Propagating Succulents in Water Bottle. One of the most fascinating aspects of succulents is their potential to propagate not only from cuttings but also from the leaf. Today, I’m going to talk about a somewhat neglected way of succulent propagation: water.
Many succulent owners avoid water propagation when too much water for succulents planted in the soil causes root rot, a common problem. I’ve lost my fair share of succulents to root rot, which is one of the most prevalent causes of succulent death, particularly in humid or moist climates. I live in Georgia’s zone 8a, and locating succulents is not always easy, therefore I naturally choose to cultivate more from my existing plants.
Propagating Succulents in Water Bottle
- Remove any healthy leaves from the succulent’s lowest point as cleanly as possible. Obviously, you don’t want to destroy the entire plant by randomly pulling leaves from the centre, since this can permanently harm your plant.
- This is a critical stage that is frequently ignored and can devastate your attempt at water propagation. Authorize your leaves to callous for a few days. A healthy leaf will not die rapidly without a water source, and if your leaf withers in a few days, it was never a viable propagator, to begin with.
- Depending on the size of the leaf, you may either place it in a narrow-neck bottle filled with water or cover a bottle of water with plastic wrap as well as cut slits to insert and hold your leaf tips into the water.
- Place your bottle or jar on a window sill or near bright filtered light. You don’t want direct sunshine to burn your propagating leaves.
- Check on your leaves on a regular basis. You should change the water around once a week. To avoid disturbing the budding roots or a newborn succulent, I simply leave the leaves in the plastic wrap and gently remove the jar to change the water, then return the plastic cover with leaves.
- Some leaves will not develop and will perish. Some leaves will produce only roots and no plant. The leaves that do develop roots and become a plant will eventually shrivel. The plant can be planted after the leaf has been gently removed.
Congratulations, you now have all of the information you need to spread to your heart’s delight. Best wishes!
