Three years ago we purchased five succulents at a mass merchandise store. I immediately began trying to propagate them because that’s what I call fun. After growing succulents for three years, we continue to be amazed and delighted by their beauty, diversity and easy culture.
We sell them at farmers market in summer and our local health food store in winter. We market them as unique, low maintenance plants and they have been very popular. It is easy to make an eye-catching ever-changing display because there are so many different succulent forms and colors to choose from.
I will discuss some of our favorites and the propagation methods we use. Echeverias are most popular for us. These are fleshy rosettes of dark purple, blue, silver-hairy or green. These were the first succulents we purchased and propagated.
To propagate I first remove the lower leaves by pulling gently in a sideways fashion. Let these sit about for a day or two to callus. This callus tissue protects the plant from infection and is also where new roots originate. I then dip the callus tissue into rooting hormone. This is probably not necessary and I did not use rooting hormone when I first started taking cuttings, but I think it does cause roots to form more quickly.
I stick the cuttings into 84-cell trays filled with regular peat-based potting mix. I have found that it dries out quickly in the greenhouse and we seldom suffer loss from rotting. However, all the books I’ve read suggest that we use a well draining mix, at least 1:1 potting mix and pumice or grit. It takes about a month for the new small plant to form at the base of the leaf.
Cotyledon ‘Chalk Stick Fingers’ looks just like its name! I have found they propagate best from stem cuttings. We like this because it is upright, a good foil to the lower rosettes of the Echeverias.
Crassula contains an astonishing number and variety of plants. The jade plant is the most commonly known member. Crassula coccinea ‘Flame’ has bright orange-red leaves, C. ‘Morgan’s Beauty’ has very cute pale pink flowers, and I loved this plant until I got close enough to smell the flowers, which smell like rotting produce! C. muscosa and C. tetragona are both upright and unusually jointed, so they are very good for texture. There are variegated crassula also that are very attractive. All the Crassula I’ve tried have been very easy to root from stem cuttings.
Kalanchoe pumila is a small pink-flowering plant which is easy from stem cuttings. Many Kalanchoe are hairy, so they are useful in mixed gardens.
Lampranthus blandus is a beautiful blue-leafed red-stemmed upright plant. We use lots of these because they contrast so well with any other plant. They are swift to root from stem cuttings.
Sedum is also an astonishingly diverse genus. There are upright sedums, creeping sedums, golden, red, green and blue sedums. All that we have tried are very easy to propagate from stem cuttings, even in winter in the greenhouse.
Senecio talinoides is another one of our favorites. It is upright and fingerlike. Stem cuttings have worked well for us.
We’ve got many, many trays of cuttings sitting about in the greenhouse. We use them to make combination dishes and to grow on into larger plants sold as individuals. The combination pots are 4-6” clay pots with 6-8 small plants in them. This is a great deal for our customers and a great deal for us. They like the variety and we like the short time we have to keep the plants before they are saleable.
For potting up succulents we use 1 part geolite (an expanded shale) 1 part turface (an expanded clay) and 2 parts peat-based potting mix. Certainly other drainage agents would work, whatever you have locally available. We do not top dress with small pebbles but that would be mighty cute.
Succulents in winter need water only once or twice per month. They also need the brightest window in the house. In summer they can be brought outside, being careful not to sunburn them at first. They also need more frequent water.
We have ordered plants from The Cactus Shop and their plants are outstanding. (www.cactuscollection.com.) We are convinced that the young person and the busy person of today is perfectly capable of appreciating and sustaining the life of succulents in a dish garden. They need infrequent water and not much care to create a charming display.
Jozie Schimke is a grower at Henry’s Plant Farm in Lecompton, Kansas, and the circulation manager for Growing for Market. She can be reached at thedrygarden@aol.com.
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