donkeys tail succulent

Burro’s Tail Succulent Propagation

Burro’s Tail propagation in Vancouver, British Columbia

The Burro’s Tail succulent, also know as Donkey’s tail, or by it’s official name; Sedum morganianum is a stunning succulent which grows like a vine.  Despite it’s unusual appearance, it is in fact a succulent and therefore can be easily propagated just like any other succulent.  This post tracks the progress of a very successful propagation which is grown and tracked on Instagram  @mochimonster123.  Before we get to the growth progress photos, see below a magnificent specimen in the Barbican Centre in London, United Kingdom.  If you are interested in getting one of these to grow, I have links at the end of this post.

As you might be able to see on the image above, this plant produces stunning pink flowers – for more information about these flowers, see here for the burro’s tail succulent flower post.

If you are interested in buying your own, here is a link to where they are currently sold online. Now that we have clarified the #plantgoals, below is the growth progress.

February 2016

February 2016: The leaves were kept in bright filtered light.  It is best to keep them out of direct sunlight.  While growing from the leaves they were misted daily.

March 2016

burros tail
March 2016: Leaf cuttings showing small growth at the ends, they have doubled in size since the previous month

May 2016

donkeys tail succulent
May 2016: The plants have continued to thrive and some of the new leaves are almost as large as the original leaves

July 2016

succulent growth rate
July 2016: The cuttings have continued to grow and now the soil can barely be seen amongst the leaf growth.  The plants are starting to grow tall.

September 2016

succulent growth rate
September 2016: The propagated plants shown here next to a more mature burro’s tail

April 2017

April 2017: The cuttings are now a number of well established succulents

June 2018

May 2020

The main thing to note here is: WOW. In just three years this has gone from a small propagation experiment to a truly stunning plant. Not only has it grown significantly, it is now displaying brilliant pink tones. For future updates on this plant, the owner is @mochimonster123 on instagram

May 2020

Where to buy

These plants are relatively easy to find, and buying online is pretty safe because they are not as delicate as some other plants. Since they are so easy to propagate they are often sold as single leaf cuttings which can be a very affordable alternative to a mature plant. I have organised the below based on location, as this is often the biggest factor in buying online due to customs regulations etc.

United States

Cuttings starting at $4

Established plant $26

UK & Europe

5 x large cuttings – £5.99

Established hanging plant £30

Australia

Fresh cuttings $8.50

If you’re interested in finding more rare plants online, see this link for our complete guide on where to buy rare plants online.

If you are interested in succulent propagation you might also be interested in our post on variegated string of hearts, seagrape grown from seed, or Echeveria Succulent propagation.

See our other plant stories here

Get in contact if you have any plant stories or advice to share!

how to propagate burro's tail succulent

40 thoughts on “Burro’s Tail Succulent Propagation

  1. Hi I’m currently trying to propagate my burrow’s tail. I have three leaves in a pot and they each have a lot of very small fine root looking brown hairs at the bottom of the leaf, is this normal? Your first photo in February is great but what do they look like before they start to form the little green bumps? And how long does it take them to reach this stage? Will those little brown hairs begin to form those bumps?

    Like

    1. Hey! The little hairs are definitely normal, they are the roots, so after another month or so you will see tiny bumps which will be the new leaves. Every time I’ve done this it seems that nothing is happening and then seemingly overnight a leaf appears. Keep misting regularly and let me know how it goes! 😊

      Like

  2. Спасибо за прекрасную хронологическую подачу материала. Лишних вопросов не возникает, все наглядно и четко.

    Like

  3. What did you use as a growing medium? I’ve been using a very chunky, rocky medium to propopagate, yours looks like it has lots more peat in it, I wonder if that’s been why I have not been very successful! Please share what you use as a growing medium for these babies?

    Like

  4. I’m sorry, I should have asked this as well ~ do you cover the little roots with the medium and make sure to spray those, when you mist daily? I have been using clear plastic bakery shells with drainage holes in the bottom, and holes puched through the covers for air, before closing the containers and only misting about once or twice a week, with hit and miss success. You obviously have much success, if you could share a little more about your process, I’m hoping I can too. Thanks!

    Like

  5. So you just let the leaf cuttings lie sideways on top of the soil? Coould you also Copley a whole strand and propagate that by sticking the cut end into soil?

    Like

    1. Yes both methods work! I find misting every couple of days with water helps too. There is another post showing water propagation, and I think this actually works faster – where you lie the cutting above water. Good luck!

      Like

  6. Love this page – I bought mine in Feb 2021, but knocked it and had leaves go everywhere! I’ve started to propergate, but my cuttings haven’t had anywhere like as much growth compared to yours in a similar time frame… do you have any tips on how to make them grow more? I think I probably need to mist them a little more upon reading this!

    Thanks 🙂

    Like

    1. Definitely misting them daily! and lots of sunlight. Lots of people say that they don’t need too much water but I’ve always noticed that misting regularly helps them tremendously. Once you’ve had a bit more growth, I’d love to see the growth progress photos!!!

      Like

Leave a comment