How to Propagate a Mother of Thousands (10 Easy Steps)

Mother of thousands can be easily propagated. As the name suggests, the mother of thousands has lots of baby plantlets. These plants are often referred to as the mother of millions. If you have a mother of thousands plant, you can easily grow a new one by removing a small plantlet from the leaf and placing it on the soil.

The Mother of Thousands plant goes by the botanical name of Kalanchoe Pinnata. There are many different varieties, and these plants originate from the Caribbean, Madagascar, South America, and many places in Asia. Let’s look at how to propagate a mother of thousands plant.


Mother of Thousands Propagation Technique

Mother of Thousands Propagation

As Mother of Thousands produces many plantlets along the edges of their leaves, you can easily grow a new plant. You don’t need to have your own plant but can ask a friend or neighbor for some plantlets. Alternatively, you can buy some plantlets online from stores such as Etsy.  There are many varieties of Mother of Thousands. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to propagate a mother of thousands plant:

1. Wait until the plantlets on the edges of the mothers’ leaves have roots. When the plantlets first appear, they don’t have roots. It’s best to choose a plantlet with a good root if you are to have success. It’s a good idea to select more than one plantlet, in case some of them die. That being said, there is usually a very high success rate.

Don’t worry about hurting the plantlet or the mother plant when removing the babies. They fall off easily and are relatively hardy. The Mother of thousands plant will be able to grow larger without baby plantlets to support.

The plant that you are taking your cutting from needs to be strong.  If a Mother of Thousands has yellow leaves or any signs of root rot, don’t take a cutting from it.

2. Store the plantlets on a piece of wet tissue so that they don’t dry out. If the plantlet doesn’t have very good roots, you can leave it on a damp piece of paper for a few days until the roots get larger.

3. The next step in Mother of Thousands propagating is to fill a small pot with soil and water the earth.

4. Place the plantlets carefully on top of the soil. Be gentle when handling the plantlets. Don’t attempt to ‘plant’ them, push them into the soil, or bury the roots. The plantlets are so tiny and can just be placed on the soil. In their native environment, the mother plant will naturally drop plantlets, and they will start to grow. This is what makes propagating so easy.

The plantlet’s roots will start to grow, and in time they will establish themselves. If you’re planting more than one plantlet in the same pot, ensure that they are about 1 inch apart.

5. Cover the pot with a plastic bag or wrap. This will help the soil retain its moisture and will create a micro-climate for the plantlets. They will remain warm and damp, which is the perfect conditions for growth.

6. Place your pot in indirect sun. You can grow mother of thousands on a windowsill. Be careful that the plants don’t get too hot. In scorching weather, you’ll need to check the plants and provide water more often.

7. As a mother of thousands is a succulent; they don’t require much water. In the early stages, the plantlets need slightly more water to help them establish a robust root system.

8. Keep an eye on your plantlets and keep the soil moist. You’ll see new roots appear at the base of the plant, and these will bury into the ground.

9. Once the plants start to grow, the roots will have established themselves, and you can remove the plastic wrap from the pot.

10. When the plantlets are about an inch in height, you can repot them into individual pots. Mother of thousands are commonly kept as houseplants but can also be grown outside in the right environment. If you live in USDA zones 9 to11 you can plant your small plantlets in a flower bed. Be aware that the new plants will quickly start to produce babies of their own and will soon multiply.

3 Mother of thousands Kalanchoe daigremontiana~mexican hat...
  • Kalanchoe and succulents are pretty and very easy to grow, just sun and water ones a week, hard to kill plants, The plant for sale is similar to the one on picture and will be shipped BARE ROOTS, 1" - 3" reference of the size of...
  • You will receive BABIES PLANTS, not adult
  • Plant instantly plants when you receive them, don't let them die in dryness

Conclusion

Grow Mother of Thousands from a Cutting

Mother of thousands is very easy to propagate, and you’ll find that there is a high success rate. Simply remove a few plantlets from the mother plant and place them in a pot with moist soil. Keep the earth damp until the plantlets establish themselves and start to grow taller. Baby plants need slightly more water to thrive than the mothers. Once your plants grow, you can reduce watering as Mother of Thousands are succulents.

Last update on 2024-03-28 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API