I was given some advice months back,i believe it was Cinta who gave me her advice on propagating succulents and especially told me about leaf propagating.
Well i have been throwing succulent leaves into a pot of soil all summer & now i have leaves with just roots,with little rosettes on the end of the leaves & some with big rosettes and now some have lost the original leaf and i have tiny little rosettes.

The problem is i was told not to water the leaves,now that some have roots & some are just rosettes.What do i do with them now?Put them under a light in winter?Put in a sunny place in the house?

I learned the hard way not ALL succulents take full sun,so i want to be careful to treat them correctly this winter!!

Your succulent leaf rootlets look great. If your soil is still damp then leave them alone to establlish further. Spray w/water bottle if you concerned that they are drying out. That way the leaves with delicate roots don't move around or get dislodged with burst of water flow. When plants get bigger and more developed, you might consider separating the plantlets into other containers so that the root systems of unlike plants don't get tangled. and so that like stays with like. I wasn't sure all the leaves in your pots were from same type of plant except for the last pic of Sedum Rub.(pork and beans). You could probably place near sunny window but need to check that soil is not drying out too fast or use the grow lights if no window with good light. Good amount of light for the right time helps to keep succulents retain their shape and compactness.
You are doing a good job so far!

The pictures are all of the same pot, except the last picture and they are all of the same plant.The first pictures are of the same pot & your right it's not the same types of plants.I spent a lot of time restarting all the succulents.I cut the tops off to re-root them and any leaves left on bottom of long stems or that fell off i just put in a pot.Now i need to separate them.One of the pots does dry out faster than the other,it's a very fast draining succulent mix.

I will try to get same types together and spray,mist the ones with roots.Should they not be in direct light outside?I haven't had to bring them in yet,but i am going to soon.

Thank you very much

Jelinda, remember you are spray misting to wet the soil not the plants. I think spray misting succulents in general can leave succulent leaves susceptible to fungus or sun burn if left wet too often. I think the little plantlets are concentrating on making roots and probably don't have much foliage so light is probably fine but not direct sunlite at this point. Don't know what your outside temps are but cold temps hinder the process your plants are going thru now. I would give good light (not direct) but keep pots protected from cold if you leave outside.

Hi Jojoe, your little plants are looking great - I overwinter/propagate all winter under fluorescent lights - they're ugly, but the plants love them. Keep in mind that they have to have around 12 hours of light every day, and warmth. I don't know what your climate is like, but if it even gets close to a frost, bring them back indoors. Having said that, some supposedly tender succulents can take a lot of cold - I had some that look just like your little guys in my greenhouse over winter, which here gets to -20 celsius, and they lived!

thanks for the advice.I don't have a green house but my plants came out of the house this spring and i am hoping i can get them back in.I don't know temp. in Celsius but i looked up a conversion chart and if it's right your temps get down to -4F ? I have been having trouble with a weather man who isn't very good at getting the temp's right.So i plan on bringing some in that can't take the cold weather.So far all my plants are doing great.We have had 2 nights in low 40's & most from low to high 50's.

I have already made the mistake of sunburning some thick leaf succulents.I didn't know any succulents needed shade,i hear succulent & assume full sun,but the southern sun can be strong & some days it still is.Having a hard time figuring what needs to come in & what can stay out until a frost is coming?
All my jades seem to be handling the cold as well as pencil tree (Euphorbia Tirucalli) sedums 'rubrotinctum' Kalanchoe 'mother of thousands'.I have a large pot of succulents that i don't know what they are or when to bring them in.That's where most of the leaf rootings came from i had to cut the tops out of alot of plants to restart the plants,they were given to me by a friends husband who had passed away he had no idea what they were.

Hi jojoe, from what I have experienced with my succulents all grown outdoors during winter, cool and sunny is okay with them...but cool and very wet is bad for them. That is why I keep the outdoor succulents in a very well draining soil. I have no place to put them indoors...so out they stay.

When they are cold, they get stressed, and that's the time I see the lovely reddish color hues, especially with the sedum rubrotinctum. Same goes with all the jade plants. The plants I have are well established so they can weather it. But for your cuttings, do pull them in for their warmth, they are still very young. A bright window is good and augment with flurorescent lights as suggested by Blue Fox, and just keep the soil damp and well draining, water the soil not the plant as adviced by Bev, take much longer interval in watering, maybe once a month during winter. Kalanchoe mother of thousands really hates the cold weather, my plant seems to shut down during winter, but once it feels the warm up it comes back quite fast. If you have crassulas, they can tolerate the cold weather quite well too.

So far the only succulents that I will take indoors this year are the lithops and split rock. You have many cuttings there, you can also make an experiment, leave out some and take some in during winter then observe how they fare out. I do that sometimes to gauge how far along the plants can push their limits.

Thanks Tarev,

SO,jades that are well established can stay out unless i see a problem, or If there's a chance of frost then either bring in or cover.Over half of the succulents in the round shallow terra cotta pot are cuttings but some were put in during the beginning of summer & i think they are good & established.
these were cuttings but i think they will be ok judging by the amount of growth since i planted them the beginning of summer.Maybe you were the one who told me to cut the tops out of the succulents that were leggy,old or just neglected when i got them.I did that & rooted the tops in the big terra cotta pot because it's shallow & had very good draining soil.They all rooted,so the ones that have only rooted recently & not had a chance to grow i will remove & bring them inside.Should i do that now or are they ok until a frost?

I would keep them all outside till there is an actual frost warning. I push the limits of my plants too much I guess But so far, they survive, they just really look ghastly during the winter months, even having black cold tips, almost looking dead at times..but come spring to fall, amazing how it seems nothing happened..looking good again.

I will give you an example:

These are photos of my Crassula Ovata Gollum, photo taken on early Feb 2012: It was rainy and cold for a couple of weeks then: I was ready to surrender and toss it out, but I see something still green coming out:


So come spring, I repotted it, and here is how it looks right now:



Here is another one called a flapjack. This one really hates being cold and wet, but I just leave it outside as well. Really ugly during winter and unfortunately favorite of the snails too:


Once it gets warmed up and dry, back to normal growing:


I think these plants need to feel being weather hardened, helps them make their own adaptation. Of course, since we are the ones planting them in containers, our role is to provide the proper drainage. They will pout and sulk, but later on nature takes its natural course. That is why I always emphasize the proper drainage for them. The fun thing with succulents, each leaf is a potential new plant in the making...so if it really comes to a point that it seems the plant is really going so bad, get that remaining leaf cutting and plant when weather becomes suitable..voila..new plant! Consider too, our winters here are milder..no snow, just wet cold rain...so observe your weather pattern and adjust accordingly.

we very seldom have snow or freezing weather.Snow's maybe every 4 years & we have had a freeze twice in the last 5 or 6 yrs.Our winter sometimes are like fall except for cold night,the days will be in the 70's.our winters don't really get cold until jan. and last until march so i have a pretty long growing season.I have had problems with my plants not going into dormancy or taking a rest.I'm going to really hold back on water & stop feeding maybe they will get a rest.

Could you give me your opinion about re-potting couple plants(if they need it)?
My hubby knocked over some of my plants and broke a limb off my Gullum,We have been remodeling for about 2 yrs & he said he forgot i had put the plants on the porch to water them,he swiped them with a board going in the house with it and off they went to the ground.I rooted the broken limb & now have a baby gullum.

One more question, i had what i thought was a mold or fungus.My jades all of them had black dots.My Sedum 'Reflexum' had mealies.I sprayed them with a product called fungicide 3, it's mainly neem oil extract.Leaves started dropping.One day i counted 40leaves between all my jades.4 regular C.ovata,c. minima, C.hummel sunset.& they fell for a good week even my elephant bushes looked bare.The Sedum lost a lot of it's little needles & i noticed mealies are back.I guess no oil based on succulents? What can i use?
Is the yellowing of the leaves from to much or not enough water or the cold and do you think it needs re-potting next spring right not now?


My pencil cactus really took off this summer,it's 2 plants in 1 pot because i rooted them together.I put them together this spring when re-potting because they were so small but not any more.Should i separate them when i re-pot this spring,i think their pot is to small.

These jades will come inside before it gets to cold,i do like them to turn red from the cold,but then i like to enjoy them inside.Do i have them IDed correctly.front c.spoon,left C. Minima,C.ovata,C.Hobbit.

I'm so sorry realized i have practically vented every succulent worry on you in 1 post.

Tarev, You are a lovely person have a lovely day

I agree, tarev is a lovely person. If I were you, I would separate the pencil cacti since Euuphorbia tirucalli makes a large plant. Give them each a pot but not a huge one just yet. I see you have the 'Rosea" variety of the pencil cactus They are looking good.

The sap of E. tirucalli is extremely caustic so do be careful where you put them. And wash any sap off immediately should it get on your skin.

I'll butt out now ... this has been a most interesting thread ... I do love the succulents.

OH NO TEE DON'T BUTT OUT!!!! I have a BAD HABIT of talking to the last person who posted.You don't know what you did,I am thrilled and so happy you posted on this thread.

I didn't know the cultivar if that's what it is, of my pencil cactus and now i do

I love to know the family,genus,species & cultivar of my plants.As soon as i red your post i grabbed my succulent files & wrote it down.

You can help me with my endless questions about succulents and you seem to be such a nice person. Other people would probably be happy that someone else can help with my rambling.

Also thank you for the ID on the wild poinsettia

I like to know that info too. Hey, we plant "nuts" have to stick together.

But I try not to hijack threads.

Wow, Tarev - nice photos from both you and Jelinda!

Oh Tee, we always love having your comments.

Oh do join the thread Tee, by all means, more heads better than one..share our individual experiences and tactics

Jelinda, I always end up knocking down some of my succulents ,so baby gollum should be fine if you have repotted the knocked down portion. Either have it callus first or stick it straight to soil. Sometimes growth is not hampered. I think this works well during dry summer months but otherwise have it callus first. You can also apply some cinnamon on the open bruise of your mother plant, to help seal it.

with Tee's suggestion on the pencil cacti. Not too big a pot, not too deep..they do branch out very wide.

My plants have not been attacked by mealies so much...and when I do see crawlies, whether aphids or what not I first use a diluted solution of water, dishwashing liquid, tabasco sauce, alcohol...it seems to work for me. And I do it before the sun hits the plants, allowing it to dry off. Plus I have my dependable insect friends here, mantids, spiders feasting on them too

Yellowing leaves of succulents may be due to sun, or water issues..or natural senescense. I know they get dried up when it is having problems with absorbing water through the roots, maybe got too compacted.. So they turn gradually yellow then drying up. Over watering makes the leaves look soggy and limp. Water the soil not the leaves. Keeping the soil draining well and open to allow roots breathe as well, so they do not get too compacted..their root systems are shallow, that is why deeper pots are not advisable. Happy roots, happy leaves. I water the soil/root zone heavily once a week or sometimes even once a month when it is cold, and just let it dry. These plants are quite good in stocking and conserving their water needs in their stems and leaves.

Jelinda, I too use a dilute solution of rubbing alcohol and water and then with my Q-tips, dab at the spots that look woolley or where there looks to be a bug. Bugs usually turn orange/brown on the Q-tip.

If I may, I find some succulents are more likely to get mealies than others. I've also found when the plant is watered, they tend to end up as far away from moist soil as they can get. Near the tip of the stems which makes it easy to use rubbing alcohol on a Qtip. It is fun to hear them scream in agony.

I have had root mealies in some succulent pots in the past. For that I drenched with a dilute solution of Bayer Advanced Tree and Shrub. (BATS) It was either that or toss a bunch of plants.

I'm not sure about the yellowing but if you meant the C, gollum, I would say it is due to the time of year. Both colder temps and shorter days will cause succulents to change in color. If it is needing water, you will notice the bottom growth shrivel and drop off.

In order to not wet the plant, you can water from beneath by setting the pot in a shallow pan of water. Just don't forget and leave it standing in water.

I agree with Tarev, when it is cold, succulents need very little water or attention. That is part of their charm.

I also use the BATS on occasion ... especially a good drenching of the soil when I'm preparing to move the succulents and some other plants that were outside all summer to the inside for the cold months. I have had no problems with it.

The amount of exposure to direct light will greatly affect the color of some succulents.

Now that was a great bit of info & the reason i love ATP I am slowly & my slowly is very slowly,making a rock garden.Being handicapped (the reason for my beds taking so long to finish) i started out with house plants,then got into jades and it has been a progression that hasn't stopped yet (physical therapy even got reduced) but right now i'm looking at plants for the rock garden full sun,drought tolerant ,cold hardy here, i would love to be about a zone warmer.The plant that i had the mealies on is one i want to put outside in rock garden sedum reflexum.This morning i was going to plant them,when i looked at them there were 2 big mealies but i only seen them 2 & i wish i could have heard the screams.

Thanks for the killer recipe,will definitely try it on my succulents.I also use BATS on my plants but i use it when i put them out to keep the crawlies out of my Hoya's,rhipsalis's ,christmas cactus etc... then i don't have to worry about it when they come back in.I even use it on potted plants in the spring that will go in the ground in the fall.

Going to be MIA next week,we are going camping on a lake,planning on getting some more rocks & hopefully some good drift wood

Have a *wonderful* time!