Cleaning and Trimming

Keeping your succulents well maintained will help them look better and live longer. You don’t have to clean and trim your succulents very often—every few months is generally enough. During their peak growing seasons you’ll find your succulents need to be cared for more frequently, and less often when they’re dormant.

Remove Dirt and Dust

Over time you may find that your succulents accumulate dust or dirt on the leaves. To remove this, use canned air or a bulb syringe. You can also use a soft paint brush to gently brush off the dust or dirt. The paint brush may remove some of the powder coating on the succulent leaves, which is fine. It will return as the succulent continues to grow.

Remove dead lower leaves by pinching off gently.

Remove Dead Leaves

The natural growth cycle for a succulent will leave the plant’s dead leaves around the base. While it isn’t a problem to leave them on, your plant will grow better and healthier without them. Removing these leaves will give the plant better airflow and may even promote new growth. It’s always a good idea to remove dead leaves from newly purchased plants before placing them in a new pot or arrangement.

New rosettes form on leaf nodes.

New plants generally form on leaf nodes, the area where the leaf was once attached. Every few weeks or months, gently remove the dead leaves from your plant. Some may still have a healthy attachment to the plant. If they do, you can leave them until they’re completely shriveled, or you can remove them if the rest of the leaf is too unsightly.

If you don’t remove the dead leaves from time to time, your plant will be more susceptible to bugs and rotting. Decaying plant matter is attractive to most bugs. Keeping the base of the plant cleaned up also creates better airflow, which allows the soil to dry faster and prevents rot from wet soil.

Removing the dead leaves also makes it easier to see if your plant is healthy. You’ll be more likely to notice shriveling in the new growth or blackening on the stem if they’ve been over- or under-watered. You may also see new rosettes starting to form. With the dead leaves removed, they will be able to get the sunlight they need and will grow more easily.

Cut off new growth just below a leaf.

Cut Off New Growth

As your succulents grow, they’ll likely put off new off-shoots or rosettes. If you like how full this makes your arrangement, don’t worry about removing them. If the arrangement is getting too tight and is difficult to water, you can cut off some of the new growth. Since succulents propagate so easily, you can replant this new growth in an arrangement or share with friends. For more details on the best way to remove new growth, see “Propagating Succulents.”

When a succulent becomes stretched out, you can cut off the top and replant it.

As previously mentioned, succulents grown indoors will often stretch toward the light. If you like the way your succulent looks as it gets stretched out, you can leave it. If you’d like to have a more compact arrangement again, you can cut off the top of the rosette plus any stem that is too long. Leave about 1 to 2 inches (2.5–5cm) on the base of the plant. It will put off new growth, and the rosette you cut off will eventually grow roots and can be replanted.