Rooting Leaf Cuttings of Sedums

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Every now and then there is a plant that will root from the leaves, like Asiatic lilies I wrote about earlier in the year. Sedums are another one of those kinds of plants. Recently I rooted several cuttings of ‘Autumn Joy’ sedum and another sedum I don’t know the name of but bears a resemblance to Sedum seiboldii.  You might ask why would you take leaf cuttings when stem cuttings will work just fine? Good question! The answer is simple you can root many more leaves than you can stems! Since sedums grow fairly quickly (at least these varieties do) there are very few disadvantages to rooting leaf cuttings of sedums.

Rob of Our French Garden points out in the comments below that when the sedums are blooming you can take leaf cuttings without losing the blooms.

Rooting Leaf Cuttings of Sedums

Here’s all you have to do to get the sedum leaves to root:

Gently peel off a leaf from the stem of the sedum and try to retain a little bit of the stem on the end of the leaf.

  • Treat the cutting with rooting hormone.
  • Place the leaf in moist sand.
  • Wait a week or two and check for roots.
  • If they root pot them up, if they haven’t wait a little longer. Some of them may root faster than others. If a few don’t root and others have you can retreat them with rooting hormone and give them some more time.

Now here’s why I did leaf cuttings as opposed to stem cuttings:

4 ‘Autumn Joy’ sedums and 8 unknown sedums!

There were several ‘Autumn Joy’ sedums that did not root. I put those back in the sand container to give them more time.  It’s amazing how many plants you can make in such a small container.

Now where can I put all of my new sedums?

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8 thoughts on “Rooting Leaf Cuttings of Sedums”

  2. I think you just like those little containers of sand and playing with rooting hormore! HA We just stick the stems in the ground. Do you think sedums root faster than any other plant? I do. I would like to try the lily leaves though. 🙂
    Frances

  3. Darla,

    'Autumn Joy' is an easy one. I think if people wanted to try rooting something for the first time sedums are a good way to go.

    Frances,

    Sedums root very fast and maybe faster than any other plant. I've done the sticking thing some but I make so many more for giving away that rooting in sand is more practical. Not everything will root as easy as a sedum though and soils can have diseases in them to prevent plants from growing healthy when they are young. However I do like playing in the sand… 😉

  5. Frances,

    You are more correct than you know. We have little containers filled with sand all over the house. Some of them are empty (besides the sand). Some have long dead sticks. Others actually have living cuttings. You would think it is part of the decor.

  6. Dave you're a star. I never thought about leaf cuttings. I actually want to increase my sedum stock further but now every stem has flowers colouring up which will be lost if I break/cut off stems. Leaf cuttings and no loss of flower at this time of year.

    Thanks

  8. So glad I came back by to look for a response! Hooray for Jenny, the truth teller. I can imagine the decor now, live sticks, dead sticks. People must wonder what is going on, that is if they haven't been there before and don't know about Dave's little obsession. HA Just kidding, you know. There is nothing better than free plants. If you ever come to visit me, please do, bring lots of empty pots, I will fill them all up. 🙂
    Frances

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