How to Fix Elongated Succulents and Propagate Fast
This short tutorial will give you the reasons why your succulents become elongated and look unhealthy. Trisha describes how to fix elongated succulents and how to prevent it in the first place. Then she has some tips on how to quickly propagate succulents.
[Transcript] Hi guys my name is Trisha with Chapstick and Succulents and in this video, I’m going to give you tips on how to fix your elongated succulents.
Why Do Succulents Etiolate or Elongate?
You might wonder why they elongate. They elongate because they do not receive enough sunlight. And this is common when the succulents are grown indoors or placed in the shade. As they search for sunlight they can grow taller and longer and they can even turn and bend toward a source of the light.
The leaves can start to spread out and have more space in between and sometimes the leaves become lighter and smaller than usual. Lack of enough sunlight can cause the succulents to revert back to green or lose the bright colors.
The ones with the brightest colors of orange yellow red purple and pink do not really do well indoors. In fact, they are the fastest to elongate because colorful ones require more bright direct sunlight than what indoors can offer.
The bad news is that once they elongate you cannot revert them back to the usual shape no matter how much sunlight you provide. The good news is that the colors can revert back from green to colorful ones with enough sunlight. But the best news is that you can start propagating using your elevated succulents and you can propagate faster in four different ways.
How To Rapidly Propagate Succulents
You can propagate from the well-rooted ones from the stems, from the leaves and from the rosette on top. And that’s what I’m going to share with you today.
So, let’s begin. Start by beheading or cutting the top part of your succulents or the rosette. You can plant the fresh cuttings directly into the soil but do not water them for seven to ten days. Do not expose them to direct sunlight at this time also because they are not yet stable. So, they can easily get sunburned or they can dry up even before producing their own roots.
Use a container with a hole and a well draining soil if you want to avoid over watering them which can easily kill the succulents and at the same time water only when the soil is completely dry.
Another way to propagate is through their leaves. To remove them simply wiggle them from side to side until it snaps from the stem and make sure that the end that is connected to the stem is intact because that’s where the new babies are going to grow. You air dry them for three to five days or until the tip is calloused. Then you can lay them flat on the soil and keep them moist by misting them every day or every other day. And same with your fresh cuttings you don’t expose them to direct sunlight at this time. Because they can also get sunburned or the leaves can dry out even before the babies and the roots come out.
Next you can propagate from the stems you air dry them until the tips are calloused and then you plant them into the soil. It might take several weeks but your patience will be rewarded by several babies coming out from the area where you pluck the leaves.
And lastly you can propagate from the well rooted ones. In order for you to understand what I mean let me show you a well rooted one that I planted few months ago after I removed all the rosettes and I removed all the leaves and started to propagate them and look how many babies they gave me after several months.
And here’s another one. And these are the reasons why I multiplied my collections rapidly without spending a lot of money. I really hope you learned a lot from this tutorial and if you want to learn more please don’t forget to subscribe, Bye. [End of transcript]
Our Summary: Try these tips to avoid or fix elongated succulents and for propagating succulents the easy way. One way to help succulents to thrive is discussed in the article about how to prevent and fix leggy succulents.
