At Succulents club, we love everything about succulents and cacti. Succulents are amazing at surviving difficult situations. Forget to water them? Great, they will just grow better. Cut off one of their stems? No problem, it just turns into another plant. They are unique plants that have become experts at surviving and thriving in hostile environments. One of the features we love most is how easy they are to propagate. Are you asking, "How do you propagate succulents using stem plant cuttings? 

Unlike other plants, succulent stems have an almost magical quality to them. Once a succulent stem gets removed from the succulent mother plant, that can grow into another succulent plant. Many types of succulents can be propagated using stem cuttings. Most succulents will propagate well with stem cutting. This method of propagation works well to replicate your succulent plants quickly. Stem cutting propagation works best for the most significant number of succulent types. So let's move into the steps required for stem cutting propagation.

Succulent Propagation Step 1: Choose a Plant. 

For step one, select a healthy succulent or cactus plant you want to propagate. Once you have selected the succulent plants, you can observe which stem looks robust and optimal for stem cutting. 

Succulent Propagation Step 2: Use clean scissors or a knife to cut the stem.

Locate what stem you want to cut from the succulent. Hens and chick succulents are some of the easiest succulents to propagate. If you are working with a succulent that has hens and chicks, you can choose a fully formed chick succulent to cut. Hens and chicks are succulents that reproduce with baby chick succulents from the mother hen succulent. You can choose to cut one of these chicks off the mother. 

Succulent Propagation Step 3: Dry out the Stem Cutting. 

For step three of the succulent propagation process, you will want to allow the stem to dry out. As we know, succulents hold water in their leaves and stems, so they must dry in the sun to start the stem-cutting propagation process. Often this can occur after a few days of direct sunlight. However, the stem or chick can take as much as a week to callous or scab over. Once the succulent starts to callous, you may notice roots forming. It is vital that the succulent stem scab or dry out to allow the plant the greatest chance of survival. If you directly move the succulent stem cutting to the soil, you risk it taking too much water and dying. Overwatering is the main reason many succulent plants die. 

Succulent Propagation Step 4: Plant your Succulent!

This is the final step in the succulent stem cutting propagation process. Once the stem has successfully dried, you can move it to the soil or plant it outside in the garden. Allow your succulent to stay in the ground or the soil for two weeks before you decide to water it. This will allow the new succulent to grow roots without being overwatered. If you have followed steps one through four correctly, you should have a happy, healthy new succulent plant.

How to Use Stem Cuttings to Grow Succulents Continued:

The most effective time to use this strategy is at the start or middle of a plant's active growth phase. Succulents with rosette-shaped or many branches are ideal for stem-cutting-based propagation. Succulents like Sedum rubrotinctum "Jelly Bean Plant" and Aeonium "Kiwi" can be propagated from succulent stem cuttings.

Because these plants generate robust, vigorous stems, succulents with leaves that form rosettes are the best for stem-cutting propagation. If you want to use stem cuttings to propagate the succulent, you will have more success if you start the process before the beginning of its active growth season, which is typically the months of spring to early summer. Stem cuttings can also be used to successfully propagate plants if they are planted in the winter when the plant is dormant. To cut a stem precisely, you will need a sharp, clean knife or pair of garden shears. The optimal stem is the succulent stem closest to the plant's base and is short. Make sure the succulent stem is not harmed when cutting it. To help the stem form calluses, place it in a dry location with some indirect sunlight. When the succulent stem is repotted, the calluses will help shield it from disease and rot. Insert the stem into a pot with well-draining succulent soil once it has sufficiently hardened. Only water again once the soil has completely dried out.