Succulents look absolutely stunning when you mix and match them with other water-storing plants or desert greenery. They’re the perfect choice for dressing up a stylish pot or a decorative bowl, and the best part? They are incredibly easy to propagate using “pups.” You’ll usually find these little offsets growing right alongside the mother plant.
How to Properly Remove Succulent Pups
Succulents are famous for being prolific producers of pups. These little guys are essentially side shoots that sprout at the base of the mother plant. They make propagating your succulents a total breeze.
Because of the way they grow, a pup is basically a tiny, identical twin of the parent plant. The big advantage here is that you’re starting with a fully formed “baby” succulent that just needs a little extra TLC to get established on its own:
- First, pick out an offset that is at least one-fifth the height of the mother plant.
- Gently grasp the pup with your fingers and carefully wiggle or snap it off.
- If it’s being stubborn, you can use a sharp, sterilized knife to snip it away.
- Let the “wound” on the young plant dry out and callus over in a shady spot with plenty of airflow for a few days.
Potting Your Pups for Propagation
To get your little offsets started, grab a nursery pot and fill it with a well-draining succulent soil mix. Make sure the soil is lightly moistened with soft, lime-free water.
If you’re planting a particularly large pup, you might want to prop it up with a small wooden skewer or chopstick so it doesn’t tip over. Once it’s tucked in, place the pot on a warm windowsill in partial shade.
Pro Tip: Hold off on watering your new plant until it has fully developed roots. For the first few days, a light misting is all they need. Once the roots have taken hold, you can start treating them like a grown-up succulent.
Growing New Succulents from Leaf Cuttings
Succulents are such vigorous growers that you can even start a brand-new plant from a single leaf! Most popular succulent varieties have fleshy leaves that are perfect for creating multiple new plants at once.
You can easily grow leaf cuttings from many Crassula varieties (like Jade plants), ZZ plants, or even Opuntia cacti:
- Start by mixing succulent soil with some coconut coir and filling a shallow tray.
- Moisten the starter mix well with soft water.
- Carefully snap or cut a healthy leaf off the mother plant.
- Using a clean razor blade, very thinly trim the edge of the leaf base to expose the inner tissue.
- Lay the leaf cutting flat on the soil and press it down gently so it makes good contact.
- Place the tray in a warm spot with indirect sunlight.
Before long, tiny baby succulents will start to sprout from the edge of the leaf. Once these little ones reach about an inch (3 cm) in height, they’re ready to be separated from the original leaf. After you’ve potted them up, just sit back and watch them grow exactly like the parent plant!
