Kalanchoe Plant Care
Hardy and Beautiful, the Kalanchoe Is a Great Indoor Flowering Plant
Aug 10, 2007
Pronounced “collin-co-wee,” this plant genus from Madagascar includes 125 species ranging in height from a few inches to tree-sized. The popular indoor plant variety is generally 2 to 4 inches tall and 2 to 4 inches in diameter.
Kalanchoe features a central cluster of delicate flowers in orange, red, pink, or white and blooms can last for many months. (See photo below.) Flowering plants can be purchased in pots as small as 2 inches, so some owners prefer to transplant them to a slightly larger and prettier container. A four-inch pot is plenty large enough for one plant, and a 6-inch container could be used to cluster two or three plants together.
When preparing a new pot for kalanchoes, keep in mind that these plants are succulent, meaning their fleshy leaves store water, so much like a cactus, they don’t like to be over-watered. They need a soil that drains well, typically half peat and half sand or perlite. The pot, of course, needs to have a hole in the bottom for drainage. A few pebbles in the bottom of the pot will help, as well.
While it's blooming, watering once a week should be sufficient. Make sure containers drain thoroughly. Left in wet soil, the roots can be prone to rot, so be sure the soil dries out between waterings. An ordinary plant fertilizer can also be applied about once every two weeks.
Other than avoiding direct sun in the hotter months, kalanchoes can tolerate a wide variety of lighting conditions, though faring best in bright indirect light. (You’ll recognize too much sun exposure when the leaves begin to look “sunburned.”)
The small plants are typically so inexpensive that when the blooms whither, many people simply discard the plant and buy another. The thick, fleshy foliage remains attractive however, and aficionados may want to keep their specimen for the next blooming cycle.
To prepare your kalanchoe for new blossoms, first cut the withered stalk and remove it, then let your plant rest for at least a month. During this resting period, the plant requires less light and even less water, so cut back your watering schedule to about once every other week.
In nature, kalanchoes are stimulated to flower when they sense the shorter daylight hours of winter. To induce your plant to flower, move it to a low-light location or limit light exposure to only 8 to 10 hours a day. Once the buds have started forming, you can return your little beauty to normal light conditions.
Even if you’re not prone to try inducing new blooms, the kalanchoe is still an exceptionally pretty, inexpensive, and easy-to-care-for plant that will brighten the little corners of your home for many months.
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