serve out your leggy succulents with these must - make out hint .

Wumuminglinsm / Getty Images

succulent are popular , low - maintenance houseplants that thirst bright light . The works can recrudesce unsightly , spindly halt in scummy - lighting family . Whether you keepjades , echeveria , sedums , orother succulent coinage , this templet will explain how to fix leggy succulents , compensate crooked shank , and grow more sister succulent for your houseplant assemblage .

Succulent in a white pot on a windowsill

Credit:Wumuminglinsm / Getty Images

What Are Leggy Succulents?

Most rough-cut succulent are light - athirst plants that need at least six hours of brilliant light daily to get well . Indoors , succulents typically do easily in sunny , south - facing window , although some more sensitive succulents preferbright , collateral Light Within . However , one matter most succulents wo n’t bear is low light .

Succulents require light to grow and photosynthesize , and they will filter and stretch toward the light if they are n’t getting enough Sunday . While this stretch can be hard to detect at first , if it goes ungoverned for long , you ’ll terminate up with succulents with leggy “ etiolate ” growth , shabby and discolored leaves , and crooked stalks . With a bit of charge , leggy growth can be corrected .

How to Prevent Leggy Succulents

While it is potential tofix stretched succulents , it ’s much promiscuous to prevent leggy growth . All you need to do is provide your industrial plant with batch of visible light . Most succulent do well in brightly lit window that get six to eight hours of lightsome daily . However , if your home does n’t receive much natural Christ Within , keep succulentsunder an LED grow lightand leave the Light Within on for 12 to 14 hours a day . Turning succulent pots every week or two can counteract bending stem by providing equal light to all side of the plant . When light levels are lower during winter , move plants closer to window or tot a grow lightness .

How to Fix Leggy Succulents

Once succulents are long-legged , there ’s no quick cure — but there are ways to improve the aspect and growth of stretched plants with a fiddling time and patience . If you beguile leggy growth early , you could keep stems from getting longer by boosting light levels . This wo n’t fix the damage that ’s already done , but it will aid plant get better in the future . Gradually increase light photo over the trend of several Clarence Day or workweek . Too much bright sun all at once cancause sunburnt leaves . Although mild stretching can be remedied with promising luminousness , sternly extend succulentsrequire a more fast-growing solution : propagation .

How to Propagate Succulents

It can be intimidating to prune off succulent stanch , but it ’s the best way to repair long-shanked growth and revert succulent to their more coloured and compact figure . Use these tips topropagate different section of leggy succulentsinto raw succulent works .

Repair the Rooted Section

Using a sharp and sterilized knife , burn the succulent stem at the point on the stem where it begin to get leggy , piss sure the lower lot of the stem has at least two or three leaves and at least 1 to 2 inch of root word remains above the soil line . Do n’t throw out the upper part of the flora that you just removed — you could disperse it . After withdraw the long-shanked top incision , move the rest , root lower lot of the succulent into bright , indirect light and care for it as usual . In a few week , the prow should start out to bourgeon leaves and regrow into a more compact plant as long as it experience plenty of light .

Propagate the Upper Section

The top portion of the leggy succulent you removed can also be propagated into new plant life . If the base is very longsighted , thin out it down to a manageable size ; the cutting you keep should be at least 2 inches long and have at least two leaves . If the stem is very overgrown , you may be able to cut it into several smaller sections and propagate each section into a new plant life .

After cutting the succulent stem to a manageable size , gently take out the lower leaves on the stem to make it easier to institute . Save those leaves — you may often disperse new plant life from succulent leaves , too .

aim the succulent stanch on a plate for a few days to allow the slash end to callus over , and then plant the cut stem in a pot filled with a moist pot mixture designed for cacti and succulents . Move the plant pot to a location that receive bright , collateral light , andwater it when the grunge feel dry . After the succulent stem roots , reduce tearing , increase clean , and care for your fresh succulent as you care for the parent works .

Propagating Extra Leaves

Almost all surgical incision of a leggy succulent can be propagate , include the extra folio you withdraw from the stem turn . Place the leaves in a single bed on a denture . Move the plate to a affectionate , dry spot out of unmediated sunlight for a few twenty-four hours so the leave-taking can callus over . Then , fill a pot with a moist , succulent or cactus potting admixture , and position the leaves on the substrate so they are n’t touch each other . Move the leaves into bright , indirect lighter .

Any leaves intended for propagation should be peeled ( not cut ) from the plant . Torn , discredited , or broken parting do n’t rout well .

Within a few week , succulent leaves should start to produce unexampled increase . During this time , urine thinly when the top ¼ inch of soil feels ironical , and then pot the succulent in case-by-case pots when they ’re a few inch tall .

Frequently Asked Questions

Etiolation or leggy stems is principally an aesthetical subject ; stretched succulent can dwell for many years . However , leggy plants wo n’t be as healthy , and they ’re more potential to topple over , which can get damage .

While grow Light Within are ready to hand , some may not breathe sufficient light to forbid the plants from being long-shanked . This can come about if you utilize lights that are too small for your plant life frame-up or if the lights are positioned too far away from the plant leaves .

You may be able to relieve a bare succulent root word by moving it into bright , collateral ignitor and waiting for new maturation to emerge . However , this technique is not guarantee to do work . You ’ll have better results propagate succulent stems with at least two impound leaves .