Propagating Succulent Leaf Cuttings

Step 3: Even the leaves can be rooted

The two leaves in the center were actually leaves I lost on the porch when I originally removed them from the plant. They fell behind a bench and got lost and forgotten but have grown at a faster rate than the two leaves on the outer edges which were sitting on top of a pot of soil. Once your cuttings have started to form roots you can pot them up and treat them like regular plants.

As you can see you don't need any special rooting hormones or chemicals or soils to root may of the succulents you have in your home or that you can find in your nearest garden center. You don't even need a whole plant if you happen to come across a leaf of a succulent plant you like or if you ask someone for a leaf you can propagate it and grow your own plant.

On my plant blog I get asked if Aloes can be rooted like this and though I've never tried it everthing I've read indicates that they are one of the few succulent plants that can't be propagated through leaf cuttings. Jade plants cuttings can also be easily rooted. 

MrBrownThumb

Comments

[MYT CR8TiV]

(n_n) I rescued a broken piece of cacti from a neighbors sidewalk garden. Being their Cactus garden is by the sidewalk where there's alot of foot traffic it tends to get trampled on by people who park next to the curb where these cactus gardens are. I happen to find a baby cacti head separated from the plant and rescued it. I'm happy to see that after taking that baby cacti head and placing it in soil it's happily growing. I didn't wanna see it die on the sidewalk.

[izzyboop18]

i belive you can do the same with aloe my mom is an aloe freak literally all she ever does is snatch and throw the leaves on the ground and they grow real quick i dont know how but they grow every time she has an aloe forest practically lol so just try real hard if sh can effortless im sure you can

[Damian James]

Aloes put out pups pretty readily when the growing conditions are right. I haven't tried getting cuttings to root, but have grown dozens of aloes from the pups put out by a single plant. Pups are easy to separate either when re-potting, when a knife may help untangle the roots, or with a plant that's in the ground just by feeling around it's base with your fingers. Pups that have been allowed to mature without being separated may become inextricably intertwined with the parent plant, though. You don't need to be too wary of damaging the plants in this process - my experience is that they are extremely hardy to this sort of treatment.

[beckiexbomb44]

This didn't work for me the leaf just died....any suggestions?

[burnergirl]

Although I lack your systematic approach, I have tried rooting aloe leaves and to no avail! And here I thought I was doing something wrong (!)...good to know that it purportedly doesn't work and I have my experience to support that. Thanks for bringing this up!

[moseph]

they are super easy to propagate by division though, in my experience. that is, they make lots of different offshoot babies and you just split them apart.