Well, I think you have your perfect response to your query. totally agree with Pagan. In fact I have beheadings and leaves just sitting around on the bench for weeks and they generate roots just from humidity in the air; an experience , i'm certain, many people have had.

I tend to do the same as the above, don't water until i see roots. I think some people believe that moisture can stimulate root production from a leaf or a cutting and speed things up but I don't know if this is true or not. In my more recent experience I'm coming round to the idea that aeonium top cuttings appear to root more quickly if given some moisture. But I haven't seen evidence with leaf cuttings.

Ok, so that clarifies things a bit, thanks. So for those that have generated roots (some with and some without a rosette), how and how often should I water? Just the soil near the roots? If I spray them, the leaf will also get wet, is that ok? And at what stage do I xfer them into the soil? I have a few with roots that dont go into the soil. Should I nestle them in soil or put some on top?

Excellent explanation, Pagan !:)

I try avoiding wetting the leaves on any plant, seedling/cutting or mature. I know they get wet in habitat where they may get better air circulation; if it rains I leave them alone (on occasion, I would blow off water if sitting in center of rosette for too long, mostly on echeverias - but not always). I prefer watering just soil/mix.

There is no rush to transplant them unless they are in very small container or crowded - getting plantlets and roots stronger before handling. If roots don't grow into media, sprinkling some on top of them works. Here are some I transplanted just recently; they were getting too crowded:

Hi,

Pls try not to be so concerned w/ watering. Remember, succulents can & do store water in their leaves, so they need it less frequently than you're thinking. Sounds like it's more your need to water than the plants. That's common for newish gardeners. Propagations like this tend to do best when almost ignored; overwatered or fussed over can contribute to their failure.

Many of us root w/ benign neglect, just leaving some leaves lying around casually, not even in mix & they'll root on their own as mentioned above. Spraying succulents is not advised, getting their leaves wet can damage & worse, cause rot to the leaves.

Pls try posting your pix again now since you'll be using the Comments. Curious to see which succulents you're trying to grow, not all will grow new plants from leaves, but many do,

thanks, here are the pics of what I am trying to propagate (is everyone having this problem of not being able to post pics in the original post?)

I hope someone responds to your photos because I am having the same problems and have the same questions which is why I was reading this post in the first place. Good luck to you!

Hi Succulentbot,

Pls. just leave them be, try to ignore them, even forget you have them. As you've said, you've read they have enough moisture in their leaves & it is true.

These plants often come from dry areas w/ crappy soil; they can adapt to almost no care at all right now as they settle in & take root. Use the time to just watch & learn; hard to do, we've all been there. Watch how they're setting roots, or some little plantlets.

If you must water, water the soil, never the leaves which can makes the plant more vulnerable to rot.

A prime rule of growing succulents, when it comes to watering, when in doubt, DON'T. Wait another couple of days & check again. Succulents in general can often recover from getting too dry, but not from getting too wet or watered too often