your home. As long as it’s getting enough sunlight, it’ll bloom year-round. It produces beautiful yellow or red bracts that surround its tiny flowers. 

It requires moderate watering and should be placed in direct sunlight for best blooming results. 

Echeveria

This species is a desert native that comes in various colors and thrives in dry conditions. It should only be watered when it has dried out. 

It’s advisable to plant this succulent in an unglazed clay pot because it allows the water to evaporate. Place the Echeveria plant in full sunlight and ensure the soil is well-drained for optimal results. 

What Is The Fastest Way To Propagate Succulents? 

The fastest way to propagate succulents is to use the mature plants that you already have to produce more. Discussed below are 2 easy and fast methods: 

Dividing

You can divide a plant in any of the following ways;

Plantlet Removal: Remove offsets or plantlets that have sprouted at the mother plant’s base. They are usually rooted and fully-formed mini-plants that can grow on their own. Some succulent species drop plantlets that grow where they fall. 

Root Separation: You dig up the entire plant and gently separate the roots. Plant the separated clusters on their own in the soil immediately. 

Cutting

Cutting is an ideal way of propagating mature succulents that are too tall. A good cutting sets your plant for successful regeneration. Use a clean, sharp blade for cutting to minimize diseases and boost your plants’ chances of survival. 

How do you cut? Choose any of the following methods below. 

I. Beheading

Use fresh stems that are actively growing. Once you cut the plant, let it form a callus for three to five days before planting it. 

When ready for planting, put the cutting in a shallow pot mixed with a succulent mix. Slightly bury the calloused end with soil. Don’t fully submerge it. Ensure that the plant receives adequate sunlight and warmth to enhance growth. 

You could be tempted to water your cutting to speed up growth regularly. However, overwatering may have reverse effects. Water saturation can kill the fragile propagations and cause rotting before the propagations root. 

Lightly mist the ends of the cuttings using a spray bottle. Water the areas where root growth is expected but don’t saturate the soil.

II. Leaf Removal

Leaf cuttings can also be used for propagating succulents. They are best used for plants with plump, fleshy leaves. You have to be more patient with leaf cuttings as they take longer to regenerate into a full-sized plant. 

The advantage is less if the mother plant is damaged. However, each leaf can reproduce multiple plants. Choose a full and firm leaf that has no signs of limpness. Broken leaves don’t propagate, so chop off the leaf at the point it meets the stem. 

Just like stem cuttings, allow the leaf-cutting to callus with exposure to a bit of sunlight. After that, place them on top of potting soil. Don’t bury the lead cuttings in the soil layer. Use a spray bottle to mist it for moisture. 

After approximately three weeks, tiny pup plants begin to sprout. Once the mother leaf withers and falls off, you can transfer the pup plants to the soil. It may take up to eight weeks, so be patient.  

FAQs

Best Time To Propagate?

Propagation may be done all year round. However, the best results are during spring and summer when they are actively growing. 

You may also propagate when the succulents grow tall.

Can You Propagate Using Water?

If you have limited space, you may use water as an alternative to soil. Once callused, place the offset or stem cuttings in a jar of water. Let the stems rest on the rim so that the plant is suspended just above the water surface. 

Ensure the cuttings receive warmth and sunlight until the roots develop, and the fresh succulent is ready to be planted.

Conclusion 

What are the easiest succulents to be propagated? As seen above, they include, Echeveria’ Purple Pearl’, Echeveria ‘Lola’, Sedum Nussbaumerianum, and xGraptoveria ‘Debbie’ and among others. 

Propagating succulents is one of the best ways of filling out a pot. The clippings are more voluminous than the mother plant, giving your garden a full look. As they grow, your new plants become fuller and plumper.

Succulents contain enough water stored up to sustain a cutting as it grows into new roots and shoots. Their high concentration of meristem cells enables them to grow even with little care or need for fertilizer.