Hi Rina,

Once again, thank you so much for your extremely helpful advise. The detail in which you went into is exactly what a beginner like me needs! I also read the threads that you provided me with an also found them very useful :)

I haven't had the time to visit my local nursery to get some potting mix, but I intend to do that tomorrow. I have a few more questions if you don't mind pls?

1) I am going to follow your advise and cut the broken off branch even shorter. Silly question - which parts do I plant into potting mix? You'll see in the diagram that I've labelled in red: 'A' (left of cut), 'B' (right of cut) and 'C' (whrere it snapped off from main stem. My guess is that I stick 'A' and 'B' tips into the potting mix?

2) This snapped off branch has actually been left out for almost 2 weeks and the leaves are getting a little flaccid. Do you think it is still able to spurt new growth?

3) I will also follow your advise about putting more potting mix into the main compartmentof the pot. Silly question again - Do I just add soil in just like that, or would I have to uproot all the succulents in the main pot, fill the pot with potting mix, and then re-pot the succulents back in? I'm not sure if I will be capable enough to uproot all the mature, deep-rooted succulents without damaging their roots and killing them! :(

4) How do I ensure that the mix drains well? I'm not sure what potting mix the previous owner used. I myself will be getting succulents and cactus potting mix to top up the pot.

Thank you so much Rina and I'm really sorry for all these questions!

Kind regards,

Sharon

Sharon

When buying C&S soil get a bag of perlite (or pumice if available). This should be sifted or rinsed (see my comments IN THIS THREAD where I posted example photo of sieves, and described process).

If my plant in that pot, I would check moisture of existing mix using a long wooden-bamboo skewer or chopstick or thinner dowel or stick. Stick it deep inside of pot - I would aim to go 3/4 deep, could be all the way. Use stick no thicker than pencil. Long bamboo skewers could be found in dollar store too - just make sure it is long enough to reach deep. If stick comes out dry and clean soil is dry. Depending on when you watered last - deep pot like that holds lots of soil and take longer to dry up. It is little trickier to water correctly. It could be difficult to tell at the begging, you need to learn. If you determine that it drains well, add some new mixl and try to mix it with existing as much as possible, using thinner stick. Maybe you can attempt re-potting next year? I am saying that since plant looks ok (besides needing some more sunlight), so perhaps existing soil drains quite well. Is there any chance of asking previous owner what soil he/she used and when last re-potted? Also, roots of your succulents are not that deep that they would need such deep pot. So it is important for them not to sit in 'muck' - but there are few 'levels' with plants, so I would keep checking soil for moisture couple/few inches below.

It may look scary to repot such big plant in such big pot, but you will learn...:) Worse that could happen is that more branches would get snapped - but they can be re-rooted. Sooner or later it will need to be re-potted, and you can start learning by rooting the broken branch. I guess you got it because you like how it grows and trails in that strawberry jar? - It looks pretty good, so I understand. But huge pots like that are trickier to handle when re-potting. It is also recurved on top, making re-potting bit more difficult. I have plant that grows in similar way. It is in much shorter bowl-type pot, wide at the top. I may do some beheading this year, since some stalks are getting too long (last years photo - it is even fuller now):

Stick ends A and C into mix. NOT B - if you did, that part of plant would be upside-down, and may have difficulty to grow (some plants do not grow at all). It should still grow; and make sure you do not water it immediately: no roots - no water (you can find more comments about that in BEHEADING threads)

Sorry for such long post - that is also why I refer to other threads. Ask should you have further questions.

Hi Rina, two mths ago, you provided me some really useful guidance on how to propagate my Echeveria from a large cutting.

The top half of the cutting with (on the“A” side of the cut) isn’t doing anything, but the bottom half of the cutting has grown 2 buds (? Not sure if this is the correct term for them) - pls see pic. I’m not too sure what I should do at this point...

Also, I’ve had a number of relatively healthy leaves drop off the mother plant and so I’ve also put them in soil to propagate them. I’ve left the box of soil and cuttings on my bookshelf which does not get any natural light just because I don’t get much light in my tiny apartment) and I’ve sprayed them with water once a week or fortnight only after I’ve seen roots appear. Of the 10 leaves being propagated, only half of them seem to be growing some roots (but nothing other than that), and there is new growth on 2 although one seems to have shrivelled off 😢 whilst the other one is etiolated 😱 Coils you pls tell me what I’m doing wrong?

Thanks so much!

Kind regards,

Sharon

Not sure why the second picture didn’t load...here it is again:

Sharon

Not all leaves will grow. Some will grow roots, some will grow plantlets, most should grow both. And some will just not grow at all.

Put etiolated plant in more light it needs it. If you do not have any other space but where it is, get a light over it and leave it on for at least 5hrs/day (longer is better - up to about 12hrs). You can have light over whole box, with most light over growing plants. Start with light further away (maybe 14-18") and move it closer every 5-6 days or so. Do not use incandescent or halogen lightbulbs (they produce lots of heat, and are not as efficient); either LED or CFL will work.

Did you put cuttings into potting mix? Top should be in the soil where 'A' end is; middle where the 'C' end is. They should have some roots by now. If in the soil - how do you know there are no roots? Or are 2 parts (top and middle) just laying there? - that is what it looks like in your photo. If you didn't put them in the mix, do it now (ends circled in red and blue). I see some roots growing on one piece (circled in red):

There should have been third part of plant, one with roots. I believe I suggested to leave it where it was, and it may grow some offsets (babies - new plants).

I see few new offsets (babies - new plants) growing. That is good. I can't tell where they are growing from; according to what you said it seems to be lower half of cutting, close to end 'C'.

At this point, just leave them there. The are quite small. You can separate them when bigger, or let them grow as they are - either way will work.