Succulent plants include a broad smorgasbord of specie from many plant family unit . They all store water in their leaves , root or stems and are used as landscaping and container plants . They can form clumps , make clump or grow as branch bushlike or treelike works . Branching succulents are propagate best by rooting their stem cuttings or leaves , but succulents that give rise cluster of young plants , foretell setoff , at the base of the parent plant life or that signifier clumps are practicable candidates for splitting .
Timing Plant Division
The best time to divide a succulent is in * * outflow or summer , * * when the plant produce actively , because the high concentration of industrial plant growth hormones then helps new roots form . It ’s often upright to conflate division with repotting a tumid , mature plant . Remove larger offsets about 2 to 3 inch panoptic , pull up stakes belittled ones to continue growing .
Gathering Equipment
Assemble appropriately sizedcontainers with bottom drain hole , sharp and clean pruning shears or knife to separate beginning or clumps , and tools to cover prickly or sharply - edged flora . For barbed plant , utilize kitchen tongs to hold works art object . Prevent the institution of plant disease by cleaning all the implements by dipping them in itch alcoholic beverage before and after their use . Some succulents have play out that irritates skin ; so fag waterproof baseball glove and a long - sleeved shirt if necessary .
Identifying Plants with Offsets
Succulent setoff form at thebase of the mother plant life , which usually has its leaves arranged as a little potato . The plantlets can grow out of the stem underneath the lowest parting , grow between basal rosette leave or fall out on runnerlike structures that come from the roots . Offsets on the parts resemble runner often can be remove without unpotting or digging up the plant .
representative of succulents with runner aremedicinal aloe(Aloe barbadensis ) , which is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 9 through 11,hens and chicks(Echeveria spp . , USDA zone 8 through 11 ) andhouseleeks(Sempervivum spp . , USDA zones 4 through 9 ) .
Dividing Offsets
Often you ’ll have toremove the succulent from its peck or dig it upso you ’ll be able to see how the commencement are connected and how best to remove them . For a large , rootbound succulent , you may have to poke the bottom and sides of its Mary Jane to loosen the roots so the flora come out of the Mary Jane more easy . stir off redundant soil from the plant .
If offset are generally connected to the female parent industrial plant ’s main base , write out them flush with the female parent plant life ’s stemwith a sharp knife or pruners . Ideally , offsets will have some roots of their own . If a plantlet is on the end of a runnerlike structure , sever the Caranx crysos near the plantlet ’s radical . reset the pruning putz before go on to another plant .
Often unpotting a cactus ( Cactaceae family ) that has offsets around its groundwork and sides is n’t necessary to cleave off those plantlets . An example is Easter lily cactus ( Echinopsis oxygona , USDA zones 8 through 11 ) , for which you may use kitchen tongs totwist off plantlets gentlyfrom the mother industrial plant ’s stem .
Healing Wounds
Put offsetson their side in a shady , windy place for several days to one or two week , depending on the size of the wounds the starting time have from being removed . If runner have runner , cut back off excess ball carrier lengths and discard the runner . If a female parent flora has obvious wounds from the removal of branch , then let the plant air - dry for a few twenty-four hour period before replanting it or water it . The wounds should cork over and have scar tissue to prevent disease from enter the succulent flora tissue paper .
Rooting Offsets
After the combat injury are dry , plant each offset in its own peck that has bottom drainage hole and is somewhat wide than the offshoot . Use amoistened cactus and succulent potting mix that moderate perlite . Place the pots in hopeful , indirect light until the offsets ' roots produce into the potting mix . allow for the potting mix to dry out halfway down the pots between waterings .
Splitting Clumps
Some succulents such as serpent works ( Sansevieria trifasciata , USDA zone 9b or 10 through 11 ) organize heavy clumps of leaves as they produce . When a clump fills its pot , get rid of it from the container , shake off its grunge andcut it into smaller clumpsby using a keen tongue that was dipped in fray alcohol . Each glob should have three to four leaves and some roots . Allow cut surfaces to heal in a shady place before repot the lump in single pots with bottom drainage holes , using a lush potting mix .
