Succulent Care Guide: Keeping Your Tiny Succulent Cute in its Terracotta Pot

Succulents in these teeny tiny terracotta pots are some of our shop favorites. Succulent Sara and her cousin Pat are constantly potting these babies to keep up with demand. Who could blame you all for wanting these? They're so cute!

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One question we often get asked is, "how long can they live in this tiny pot?" The answer is, however long you want them to!

Succulents are like goldfish–they only get as big as their pot, and you don't ever have to transplant them to a bigger pot unless you want to. That said, your little guys may need some maintenance after living with you for a year or two. 

Follow the steps below to keep your baby succulent happily living in its tiny pot year after year.

babysucculents

This succulent has been living in my kitchen window sill for about a year and a half. I've been watering him about once a week (read about these succulents' watering needs here!), and he's been getting plenty of sunshine. Ideal conditions for a succulent.

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As you can see, he'd grown pretty tall over time... so tall that he was about to start tipping over the tiny terracotta pot with his crazy long stem. I decided it was time for a trim.

First, I picked off the dead bottom leaves. It is completely normal for the bottom leaves to shrivel and die. You should pick these off from time to time. Kinda like trimming split ends from your hair.

Next, I cut the stem, leaving about an inch of stem below the bottom leaves. I also snipped off the new growth and removed a few of its bottom leaves so I could replant it too.

dead bottom leaves removed

dead bottom leaves removed

trimming the main stem

trimming the main stem

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Because I'm not trying to propagate the plant, I tossed the old stem and filled the pot with fresh soil. (If your intention is to propagate, feel free to leave the old leafless stump and just add as much new soil as possible. There's about a 50% chance it will regrow its leaves.)

Place the new stem (below the leaves) down into the new soil. Anywhere a leaf used to be has the potential to grow new roots. I did the same thing with the new growth's tiny stem too.

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Place your succulent near a window again, but avoid direct sunlight and don't water it for a couple of weeks. This treatment gives your newly planted succulent a chance to grow roots. After two weeks, give your succulent a little bit of water . You may also move it into more direct sunlight if you'd like.

The best time to give your baby a trim is from early spring through fall. Succulents are dormant and don't grow during the winter, so avoid doing it then.

And that's it, folks. How to keep your baby succulent looking cute in its tiny terracotta pot!

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keeping succulent cute