Growing Succulents at Home

Last year, my husband and I planted a handful of succulents in a large planter and kept our fingers crossed! We grew up on the ocean in Vero Beach in Florida, so keeping flowers and potted plants or herbs alive is not easy! Between the salt, humidity, shade, and wind, each year we've wondered what could thrive in this environment!

We returned to Vero Beach this Winter to find our succulents growing like crazy and multiplying by many! We had to relocate a handful because they were growing rapidly. After doing a little bit of research, I learned how to successfully propagate these little guys to create succulent babies. I've loved watching them grow, and we have really seen progress. I wanted to share some DIY tips because anyone with a succulent should surely give this a try!

Leaf removal ~ my husband and I had already collected a number of succulent leaves that had naturally fallen off of our plants, this can also be known as Leaf Removal. In our case, we removed the sole leaves from the pot and scattered them in a larger pot (atop the soil) that holds a gardenia plant. After a few days or one week the leaf will callous and you may begin to see roots growing. At this point I'll wait about three to five days to relocate them to another pot that is outside but sheltered. In a matter of days we had sprouting succulents that, in this case, I believe can be planted in soil. I would suggest resting the sprouting succulent on the top of the soil ~ you'll notice after a few days or weeks that the roots will grow in place and make their way into the soil. I do not water this type of succulent growing, though they are outside and sheltered I feel they naturally get the water they need.

The cutting method ~ I've yet to really experiment with this style of succulent growing, but in my experience so far, it is working. Carefully cut the "leggy" succulent and leave outside for a few days until it calluses. At this stage, you can place the cuttings in a pot with fresh soil, water, and leave be. I've read that this sort of succulent growing requires water at least every other day ~ which I've done and have found success.

Growing succulents has been a great past time for me in the last month, and I'm now at the point where I have about 20+ baby succulents successfully growing. We even have a few that have grown so quickly, their initial leaf has already fallen. Because succulents naturally shed their leaves, I really encourage you to try this experiment at home. Watching the succulents grow really is heartwarming and they make for a great gift. I am currently re-locating mine to their new homes (pots) this week.

What I'm Wearing: Elsbeth Top with patchwork denim jeans; and the Knit Tank with our Burgundy Cotton Mini Skirt. As well as my new Onyx Healing Bracelets that are available in a variety of stones including Chrysoprase, Turquoise, Pink Opals, Iolite ~ and our newest, Amethyst.