If your succulent grows tall and leggy you can use this simple trick that will help bring it back to its original beauty.
This pretty Echeveria ‘Perle Von Nürnberg‘ was looking so leggy, losing its pretty purple color, and some of the leaves were falling off.
Why a succulent grows tall and leggy?
The most likely reason is that they are stretching to find the light.
Last year my daughter 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 to start just wasn’t getting enough light on an ongoing basis.
I decided to cut it off at the bottom. You can see after a little while a new rosette started forming.
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.
However, waiting until the top portion began to send out roots before re-planting worked really well.
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 grows tall and leggy.
You may also notice a baby Kalanchoe up front. 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
This planter is sitting in a south-eastern facing window. It’s watered lightly every week with the rest of my plants.
Here it is on the windowsill of my office right next to my desk so I can enjoy them as I work.
P.S. I have a few other posts about succulents that you may like. Tips about growing succulents, written by my daughter, a huge plant lover studying Botany. Another is all about hardy succulents that you can grow outside in colder climates, and a third is a cute project about how to make a succulent birdcage planter.
Amber
I am working on reviving some ratty-looking perennial succulents, so I will definitely try out these tips. Thanks!
Patti Estep
You are very welcome Amber. Enjoy!
Jean Klinger
I have a small pot filled with Aloe Vera plants that are long and leggy. Any help to get these replanted would be appreciated.
Patti Estep
Jean, I repotted my aloe when they got top-heavy. Here’s the post that shows you how I did it.
https://hearthandvine.com/transplanting-aloe-vera/
Rachel
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. 🙁
Patti Estep
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.
Holly Masters
I have some new succulents, and I would love to try and propagate them.
Patti Estep
Give it a try Holly. Let me know how it goes.
Carole
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?
Patti Estep
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.