Deadheading: It's Not As Bad As It Sounds

There comes a time in most succulent's lives where you're going to have to cut off their heads. Don't worry, it sounds a lot worse than it really is.

Grew under some portulaca, was reaching for the sun.

Most succulent plants look best without long stems. However, most succulents will grow extremely long stems the longer they are alive, which can look awkward. There are also conditions a plant may grow in which cause it to stretch when it should be dish-shaped, and dead-heading is great for these plants, too.

I used a dead stem to prop up the plant heads so they'll grow straight.

Today, I finally cut off the heads of my pink butterfly kalanchoes. This plant, which originally was one, is now three (I gave one to my mother), and the two remaining had stems nearly two feet long. The stems reached horizontally along the ground so the plants could get into the bright sunshine. Not very attractive, so, I cut them off.

The bottom of the stem is close to, but not touching the soil.

You want to use a very sharp knife, preferably as clean as possible. Once you've beheaded your plant, place it in a pot hovering JUST ABOVE some moist soil. This encourages the plant to grow roots to reach that soil. With this plant, the long "leaves" provide a prop to keep the stem from touching.

It usually takes a few weeks for the plant to grow new roots. Yes, you can just cut some heads off and stick them in the ground, but they won't necessarily root that way, and they may rot. For plants you really love, take it slow.

There's a tiny pink plantlet to the right of the pot!

The "leftovers" aren't necessarily useless, either. The rooted stem, once the head of the plant is removed, might begin growing small plantlets where leaves formerly grew, or even at the top where the "head" was removed. Since I had to cut the stem into more than one piece (it was THAT LONG), I threw them all in a pot together with the rooted bits to give them a chance to make some babies.


I don't know how this will turn out, but I'm hoping that at least the "heads" of the plants will root successfully, as they are some of my favorite. The little pink plantlets are just gorgeous, and unlike other mother-of-thousands plants, cannot grow into plants themselves.

The two rooted stems and the other cut pieces.

The Results!

Yog Sothoth Flowers and Spreads

My once-tiny purchase off of Ebay is now so huge it's falling apart under its own weight! It's been an amazing haven for snails, which I've harvested for the turtles that now live in my backyard. Today I pulled bits off and moved them to other parts of the garden to fill in space by becoming monsters themselves.

It's blooming!

It's also started blooming! It hasn't bloomed in the years I've had it, just grown and grown and grown. This type of succulent doesn't die after blooming, it's rather like what most people call a "jade plant."

If I'm lucky there will be half a dozen giant mutant plants in my succulent collection, glorifying and frightening my front yard! I'm guessing these plants are an acquired taste, but I've always been a fan of the strange and bizarre.

First flowers ever!

The stems grow in twists or fan-shapes.

The plant, weighed down, grows roots that anchor it to the ground.

Here, a section of more "normal" plant grows long stems weaving through other plants.

A crest that became too heavy to stay up. Now it will be a new plant.

Another heavy crest, this one will hopefully perk up a bit once it roots.

A third crest, similar to the first. I think of this shape as blades.

One of the original cuttings, now a little fan on its own.

The oldest original cutting has grown to be over a foot tall and going on two feet wide.