Succulents are pretty amazing plants, and they’re a great start if you’re not 100% sure about spending money on plants. You can quickly build a large collection of succulents, as long as you aren’t too shy and have a bit of patience. Your success rate will vary, but I’ve averaged about 75% success.
Choosing your Mark
Step 1 for growing your amazing collection of free plants is to go around your neighbourhood and search out gardens with succulents that you think are cool. This might be a bit trickier in colder climates, but I’ve found that a lot of people in Sydney grow succulents in their front yards.
Succulents are recognisable by their fleshy thick leaves, where they store water. I haven’t tried this method with cacti, so proceed at your own risk. (And remember to take gloves because those needles are sharp!)
Some good options for beginners to try are:
Echeveria
Sedum
Graptoveria
Jade Plant
Easter/Christmas Cactus
The Heist
Once you’ve found a succulent that you’re a fan of, you need to scan the street for witnesses. Once you’re convinced you’re alone, reach over the fence and gently tug a whole leaf from the plant. You can give the leaf a wiggle from side to side to help loosen it, and then make sure you’ve got the whole of the edge of the leaf.
Here’s an example on a jade plant of what a good and a bad removed leaf would look like:-
The Waiting Game
Once you’ve acquired your gems, the next step is to lay them out on a dry spot. I usually use the coffee table.
Wait a few days. You want the raw edge of the leaf to callous over. If you skip this step, there is a large chance your leaf will just rot. This is obviously not ideal if you are looking to grow a beautiful collection of stolen plants.
Once your leaves have calloused over, you want to select a suitable container to grow them in. You can use anything that will hold at least a 1.5cm depth of soil. I have used a plastic tray from Muji, and a round glass dish from IKEA. Put your choice of soil (I chose some normal gardening soil mixed in with a bit of perlite for a pretty look) into the container and give it a good mist from a sprayer. If you don’t have a sprayer, wet your hands and just drip them gently on to the soil. Lay out your leaves, leaving some gaps between them. When the roots start coming in, it’ll be easier to seperate the plants if they aren’t all on top of each other.
Allow the leaves to sit in a bright, but not directly lit spot. It shouldn’t be too cold in the spot you choose.
If you notice the soil completely dry out, you can give the soil a quick mist. You don’t want it soaking wet. As the container you chose might not have a drainage hole, it’s best not to let the plants sit in too much water. Excess water will cause the leaves to rot. The leaves you've stolen are full of water and will sustain both the plant and it's baby. And remember: under water rather than over water!
Results
After a few weeks, you should start to notice some action. As tempting as it is, don't pull your leaves out to have a look. They will be growing microscopic roots and being pulled out will only slow their growth and possibly damage new roots.
From my experience, when the leaves start doing things, it can appear in a variety of ways:-
Roots and new leaves might start coming from the bottom of the leaf:-
Roots and new leaves might start coming from points in the leaf:-
Roots might come from the bottom of the leaf, with new growth coming from the top of the leaf:-
Regardless of how your leaves grow, it's a pretty interesting process and it's quite rewarding to have grown a whole new plant from nothing but a leaf.
I'd love to read your comments, hear your thoughts or see your plant photos, so please leave a comment below.
calathea | Steemit Blog
Photos, thoughts and ideas from the garden of calathea.