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by Andrew S.
(Ithaca, NY, U.S.)

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I have had a jade plant for a while and it is doing very well and I have succeeded in propagated it from stem cuttings multiple times, but I was curious about trying leaf propagation.

As you can see all of the leaves seem to be developing babies (are multiple babies normal?) and things seem to be going well. I just wasn’t sure where to go from here, do I let them grow a bit and replant the entire clump? Should I be separating them? I have had them in a relatively bright window and have been watering them every few weeks or so, is there anything else I should change?

Drought Smart Plants reply:

Hi Andrew, it sounds as though you’re doing everything right – the order of the day when propagating with leaves is patience. It takes a long time to get any size, so you just have to leave them alone. Fiddling with them just sets them back. It’s common to have a clump of babies using this method. Once they get big enough to handle you can gently tease them apart, or if you prefer, simply plant them together so they grow into a clump.

Overwatering is the single most deadly thing you can do with succulents, especially baby ones – they don’t require much water, and they need to be encouraged to seek it out by letting the soil dry out a bit in between.

I think you’ve been bitten by the propagating bug (rubbing hands with glee!) – luckily for us, succulents are a great place to start; relatively challenging, but also easy to have success with.

See these pages for more information:

Succulent Care

Succulent Plant Propagation

Happy Gardening!
Jacki

Comments for Jade babies from leaves

Jan 06, 2012

Wrinkling leaves
by: Natasha

I have a few jade leaves that are resting on soil but they are getting wrinkled. Is this normal? Should I splash a little water on them? I got them from the main plant less than a week ago.

Please help!

Thanks!
N.


Nov 29, 2012

how long
by: Amjad

Nice work there Andrew,
i am doing the same thing ,started recently,
did not get that far yet,
i was wondering,how much time did it take
for these babies to pop up,7-8 weeks,
mine have just gave a few roots
good luck