How to Propagate Succulents and Cacti: Everything You Need to Know

For some years, the plants that came to my mind when someone mentioned succulents were small, ground plants like hens and chickens. I knew that succulents had thick leaves in which they stored water, and that they could thrive with very little help. But I had absolutely no idea of the vast range of plants in the enormous succulent group.

“Succulent” is neither a family nor a genus, just a term applied to all plants that have the ability to store water in thick, fleshy parts. Succulent plants range from small to tall, and include houseplants like the snake plant, groundcover like sedum, and majestic cacti like saguaro.

How do you propagate succulents? Propagating succulents is surprisingly easy with cuttings, but a few types of succulents, like cacti, require a slightly different procedure.

How to Propagate Succulents

Do you love succulents? If the answer is yes, you need to understand how easy they are to propagate by cuttings. Once you start propagating succulents like jade plant and echeveria, you’ll be astonished when you see how much they cost in the garden store.

But saving money is just one reason to propagate succulents. It also is a great way to help ailing plants get strong again. Finally, it’s fun. There are three easy ways to propagate succulents: stem cuttings, leaf, cuttings, and dividing pups, or offshoots.

Propagating Succulents with Stem Cuttings

Propagating with stem cuttings is great for succulents with stems like jade plants and string-of-pearls. It is especially useful for stemmed succulents that have grown too tall or too leggy. Here’s how:

1. Use clean pruners to cut a stem section about as long as your pointer finger. (Fiskars micro-tip plant snips from Amazon are great for small jobs like succulent propagation).
2. Put the cutting in a dark, dry spot until the cut end forms a callous. This prevents rotting and will take at least three days.
3. Plant the cutting, cut end down, in dry, succulent soil. The end should go into the soil at least for 1 inch.
4. Lightly water the soil a week after planting.
5. Repeat the watering every few days.
6. Watch for new roots to form. This will take several weeks.

Propagating Succulents with Leaf Cuttings

If the succulent you wish to propagate has plump, healthy leaves, you can grow a brand new plant from one single leaf. This works well for succulents like echeveria, sedum, and burro’s tail. Here’s how:

1. Twist off one of the succulent leaves. If you have trouble, use scissors to avoid tearing the leaf.
2. Put the leaf cutting in a dark, dry spot until the cut end forms a callous. This prevents rotting and will take at least three days.
3. Get a small pot of dry succulent soil and lay the leaf gently on the top of the soil, as if it were sleeping there. (Rosy Soil's cactus and succulent blend from Amazon is wonderful).
4. Leave the cutting on the dry soil without water for three days. Then mist the top of the soil lightly.
5. Repeat this every few days.
6. Watch for growth. The leaf will sprout tiny roots and leaves from the base.

Propagating Succulents with Pups

Some succulents propagate themselves! They naturally (and without assistance) produce baby plants - sometimes called succulent pups, sometimes called offshoots or offsets. The baby plants can be removed from the parent plant and repotted on its own. Which plants produce pups? Hens and chicks, aloe vera, and agave are just three of many. Here’s how to proceed:

1. Find the offsets growing close beside the mother plant.
2. Separate the pup from the mother. Act gently. You can do this with your fingers or with a garden knife.
3. Put the offset in a dark, dry spot for a few days. This prevents rotting.
4. Get a small pot of dry succulent soil and “plant” the pup in the soil.
5. Water the pup lightly.
6. Repeat the watering every few days.
7. Watch the new baby succulent develop roots and become a separate plant.

How to Propagate Cactus

All cacti are succulents but not all succulents are cacti. Cacti are succulents that are in the botanical family Cactaceae. They all have spines growing from small bumps called areoles and thick tissues that store water.

Propagating cacti can also be accomplished in three easy ways: cactus stem cuttings, cactus pad propagation, and cactus offsets propagation.

Propagating Cacti with Cactus Stem Cuttings

Propagating cacti with cactus stem cuttings is very like propagating succulents with stem cuttings. It involves cutting off a stem and helping it grow its own root system. Wear gloves while working with cacti to avoid getting injured. Here are the steps to take:

1. Trim off a healthy cactus stem with clean garden scissors or pruners.
2. Put the cutting in a dark, dry spot for a few days until the cut end callouses over. This prevents rotting.
3. Dip the cut end of the cactus stem in rooting hormone.
4. Get a small pot of dry peat-based potting mix and plant the stem in the soil.
5. Water the plant lightly.
6. Repeat the watering every few days.
7. Watch for the cutting to develop roots and become a separate plant.

Propagating Cacti with Cactus Pads

Using pad propagation is a very easy method of propagating a cactus. Use it to propagate cacti like prickly pear cactus. Cactus pads are essentially fat, flat cactus leaves, and propagating them is similar to propagating succulent leaves.

1. Identify a cactus pad to propagate. Don’t pick a tiny new leaf, but rather one that is at least six months old.
2. Use tongs to hold the pad and dislodge it from the plant. Alternatively, use a garden knife to remove the pad without ripping it. (Silicone-tipped kitchen tongs like these from Amazon are a good choice to stay safe).
3. Put the cactus pad in a dark, dry spot for a week until the cut end callouses over. This prevents rotting.
4. Prepare a container with dry cactus potting mix. Lay the pad there as if it were sleeping on the soil.
5. Add water slowly until the soil is soaking.
6. Watch the plant for new growth. When new growth appears, water again.

Propagating Cacti with Cactus Offsets

Like some succulents, some cactus plants also produce offsets, or pups. It is incredibly easy to propagate with these offsets. Here’s how:

1. Identify a cactus offset that looks healthy and is growing beside a mature cactus.
2. Separate the pup from the parent plant by gently twisting the offset. If necessary, remove both the parent and the offset from the pot to separate them.
3. Put the cactus pup in a dark, dry spot for a few days. This prevents rotting.
4. Prepare a container with dry cactus potting mix.
5. Pot up the offsets in that container, covering the bottom third of the pup with soil. Do not water at that time.
6. After 5 - 7 days, water the soil.

Succulent & Cactus Propagation Essentials

Propagating succulents and cacti is a fun and free way to get more plants and it couldn't be easier. Happy planting!