If you love exotic or Mediterranean atmospheres, cacti and succulents, sometimes also called fleshy plants, are among the must-have plants for your garden or home. Aloe, Agave, Sempervivum, Echinopsis, Opuntia, …, cacti and succulents come in a wide variety of shapes, sometimes amusingly resembling candles, balls, paddles, or little cabbages. And when they bloom, these plants burst into vibrant, cheerful colours.
Accustomed to extreme living conditions, particularly water scarcity, cacti and succulents are low-maintenance. They simply need sunlight, warmth, and well-draining soil to thrive. And for propagation, the cutting technique works well. It’s also a great way to save a struggling cactus. Another advantage of cuttings is that the new plant will be identical to the parent plant. Discover our tips for taking cuttings of your favourite cacti and succulents!
Which Plants Can Be Propagated by Cuttings?
Most cacti and succulents can be propagated from cuttings, but the best candidates for this technique are Opuntia, Cereus, and Mammillaria.
Opuntia microdasys (Photo Wikipedia)
When to Take Cuttings from Cacti and Succulents?
The best time to take cuttings from your cacti and succulents is from mid-spring to early summer, between April and July.
How to Propagate Cacti and Succulents from Cuttings?
Here are the key steps to successfully propagate your cuttings:
- Selecting the Cutting: Choose a healthy stem or leaf from the parent plant. Opt for parts showing no signs of disease or damage. The type of cutting depends on the succulent or cactus in question. It could be a pad for Opuntias, a fleshy leaf for succulents like Sedums, a bulbill for Kalanchoe daigremontiana, an offset for Aloes and Agaves, or a stem section (10 to 15 cm long) as with Cereus or columnar cacti. If the plant has spines, wear thick gloves for this task or use folded newspaper to handle the plant.
- Cutting and Drying: Use a clean, sharp knife to make a clean cut when taking the cutting. Then, let the cut part dry in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight until a callus forms over the cut surface, indicating healing.
You can dust the wound with charcoal powder to prevent disease. The drying phase can last from 1 week to several months, depending on the species.
Cutting an Aloe vera offset
- Preparing the Substrate: Use a specialised cactus and succulent potting mix that ensures good drainage. Fill a pot with drainage holes with this substrate.
- Planting: Insert the dried cutting into the prepared substrate, pushing it in about 1 cm, firming the soil, and, if needed, propping up the cutting. For leaves, simply lay them on the substrate.
- Watering: After planting, lightly water the substrate to moisten it without saturating it. Thereafter, maintain slight moisture without overwatering.
- Placement and Monitoring: Place the cutting in a dry, well-lit spot but out of direct sunlight, at a temperature between 19 and 24°C.
Monitor the cutting in the following weeks and months, watching for signs of new root growth or development.
- Post-Rooting Care: Check that rooting has been successful before repotting. To test if the cutting has rooted, gently tug on it to feel resistance. This can take between 3 and 12 weeks.
Once roots are well established and the plant shows signs of growth, continue standard care for cacti and succulents, adjusting watering and sunlight exposure according to the species' specific needs.
By following these steps, you’ll increase the success rate of your cacti and succulent cuttings, making it easy to expand your collection with new varieties.
Succulent cutting (Photo Mariko) and cactus cutting (Photo Maria Keays)
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