Propagating succulents in water is very easy: find out how to do it in a TikTok video
Succulent plants remain amongst the most popular for growing indoors - but they can be found almost everywhere. They are often small in size, need very little care, and display some of the most incredible shapes imaginable, sometimes even producing truly spectacular flowers.
For this reason, they are often used in scenographic compositions or in very special planters, pots and vases - even those made from recycled objects - to furnish the indoors, or perhaps even a balcony and in the garden. If we are very good at raising some of these succulent species, which is growing luxuriantly, why not also learn how to propagate them? Propagating plants is fun and allows us to get many new specimens to grow or give away as gifts.
An easy way to propagate most succulent plants is by starting with their cuttings and simply using a jar of water.
via @succulentscientist/TikTok
There is a method that works with all succulent plants that have fleshy and medium-sized leaves, such as Echeverie, Sedum or certain types of Haworthia (to name but a few), and this method is effectively illustrated in a video on TikTok, uploaded to the @succulentscientist account.
What you need is:
- The cuttings of your plants to be propagated.
- A glass jar. It must be large enough in its' diameter, but above all, it must beperfectly clean and disinfected.
- Water
- Cling film (the transparent, plastic wrap used to cover food).
- A rubber band.
- A sharp knife.
As to the treatment of the cuttings, there are those who prefer to put them in water immediately (after cutting) and those who wait a few hours after having separated or cut them from the mother plant, so that the cut itself dries out.
How to proceed:
- Fill the jar to the three quarters mark with water.
- Cover the opening with a piece of plastic wrap, keeping it taut.
- Secure the film with the elastic band, so that the film acts as a lid.
- Using the knife, make a small cut in the film, so that you can insert a cutting by its tip (the cut part facing down), which should be suspended just above the water (about half a centimeter above the water level).
- Fill the whole plastic film lid of the jar in this way with cuttings, then move it to a fairly sunny window sill.
- Remember to change the water as soon as you notice it becomes a bit cloudy
- Within the next 2 or 3 weeks (it may take longer depending on the plants), you will notice that each cutting has produced a root system.
When the roots are long enough and maybe even some shoots have sprung up at the base of the cuttings themselves, you can move each new plant into a separate jar or pot, using soil suitable for the succulents.
There is also an alternative method that you can try: this is simply to lay the cuttings down on some soil (so perhaps using a tray or a large bowl as the soil container), and sprinkle water on them regularly so as to always keep the soil a little moist (but not soaked in water). In this case, the container with the cuttings should be kept in a place which is a bit shaded, but where they are touched by the sun during the cooler hours of the day.
Have you ever reproduced succulents using these methods?
