Most succulents thrive with four hours of bright, direct sunlight daily and grow well both indoors and outdoors. Pinching succulents is a necessary step if you grow them in a container. As plants become too crowded, pinch off pups to create more space and use them in other containers.
Pinching your succulents provides an easy way to encourage new growth, tidy up your plant, and propagate new plants.
Pinching Offsets for Propagation
Examine your succulents for offsets that form around the parent plant. These may appear as smaller versions of the parent plant or bulb-like growths that stick underneath the parent.
Grab the offset of whatever size, and bend it back until it snaps off from the parent plant. It does not matter how much or how little of the stem you get. Paddle Plant (Kalanchoe thyrsiflora) works well for offset propagation.
Set the offset aside to dry for a few days at room temperature until a callus forms over the end that you pinched off. Plant the offset and keep the soil moist until the offset forms new roots, which takes about four weeks.
Pinching for Size
Pinch off 1, 2, or 3 stem segments from your Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera × buckleyi) to encourage additional branches.
Snap off parts of the stems from Blue Chalk Stick (Curio talinoides var. mandraliscae) to maintain a more compact, shrubby shape and prevent its branches from flopping over and looking straggly.
Pinch off as many branches of Pencil Tree (Euphorbia tirucalli) as needed, so the plant stays within a given height or conforms to a given shape. Wear gloves when pinching this plant, as its sap can cause skin irritation and even temporary blindness.
Source: sfgate.com
Links
- Succupedia: Browse succulents by Scientific Name, Common Name, Genus, Family, USDA Hardiness Zone, Origin, or cacti by Genus