Propagating Succulents from Leaf Cuttings

Leaf Cuttings placed on dry soil

In addition to propagating succulents from cuttings, some succulents can also be propagated from the leaves the fall off!

Tips to grow baby succulents from your own succulent leaves:

1. Remove a leaf from the mother plant. Sometimes these leaves fall off on their own by simply brushing up against it, or sometimes you may need to wiggle the leaf side to side to remove it. It is very important that you remove the leaf COMPLETELY from the stem, and if a little bit of the stem comes off with it that is fine. Most succulent leaves will not grow unless the entire leaf is removed.
2. Not all the leaves will grow, so it is best to take a few to have a better chance of success.
3. When you remove the leaves from the mother, make sure to note which side of the leaf was facing "up" and which side was facing "down". As the new babies grow, the roots will grow on the side facing down, and the new baby plant will grow on the side facing up. If you accidently put them on the soil up-side-down, the new plant will still grow, but it will now have to struggle to grow through the roots and the growth will be slowed.
4. Place the leaves on top of DRY soil. The leaves can even be left out on a counter or in a little container. The most important thing is that the leaves do not get wet until they start showing new signs of growth. This step is extremely important. If the leaf gets wet too early, it will most likely turn black, become squishy, and die.
5. I keep my leaf cuttings indoors in a place where they get bright but indirect sunlight most of the day.
6. Depending on your climate, new roots or baby plants should start growing from the cut end of the leaf within a few days to a month. Patience is key. It may take longer than a month, but as long as the leaf looks healthy, continue to let it sit.
7. Once new growth occurs, gently mist the cuttings with a spray bottle when you see the top soil is dry. 
8. If the roots seem to be all above the soil you can either gently put a little soil on top of the roots where it is now, or pick up the leaf, dig a little hole, put the roots under the soil and cover it up.
9. When the cuttings get a little larger, I usually mist them as normal, but every other week I give the soil a good watering.
10. Eventually the mother leaf will wither up and die. This is normal. By the time the leaf withers the baby plant should be able to grow on its own.

Alternative Options:

• Some sources say to use a knife to remove the leaf, but I've never used a knife and find that my leaves grow just fine.
• I place my leaves on top of dry soil, like in the picture above. Some people like to place their leaves so that the cut end is sticking into the dirt and the leaf is vertical. This method will also work, but I like to lay mine on top of the soil so I can easily see when there is new growth.

If the mother leaf starts to die:

• If the mother leaf starts to shrivel up, turn yellow or black, this means that unfortunately this little leaf didn't make the cut. Don't worry! Not all the leaves will make it.
• Sometimes the leaf may start to shrivel when there are roots but before a new baby plant appears, or it may shrivel up before the little baby plant is able to grow on its own. In this case, the plant will die. Don't worry! Once again, not all the leaves will make it. You probably didn't do anything wrong. Keep calm! If you followed my tip about removing a bunch of leaves at once, you should have other babies that will thrive! :)