Taking succulent leaf cuttings is a popular method of succulent propagation. Due to the nature of succulents, they tend to hold a large amount of moisture in their leaves providing adequate nutrients to self-propagate.
There are many different methods and techniques that can be used to propagate succulents using leaf cuttings. As with our blog on succulent stem cuttings, I’ve outlined some of various ways we propagate from leaves below. There really is no right or wrong way; some methods work better for certain varieties than others and often it’s a case of trial and error.
If you don’t already have succulents to take cuttings from, or want a new selection, please check out our Manager’s Special Leaf Propagation pack on the website. All of the cuttings are picked from our mother plants here at Corseside Nursery. Having worked with succulents for over 20 years, Sandra takes pride in hand picking the cuttings herself from the correct point on the plant giving you the best possible start to your propagating journey.
Picking the right succulents
Not all succulents lend themselves to leaf propagation. From our experience, the fatter and juicier the leaves, the better they are for leaf propagation. When we send out our Manager’s special leaf propagation kits, we make sure to include only succulent varieties we’ve had good success with.
Certain varieties don’t grow in a habit that allows leaf propagation. For example, many types of Aloe don’t have stems and instead offset babies via the root system. Sometimes, the foliage doesn’t connect to the stem of the plant in such a way that allows a clean break away with the correct propagation points. The leaves of an Aloe Juvenna for example wrap around the stem and don’t allow for a clean break away.
How to take a succulent leaf cutting
It is best practise to take leaf cuttings from healthy plants. The healthier and juicier the foliage of the mother plants, the better chance you will have at it propagating. Try and plan ahead and give your mother plant a good drink of water a few days before you plan to take the leaf cuttings.
Take the cuttings from the bottom of the plant; this way you will have better access to them, you will be using the biggest leaves and it won’t leave you plant looking too bare.
Taking succulent leaf cuttings has always felt a bit like pulling a tooth out at the dentist to me. I tend to wiggle the leaf from side to side until I can feel it breaking away cleanly from the stem. If you tear the leaf when removing it from the stem it has a very low chance of propagating (although not impossible! succulents can be pretty amazing at staying alive!)
Propagating your Leaf Cuttings
So, here’s the honest truth… there is absolutely no right or wrong way to propagate succulents from leaf. Certain types of succulents lend themselves better to certain techniques and it really does come down to personal preference a lot of the time. The location, time of year, size of the leaf and age of the mother plant are all things that can effect propagation.
One of our preferred methods to propagate succulents from leaf is to put them into empty small plug trays with the tips of the leaves facing upwards. This helps us keep the leaves organised and store a large amount in a small space. The plug trays are placed in larger drip trays and they receive a light misting from time to time (perhaps once every 2 weeks). Other than that, they don’t get any other attention.
It’s best to keep your leaf cuttings in some nice bright, but indirect sunlight.
It’s best to keep your leaf cuttings in some nice bright, but indirect sunlight
Another of our favourite methods is to lie the leaves on top of a bed of crushed shell or gravel. This is especially great for those who tend to over-water their succulents as the bottom layer drains the moisture away from the surface and helps stop the succulents from rotting.
It’s also great for those smaller leaves that might be tricky to find and remove in a plug tray. Tweezers come in very handy at times!
Some of the larger, fatter succulent leaves can go straight into small plug trays of soil. We would only recommend doing this with the larger types. For the best results, keep watering levels to a a bare minimum until you start to notice any growth.
Would you believe that these leaf cuttings were left overs just chucked into a tray after potting on their parents and tidying them up?
They have been hanging out in our Polytunnel and may get the odd misting when we’re watering the other plants, but other than that… they’ve propagated all on their own!
In reality, the succulent leaves contain everything they need to propagate on their own. The best advise we can give to our customers is “treat them mean to keep them keen”.
A note on Rooting Hormones
Should you use a rooting hormone to propagate succulent leaf cuttings?
Whilst we’re sure that many succulent growers have great success using rooting hormones to help with propagating succulents, we have never used it. We propagate, grow and sell thousands of plants every year with fantastic success using the gifts of mother nature alone; soil, sunshine and water.
When to pot your leaf cuttings up
Again, this is a tricky question as there isn’t a specific right or wrong time. For us at Corseside Nursery, we like to keep our leaves out of soil for as long as possible. When the newly propagated leaves are put into soil there is an increased risk of over-watering as the soil holds onto moisture around the plant and can cause the leaves to rot.
I’ve included a few pictures below of the kind of growth we would expect to see before our leaves graduate into soil.
A note on soil – succulents enjoy a well draining soil so it’s a good idea to mix your usual compost with something to help the water drain such as sand, grit or crushed shell
To move them into their new homes, gently push the roots into the soil keeping the tips of the leaves facing upwards. It’s ok if some of the new growth is pushed into the soil too if that’s required to keep the leaf from falling over. The plant will soon shoot up and find it’s own happy place in it’s new surroundings.
Give your leaf cuttings a good watering on arrival in their new homes. After that, watering needs to be increased from propagating levels, but only slightly. Succulents like to dry out completely in between watering to avoid the roots from rotting. You can use a moisture meter or push your smallest finger into the soil to check whether or not it is dry.
It is best to err on the side of caution with watering. Succulents bounce back pretty well from a period of drought so try not to over fuss them.
What happens next?
It’s time to watch the next chapter in your new little plant’s growth! They should start growing a bit more rapidly once in the soil with access to more nutrients and fresh growth to increase photosynthesis.
Keep your succulents in small plug-sized modules until they are bursting at the seams. Succulents like to be root bound so it’s important not to pot them up too soon.
And that's it!
Don’t be too disheartened if your first attempt isn’t a success. There is no exact science and sometimes there are factors out of your control that can put a stop to your best efforts.
For tips on how to care for your plug plants, CLICK here for our rooted plug plants guide
Thanks for reading
We’ve created a facebook group called ‘Secrets of Succulents’ for our succulent obsessed community and would love for you to come and join in the conversation here. This is a safe space to ask questions and troubleshoot and a place to share your wins and successes. We’d love to see how you’re getting on with your new plant babies.
A really useful blog, thank you. I’ve been trying (mostly unsuccessfully) to propagate my fallen succulent leaves for ages and was unsure how to get them to the next stage ie. when to add them to soil. I was sure I had read/watched somewhere about cutting the original leaf away at some point. Would that be correct?
Hi Victoria, thanks for reading! Some people choose to cut the original leaf when they transfer them to soil. Often this is done to keep things neat and tidy. I’ve done this with larger leaves, especially if they’re proving difficult to balance right due to the weight of the leaf. If you can, I think it’s best to leave them there… the mother leaf is still providing nutrients to the baby…
I hope that helps 🙂
Rosie x
Hi, I am just propagating some of your leaves I was sent in a birthday gift. When I move them into soil, is it ok to keep them in the shed or cold frame or do they need to be kept warm?
Hi Andrew, so sorry I didn’t see this message sooner. We keep all of our succulents in an un-heated shed and polytunnel. This includes leaves that are propagating. They will be slower to propagate over the winter than during the warmer, longer summer days, but we do have good success all year around.