Pickle plants are hardy succulents and can tolerate low temperatures and low sunlight and humidity levels. Many plant lovers enjoy how they retain their bright green leaves throughout the colder seasons.
The pickle plant (delosperma echinatum) gets its name from its small tube-shaped green leaves. Each leaf is covered in small cactus-like spines that are soft to the touch. They’re also sometimes called the ‘ice plant’ due to their ability to tolerate frost.
In this article, I’ll explain everything you need to know about the beautiful pickle plant. I’ll discuss its care and propagation requirements. Let’s get started!
How To Grow Pickle Plant: Steps, Propagation Options, Soil Mixture Preparation, and More
Pickle plants are low maintenance and non-toxic and make fantastic plants for busy people with pets and young children at home. Growing and propagating them is also rather simple.
Soil Requirements
Pickle plants are succulents and need a well-draining soil mixture. Moist, nutrient-rich soil isn’t good for these plants. You can buy commercial cacti soil from your local nursery or mix it yourself.
You can make the soil yourself by combining the following:
- 1 part potting soil
- 1 part sand
- ¼ part pumice
The size of your parts depends on how large your pot is. Divide your pot’s soil amount within the parameters of the above list. You can replace the potting soil with pine bark pieces or the sand with crushed granite.
Watering Requirements
Like most succulents, pickle plants do best with the soak-and-dry method.
This involves watering the plant and then waiting for the soil to dry out before watering it again. Pickle plants retain moisture in their tube-like leaves and often don’t need new water.
You should water your pickle plant once a week during the warmer months and once every 2 weeks in the cooler seasons. Pickle plants enter dormancy in the winter and won’t absorb much water through their roots during this time.
Sunlight Requirements
Pickle plants are native to South Africa and Madagascar, where there is plenty of sunlight. They need a lot of direct sunlight, with bright, full sun from a south-facing window being best for adult pickle plants.
Be careful not to sun-shock your pickle plant. Young plants shouldn’t get full days of direct sunlight right away. Start with 2 hours a day in a sunny environment and gradually increase it as they mature. The same rule applies to newly purchased plants.
Propagation Options
There are three ways to propagate a pickle plant:
- Division
- Cuttings
- Seeds
Propagation by Division: Steps
There are two ways to propagate a pickle plant via division:
- Offshoots
- Root division
Offshoot propagation is straightforward because pickle plants can produce small plantlets from their root systems. You can remove and re-pot the plantlets if desired.
Root propagation is slightly more complicated, and you should never attempt the process on a stressed plant because it will damage the pickle plant and increase your risk of failed propagation. Pickle plants should only be divided in spring or summer.
You should also avoid performing root division on a juvenile plant. This method only works with mature plants, and the division process can hamper growth.
Here’s how to propagate your pickle plant through division:
- Identify the sections: Look for bushy clumps in your plant’s crown. Each clump will be attached to a singular root bulb, and each section can create a new root system in a new pot. On average, mature pickle plants have two or three sections.
- Separate the sections: Remove your plant from its soil and use sharp, sanitized shears to separate each section. Include the root bulb, or the divided section will die. Leave as many healthy roots intact as possible to help them establish faster.
- Plant the sections: Plant one section in the original pot and others in new pots.
Propagation by Cutting: Steps
You can propagate a pickle plant with leaf or stem cuttings, and the planting process is similar for either part of the plant.
The difference lies in where and how you trim the mother plant:
- Remove the leaves with your fingers. Pinch the leaf’s base as close to the stem as possible, and gently pull downwards until you hear it snap. Be careful not to damage the leaf base during this process.
- Use sharp, sanitized shears to snip mature and healthy stem cuttings. Cut a portion of the stem measuring at least 2.5 inches (6 cm) and no more than 5 inches (12 cm). A portion that’s too short won’t grow, and taking too much can hurt the mother plant.
The steps to plant cuttings are the same whether you use leaves or stems. Remove the bottom leaves from the stem if you’re using stem cuttings.
This step isn’t vital, but it speeds up your stem cutting’s root development:
- Let the piece(s) sit for about 2-4 days before planting. The open end needs time to callous over. Planting an uncalloused cutting increases the plant’s risk of bacterial or fungal infections from the soil.
- Secure each piece in moist soil. Be careful not to cover it too much. If the plant is buried in soil, it won’t be able to absorb sunlight.
- Cover the plant in a transparent bag. This step is optional. The bag will help lock in heat and protect the developing plant from pests. You can skip this step if you think you’ll be able to give the young plant a warm, pest-free environment while it develops.
Propagation by Seeds: Steps
Like any plant, you can grow pickle plants from seed. However, these plants take a while to grow, and you’ll need patience while waiting for sprouts. The steps are mostly the same as other plants.
However, you should avoid burying pickle plant seeds in the soil. Instead, scatter them across the soil’s surface. I recommend growing seeds indoors because scattered seeds outdoors can make an easy meal for birds and squirrels. Buried pickle plant seeds won’t grow.
Final Thoughts
Pickle plants are low maintenance, but growing them takes more attentiveness than buying a mature plant. Overall, they’re easy to grow compared to many other plant species.
Bear in mind that they take a long time to germinate, and growing one from seed is not the best option if you want a fully-grown plant quickly.
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