Debra Lee Baldwin is the Martha Stewart and the Ellen DeGeneres of succulents--on one hand sophisticated and elegant; on the other, whimsical and wry.  I love her latest book, Succulents Simplified (which comes out tomorrow!) because even more than in her first two (Designing With Succulents and Succulent Container Gardens), DLB's voice comes through in her latest.  It's not an all-inclusive succulent bible, nor is it as design-focused as her previous books.  Instead, it's a fun, idiosyncratic, and informative romp in DLB's succulent-filled world. 

Succulents Simplified is divided into three parts.  The first is called "Enjoying, Growing, and Designing With Succulents."  It begins with lots of interesting succulent groupings (e.g., best blooms, picks for lazy gardeners, succulents you can eat if you're so inclined).  Then the advice begins.  There's a meaty little section with succinct riffs on topics like propagation, seasonal care, and dealing with pests.  This is followed by a section about design principles that's probably my favorite section in the whole book: chock full of terrific pictures, interesting container ideas, and short, informative blurbs with titles like "Not Your Grandma's Topiary" and "Why You Really Need Rocks."

The second part of Succulents Simplified consists of eight projects, ranging from simple to advanced, which showcase succulents.  I confess I'm not much on how-to projects; half of these were a little too Martha Stewart for me.  But reading them still gave me ideas and taught me a thing or two (e.g., that some people still own cake stands, and what good a fishing swivel might ever do me).  Plus, DLB offers plenty of tips, tricks, and fixes for making each project your own--complete with plant recommendations.

Succulents Simplified's final part features 100(!) easy-care succulents--and we're not talking about a crammed list with a couple of pictures here and there.  A photo, description, and growing tips are provided for each of the hundred varieties.  The breadth of DLB's selection is fun and impressive, and doesn't give short shrift to cacti or less-popular euphorbias (I maintain that haworthias got a short shrift, and she goes pretty heavy on the aloes, but YMMV). 

It's no secret that I'm a veritable Debra Lee Baldwin fan girl, and Succulents Simplified is sure to convert many more succ-ers into DLB-fan-girls (or fan-boys), too.  Although it was written for beginners and designed as a kind of "prequel" to her two other books, this one belongs on the shelves of novices and experts alike.  (Not to mention, it's paperback, and a bargain for $15 on Amazon.)  Even if you're a longtime succulent gardener, I dare you to read Succulents Simplified without learning something useful.

I love propagating succulents from leaves.  For many kinds of succs, all it takes is a leaf, a tiny bit of soil, and about 30 dollops of patience.  Here's what to do:

1. Pluck a leaf from your succulent.  Some of the easiest ones to propagate are graptopetalums, pachyphytums, and the fleshier echeverias and kalanchoes.  Make sure you pluck the leaf right from the stem, so that none of the leaf's flesh is still attached to the stem.  Fallen leaves often work, too. 

2. Place the leaf in soil.  I like to cover the base with just a few millimeters of soil.  You're supposed to wait a few days for a callus to form.  In my experience, this doesn't matter much, except with kalanchoes.  But it certainly won't hurt.

3. Water the soil lightly, at the base of the leaf, every other day or so.  I like to use a spray bottle and spray gently a couple times right at the base of the leaf.  Yes, this is more frequently than you'd water a full-grown succulent, but you have to coddle the baby leaves or else they'll dry out.  (But if you water them too frequently, not allowing them to dry between waterings, they'll rot.  This balance sounds harder to achieve than it actually is.)

4. Wait.  If you're really patient, wait for four or five weeks.  If you're like me (incredibly impatient), wait two weeks, pull the leaf out a little, and see if roots have started to grow.  This kind of disturbs the plant, though, so be gentle. 

5. Once roots start to grow, I like to put a plantlet in its own little 2" x 2" pot.  I water it based on the guidelines I explain in #3 above.  Then I wait some more.  Eventually (in three weeks or a month or six weeks--it varies based on the season and the type of plant), a baby plant will begin to emerge from the base of the stem, just like in the picture above.  So cool!

Of course, it will be quite a while before your plantlet becomes a full-sized plant.  But it's still incredibly cool to watch a gorgeous succulent go from nothing to awesomeness. 

For advanced propagation techniques, I highly recommend the book pictured above, which I talk about in more detail in my Books that Succ section.  So how about you, fellow succ-ers?  Do you propagate from leaves very often?  With great success?  Any great tips you can share?

I've decided to share some reviews of succulent books that I've found especially helpful.  As you can see, I have a new tab above, titled, Books that Succ.  I hope you find it useful.  Check back often for updates, and if there's anything you'd like me to review, let me know!

(You can click on the pictures of each of these books for a link to their Amazon pages.)