This is a fun job and so easy because succulents such as sedums, sempervivums and echeveria, for example, are keen to reproduce – they do most of the work for you!
They either produce little plantlets that just need potting up or are able to be propagated from their own foliage.
Succulents are defined as having fleshy leaves and keep themselves moist by carrying water in them – a characteristic often needed in their native dry, hot, sunny countries.
They’re really tolerant plants, keeping themselves pliable and happy to be moved about and disturbed – almost as if they want you to pull them apart and replant them so they can spread themselves about more easily!
Some, such as kalanchoe and aloe vera, are tender and need to be kept indoors in a frost-free place and a bit of warmth in many cases.
But the propagation process is easy – simply create or buy some good, well-draining compost and fill little pots with it.
Then it’s a case of transferring leaflets or rosettes to the pots, which often fall off into your hands readily, putting them on a windowsill and watching them do their thing!
Also be sure to repot pot-bound plants in spring.
Step by step
- Pick off a healthy looking ‘leaf’ or a small plantlet from your succulent.
- Leave the offshoots out on kitchen paper to dry a little for a couple of days.
- Use a well-draining compost with small handfuls of Perlite and grit.
- Plant a few leaflets into a pot of compost and water lightly, place in a light spot.