Succulents are a particular group of plants with thick stems and leaves with sap that stores water. Succulents thrive best in dry arid climates and don’t grow properly with all their glory in a humid climate.
They possess excellent Xerophytic qualities since they can survive without water for a prolonged period.
But, do succulent leaves grow back as well?
Well, the leaves of succulents are extremely strong and can store water. However, succulent leaves, unlike other plants, don’t grow back when the stem gets completely bare. You have to cut it and propagate it by stem cuttings.
But, with the proper process, you can also collect the fallen leaves and grow them separately.
In this article, we will discuss in detail how to grow succulents when the leaves fall off, both by growing the leaves separately or by propagating the stem.
Do succulent leaves grow back?
Unfortunately, your succulent leaves won’t grow back from the exact place from where they fell off. But if your plant is completely healthy and doesn’t show any symptoms of sickness, you need not worry; you can just cut it from the top and propagate the plant by stem cutting.
You can also restore it from its base, a small piece of root and stem still inside the soil. You need to properly cut the long stem along with its head and only keep an inch of the stem to the soil. Let it dry, and the roots grow along with the plant with fresh new leaves.
This entire process of growing new leaves and plants usually takes two to three weeks. If the plant is healthy, this remaining stem will grow into a more attractive sturdier plant since the new leaves will grow into a compact group.
How long does it take succulent leaves to grow back?
By now, we already know that succulent leaves don’t grow back from the exact place from where they have fallen. However, you can always propagate the plant by cutting the stems so new leaves can grow along with the plant.
The remaining stem or leaves need to be completely dry, so the roots grow along with the plant.
This will ensure new growth of leaves as well. Depending on different succulent plants, this process usually takes from two to three weeks. But you need to ensure that the plant is completely healthy without any sickness symptoms.
What do you do when succulents lose their leaves?
There are many reasons for the falling off leaves from succulent plants. However, it’s not always a bad symptom, as dropping leaves is a natural phenomenon with all plants.
Normal leaf loss
It is a natural phenomenon for plants to lose their leaves when they are no longer useful. They simply turn brown and crispy, which signifies that the plant has absorbed all the necessary nutrients. This usually happens at the bottom of the plant, and the stem grows, giving new space for new leaves.
Extreme heat
Though sunlight is important for succulent plants’ growth, extreme sunlight is harmful and leads to the loss of leaves. Succulents succumb to extreme heat. If the succulent is affected by heat stress, the leaves wilt and turn red or orange. The leaves would shed even with the slightest touch.
In this case, it is advisable to move the plant to a cool location with enough shade. However, there should not be a huge difference in temperature between the new place and the original location of the plant.
Cold Shock
Succulents are best in dry arid climates; however, some plants grow in the alpine climate with freezing or sub-zero temperatures. Some soft and tender plants get completely damaged in extremely cold conditions. The water stored in the leaves freezes, causing irreparable damage to the plants.
You can identify this when the leaves would start drooping and turning black. You should immediately move your succulent plant to a warmer place where the temperature doesn’t freeze to save the plant.
Over and under-watering
Succulents do not thrive well if you don’t water them. That counts both over and under-watering. Unlike other plants, succulents don’t need too much water, so you do not need to frequently water them like other plants in your garden. If you do so, you will end up over-watering them.
This can cause death to the plants as well. So ensure the soil is well drained in the container and water only when the soil is dry. Or else the leaves would turn yellow and feel soft.
Similarly, if you don’t water them, you will end up under-watering your plant. Here the leaves would turn soft and shriveled. With the slightest touch, leaves would break and would eventually turn brown. So it is very important to monitor the soil properly and water only when they are dry, but it should not be kept for a prolonged period.
How do you get succulents to grow new leaves?
There are two methods by which succulents can grow new leaves, leaf propagation and stem cutting.
- If all the leaves are fallen, you can collect them and grow them separately. Similarly, if the stem remains only, cut the stem from the top and only keep an inch attached to the soil.
- Let the separated leaves or the stem dry completely for 3 days. Do not water the soil until it is completely dry. It helps them to propagate.
- Place the leaves on the top layer of cactus soil. In the case of the stem, check the soil properly. When dry, then spritz little water daily. Make sure you do not overwater them.
- Make sure the leaves or the stem receives adequate sunlight; however, it should not receive harsh sunlight, or else it will destroy the plant.
- Look for the formation of callus on the cut end; this helps the soft plant tissue from bacterial attacks.
- Watch for the growth of the root for almost two to three weeks. After three weeks, you would see small growth of roots.
- You need to add fertilizers in moderation to boost the growth process.
- Put the succulents in a proper pot or container with a good drainage system, so the plants thrive well. You need to monitor properly and, at times, need to prune or propagate the stem or leaves to maintain proper plant growth.
- The key to successfully growing succulents is moderation and consistency. If these are maintained, your plant will thrive with full glory.
Can you save a succulent with no leaves?
Once a succulent stem sheds all its leaves, the leaves won’t grow. However, the plant can be saved with efficient cutting and propagating of the stem. This would enable the growth of the stem and room for the new formation of leaves.
Once the stem has completely shredded its leaves, cut the stem from the top and leave only an inch of it in the soil.
Do not water the soil immediately but let the soil dry completely. Once it is dry, spritz water in moderate quantities on a regular basis and expose the plant to moderate sunlight. After 3 weeks, the root would start to grow along with the rejuvenation of the stem.
And slowly, new leaves would form significantly once the stem starts to grow. So definitely, if the succulent completely sheds its leaves, it is possible to save the plant from death.
Conclusion:
Succulents are excellent plants that are beautiful and give that extra beauty to your garden. However, there is a completely different process to growing succulents and taking care of them. They grow best in dry, arid climates and do not prefer humid conditions.
Once the leaves fall off from succulents, they don’t grow back. But you can always cut the stem from the top, keeping only an inch attached to the soil, and dry them, followed by watering them in moderation would let the new formation of roots and rejuvenate the stem growth. Eventually, there would be the growth of new leaves on the succulent.
Similarly, you can grow the fallen leaves separately by drying them and keeping them on cactus soil. Water them in little regularly and give them proper sunlight.
Slowly, the roots would start forming, enabling new plants and leaves growth. So the best way to promote the lush growth of your succulents is through proper consistency and moderation.
