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    Home » Gardening

    What to do With a Stretched Succulent

    January 14, 2019 by Patti Estep 18 Comments

    Jump to How-to Card
    Images of a stretched succulent and cut portions of the plant above a nice compact succulent of the same in a cement pot.

    If you have a stretched succulent that has grown tall and leggy you can use this simple trick that will help bring it back to its original beauty.

    Echievera stretched succulent with separated leaves and lanky growth habit in a cement pot.

    This pretty Echeveria 'Perle Von Nürnberg' was looking so leggy, losing its pretty purple color, and some of the leaves were falling off. 

    Why Do Succulents Grow Tall and Leggy?

    The most likely reason is that they are stretching to find the light. 

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    Last year my daughter, an avid plant grower, and botanist wrote a post about caring for succulents and one of the main tips is to give succulents tons of light. I'm not sure what happened to this guy. I think it may have started in the nursery and the window I had it in wasn't getting enough light on an ongoing basis. Lack of sunlight is often the problem.

    In addition, I have read that succulents with green leaves have a better chance of growing well indoors with lower light.

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    New growth on the stretched succulent stem that was cut about an inch from the soil.

    How to Fix a Stretched Succulent

    I decided to cut it off at the bottom. You can see after a little while a new rosette started forming.

    Stretched succulent original stem on the left and the top and leaves on the right.

    I kept the top portion of the plant and a couple of leaves and allowed them to callus over for several days. 

    If you look to the left there are a couple of leaves on top of the soil that have started to regrow. To be honest, these almost never do well for me. 

    Echieveria root growth

    However, waiting until the top portion began to send out roots before re-planting worked really well.

    Original stretched succulent that was cut now showing nice compact growth.

    Here it is 7 months later. The rosette in front is the top portion of the original plant. The two on the back right side are growing from the original cut stem. You can see a new one growing between the two. 

    The plants in this container are growing nice and tight. They look healthy and display beautiful color.

    Now you know of one option to try if your succulent stretch and grows tall and leggy.

    Echieveria and kalanchoe baby in cement pot.

    You may also notice a baby Kalanchoe upfront. Soon I'll transplant elsewhere eventually as it will grow to be too tall.

    That shriveled leaf was an attempt to propagate the plant from a leaf. Though this works well for many succulents I haven't had a lot of success with the process. The leaves start to send out growth but they never quite take to the soil

     Purple echievera plants in a cement planter

    Succulent Light Requirements

    This planter is sitting in a south-eastern facing window. It's watered lightly every 1-2 weeks with the rest of my plants. 

    If you don't have an adequate sunlight source from a window consider setting up some grow lights. You can find them at the nursery and hardware store. A good full-spectrum light should work. However, if you want the nitty-gritty details you can read this article about indoor grow lights from Epic Gardening.

    Echievera on winddowsill next to a vase with lavender and another pot with plants.

    Here it is on the windowsill of my office right next to my desk so I can enjoy them as I work. 

    Patti signature

    More Succulent Tips and Ideas

    • Semperviven - Hardy Succulents for the Garden
    • Growing Sedum in the Garden
    • Succulent Birdcage Planter
    • Succulent Log Planter
    Echievera succulent tall growth
    Print
    4.77 from 26 votes

    How to Fix Stretched Succulents

    If you have a stretched succulent that has grown tall and leggy you can use this simple trick that will help bring it back to its original beauty.
    Prep Time7 d
    Active Time20 mins
    Total Time7 d 20 mins
    Course: Indoor Gardening
    Yield: 1
    Author: Patti Estep

    Equipment

    • Sharp knife

    Materials

    • Stretched succulent plant
    • Succulent potting soil

    Instructions

    • Cut off the succulent about 1/2 inch from the soil.
    • Take the cut portion and remove the bottom leaves and set aside.
    • After you remove the leaves cut the stem leaving the top portion and about 1 inch of bare stem.
    • Let the bare stem sit out in a cool sunny spot and wait for it to grow roots.
    • Once you see roots growing. Plant it back in the original pot and watch it grow.

    Notes

    The biggest reason for stretching is the lack of sun. If you can't find a sunny location add supplemental light for your succulent to enjoy.

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    About Patti Estep

    Patti is the creator of Hearth and Vine, a home and garden blog filled with projects to inspire your creative side. She loves crafting, gardening, decorating and entertaining at her home in Pennsylvania. When she is not working on a project at home or searching for treasures at nurseries and thrift stores with her girlfriends, you’ll probably find her with family and friends, at a restaurant, or home party enjoying new and different food adventures.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Kathy Boylan

      November 09, 2021 at 12:26 am

      Thanks very much Kathy. I learned a lot & also did this with one of my cactuses. I cut the top off & got 2 plants from it I believe.

      Reply
    2. Kathi Reed

      May 23, 2021 at 5:43 am

      I am new to succulents. I killed quite a few that came in a planter I received for my birthday. I have 2 stems left, both of which only have a few leaves on them. Did you leave the bottom of the stem in the soil after you cut the top part off? Is that where some of the little ones came from? Thank you.

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        May 23, 2021 at 6:44 am

        Yes Kathi, that's correct. Leave a small amount of the stem in the pot and some new rosettes will grow from it. Also, leave a little bit of the stem on the top rosette for roots to grow. The rest I threw out. However, I wouldn't be surprised if you cut it up, let it callous, and replanted it the rest of the stem might start sending off new growth too.

        Reply
    3. Sue

      February 04, 2021 at 3:37 pm

      Thank you for the info.

      Reply
    4. Mae

      June 06, 2020 at 4:24 pm

      OK, will put it outside - I bought if for the lovely container and cut it back as stated in previous comments. Thank you.OK

      Reply
    5. Mae

      June 06, 2020 at 3:48 pm

      I have 3 leggy plants set on a sunny morning shelf that is growing out of control! Why leggy when lots of sun?

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        June 06, 2020 at 4:16 pm

        Mae, though it might seem sunny, it's possible that the shelf is not sunny enough. You could try supplemental light or if the weather is nice where you live see how well it does outside.

        Reply
        • Mae

          June 06, 2020 at 4:23 pm

          OK, will put it outside - I bought if for the lovely container and cut it back as stated in previous comments. Thank you.

    6. Amber

      May 24, 2020 at 10:27 pm

      I am working on reviving some ratty-looking perennial succulents, so I will definitely try out these tips. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        May 25, 2020 at 10:50 am

        You are very welcome Amber. Enjoy!

        Reply
    7. Jean Klinger

      September 03, 2019 at 1:36 pm

      I have a small pot filled with Aloe Vera plants that are long and leggy. Any help to get these replanted would be appreciated.

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        September 04, 2019 at 7:31 am

        Jean, I repotted my aloe when they got top-heavy. Check out my transplanting aloe post to see how I did it.

        Reply
    8. Rachel

      July 21, 2019 at 10:46 am

      I saved a big succulent planter from a fellow teacher when she moved and she had let them grow, almost like they are vines, spilling over the sides of the planter. A lot longer than the photo you show. Is there hope if I cut off the long, woody stems that I can try and save them?? I want to revive it back to its former beauty but I also do not want to ruin them in the process. 🙁

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        July 22, 2019 at 8:10 am

        Rachel, It should work though I found that a lot of succulents like to spread out. I think you should try with one or two first to test it out. Let me know how it goes.

        Reply
    9. Holly Masters

      July 12, 2019 at 6:18 pm

      I have some new succulents, and I would love to try and propagate them.

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        July 14, 2019 at 7:15 am

        Give it a try Holly. Let me know how it goes.

        Reply
    10. Carole

      January 14, 2019 at 8:22 am

      What a helpful tip and can you believe i still haven't tried to do anything with succulents? I think it's because I try to spend as little time indoors as possible. However with that being said I have this interest in Orchids that I want to explore. Any books you'd like to recommend?

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        January 14, 2019 at 8:36 am

        Carole, considering you live in the sunny warm south you should have no problem growing succulents or orchids. I don't have any recommendations for books on orchids. I have only grown phalaenopsis orchids and I'm pretty sure they are the easiest, so I suggest starting with them. Like most plants, they hate to sit in water so drainage is crucial. I usually water mine once a week in the sink and let them drain in their plastic interior pot before moving them back to their containers in a sunny indirect spot.

        Reply

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