Methods for Propagating the fleshy Guanyin lotus
This article introduces the propagation methods of the fleshy Guanyin lotus and related experiences in flower planting, including the cutting steps of Guanyin lotus. Corrections are welcome if there are any mistakes!
Hello everyone, I'm Tang Laozhang, a资深 (senior) meat friend with over 6 years of experience in cultivating fleshy plants. Today, a friend asked: How to propagate the Guanyin lotus, and how to break off the leaves for leaf insertion?
Guanyin lotus is a type of fleshy plant belonging to the Sempervivum genus of the Crassulaceae family, native to Europe. It is also known as Guanyin zuolian and Fozu lian. As its name suggests, the leaves of Guanyin lotus grow in a lotus-like rosette, flat and narrow, with an acute tip, and fine villi on the leaf margin. Under sufficient sunlight and appropriate temperature differences, the leaf tip and margin can turn coffee or purple-red.
There are many ways to propagate Guanyin lotus, such as sowing seeds, cutting the top, taking side buds for cutting, and pulling leaves for leaf insertion, etc. Because the flowering branches die after flowering, and seeds can only be obtained through artificial pollination, few people use the seeding method to propagate Guanyin lotus. Cutting the top is also rarely used because Guanyin lotus doesn't easily grow a stem, and the upper part of the stem is too tender after cutting, making it hard to root successfully. However, the base can indeed burst out many side buds.
The best way to propagate Guanyin lotus is to take side buds directly for cutting, as it is very easy to form a clump. After about 1-2 years, side buds will continuously emerge from the leaf axils. We can choose to take these side buds and plant them, which will grow into new plants after they survive. The side buds of Guanyin lotus often have long stolons, so we need to cut off a part of them before planting, leaving only about 1-1.5 centimeters. After applying多菌灵 (a fungicide) to the cut and letting the wound heal, we plant them directly into slightly moist soil, and they can root and survive in about 10-15 days.
Finally, let's talk about the issue of leaf insertion propagation in Guanyin lotus. First, Guanyin lotus can be propagated by leaf insertion, but it's challenging because its leaves are quite thin and difficult to succeed in leaf insertion. Often, even if the leaves successfully root, they still struggle to sprout and will eventually rot over time. Second, it's hard to remove the leaves of Guanyin lotus intact; in most cases, they either break off directly or don't have a growing point after being removed, which further reduces the success rate of leaf insertion.
Although the success rate of leaf insertion for Guanyin lotus is low, if we take the leaves intact from the bottom when changing the pot (it's hard to get complete leaves without removing the pot), and take more, say, a few dozen at a time, I believe that with some luck, at least 1-2 will successfully root and sprout. However, given the low efficiency of leaf insertion, unless for fun or experimental purposes, it is recommended to propagate by taking side buds for cutting.
The sharing above about the propagation methods of the fleshy Guanyin lotus and the specific introduction of the cutting steps of Guanyin lotus hope to bring some floral knowledge to green plant enthusiasts.