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Good Growing

Growing Your Indoor Plant Collection

My obsession with succulents hasn't slowed down any and my love of green growing things overall is causing my indoor houseplant collection to grow bigger as well. I recently added a Monstera deliciosa, Calathea 'Medallion', and Pothos 'Pearls and Jade'. I also have a Watermelon Peperomia on the way with 2 other pothos varieties. Hands down, my favorite plants are those who have interesting foliage. I have been finding out about so many new plants and varieties since I started on the succulent path and then found people to follow on Instagram that love plants as much as I do. This has led me to start a Plant Wish List which currently keeps growing and that could pose to be dangerous!

One of the things that I love about many of these plants that I have fallen in love with is the ability to propagate more of them. There are some plants out there that are difficult to propagate at home and it's easier to put a new plant – Birds Nest Fern being one of them (and yes it is on my Plant Wish List). While others such as succulents and pothos are easy to propagate at home.

Succulents such as Echeverias, Graptosedum, and Jade are easily propagated by removing leaves from the plant. To remove a leave, gently grab the leaf and wiggle it back and forth until it releases from the plant. You need to make sure to get the entire leaf removed – a leaf broken in half won't survive. Once the leaf is removed, let the leaf sit on a shelf, counter, plate, etc. and let the end of the leaf callus over for a few days. After the leaves have had a chance to callus over place them on top of a cactus potting mix. Mist the potting mix every few days with water or give the mix a good watering and wait for it to dry out before watering again. Most leaf cuttings will develop new roots within a few weeks.

You can place multiple leaves in the same tray or pot while waiting for roots and the beginning of a new plant. After that, you can transplant them into their own individual pots. Once a new plant begins to form at the end of the leaf – the leaf itself will eventually wither and die. Just as a note – not every single leaf will form into a new plant every time, so its best if you really have a plant you want more of that you pull a few leaves from the same plant.

If you are propagating multiple different varieties, make sure to mark or label your pots and trays so you know which variety is which. My trays for callusing my Echeveria are clay pot trays and on the underside I have them marked as to what variety it is so I remember later. I have a selection of Echeveria that have been curing for a few days and the next step tonight after work will be to get them on top of cactus mix. I'll be using the same trays that I used for curing for rooting for simplicity and space. I'd love to hear from you on your experiences with propagating succulents and which ones are your favorites!