How to Grow and Care for Kalanchoe

Kalanchoe is a genus that includes more than 100 species of plants native to Madagascar. Kalanchoe plants are known for their succulent, oval-shaped, often scallop-edged green leaves. Some varieties develop red leaves or leaf edges when grown with sufficient sunlight. The most common houseplant species is Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, which blooms with clusters of tiny, colorful flowers in shades of red, pink, yellow, orange, salmon, and white.

Kalanchoe is a popular houseplant because it's drought tolerant and easy to grow. In tropical and subtropical climates, it can be grown outdoors as a perennial. In colder climates, it's typically grown as an indoor plant. Note that all parts of the plant are toxic to cats and dogs.

Kalanchoe Care

Caring for kalanchoe is easy with a few basic tips and the right conditions. The main growing requirements for kalanchoe are:

• Plant kalanchoe in loose, loamy, sandy, well-drained potting medium like cactus mix or soil used for succulents.
• Place kalanchoe in a warm indoor location with bright, indirect light. or place it in a full sun outdoor location that has protection from late afternoon sun.
• Allow kalanchoe plants to dry out completely between waterings.
• Fertilize indoor kalanchoe plants once per month during spring and summer.

Light

Kalanchoe plants grown indoors do best with bright, indirect light. Plant outdoor kalanchoes in partial shade to full sun. When planted in full sun, it's ideal for it to receive some afternoon shade to protect it from scorching. Leggy stems are a sign that the plant isn't receiving enough light.

Soil

Outdoors, a kalanchoe plant grows best in well-draining, loamy or sandy soil. Indoor plants should be potted in a well-draining porous blend, like a 50% potting soil and 50% cactus mix, or 60% potting soil and 40% perlite.

To ensure proper drainage and avoid an overly moist environment, plant your kalanchoe in a clay pot, which can help wick excess water from soil.

Water

This hardy plant does well with minimal water, requiring saturation only every few weeks or so (and even less often during the winter months). Let the soil dry out completely in between waterings to help prevent root rot.

Temperature and Humidity

Generally, your kalanchoe will thrive at temperatures between 55°F and 80°F. With the exception of protecting it from frost, you don't have to do much to create a proper indoor environment. Kalanchoe plants are not fussy about humidity.

As outdoor garden plants, kalanchoes will not thrive outside of USDA hardiness zones 10 to 12 because they don't thrive at temperatures below 55°F.

Fertilizer

Like most flowering plants, kalanchoe benefits from fertilizer, though they's not heavy feeders. Garden-grown plants require only a single light feeding in the spring. Indoor plants should be fed with a well-balanced fertilizer blend once a month during the spring and summer months, but not in winter. If flowering is sparse, switch to a fertilizer that is higher in phosphorus.

Growth Rate

Kalanchoes are generally slow-growing, on average taking between two and five years to reach mature size. One of the most common kalanchoes, 'Flaming Katy', reaches around 12 inches tall at maturity. Paddle plant (Kalanchoe thyrsiflora) can grow to more than two feet tall at maturity, while cathedral bells (Kalanchoe pinnata) and velvet-leaf kalanchoe (Kalanchoe beharensis) can grow up to five or six feet tall in cultivation. Outdoor plants tend to grow more quickly because they're in brighter conditions.

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Types of Kalanchoe

• K. manginii: This species features fleshy leaves and bears large, bell-like pendant flowers. Moist air is an essential component of its prolonged flowering. Sometimes known as chandelier plant, this species is hardy in USDA hardiness zones 9 to 11.
• Kalanchoe daigremontiana: Commonly known as mother of thousands for the tiny plantlets that grow along the edges of its leaves, this kalanchoe is hardy in USDA hardiness zones 9 to 11.
• K. porphyrocalyx: Also known as pearl bells, this species consists of slender, rectangular leaves and purple pendant flowers. It is hardy in USDA hardiness zones 11 and 12.
• Kalanchoe delagoensis: This kalanchoe is known as the chandelier plant for the way its tubular orange flowers hang down from the top of its stems. It's hardy in USDA hardiness zones 10 and 11.
• K. beharensis: This kalanchoe species, sometimes called velvet-leaf kalanchoe, is hardy in USDA hardiness zones 9 to 11. It's prized for its large, pale silvery green fuzzy leaves.
• Kalanchoe luciae: A common houseplant, this kalanchoe earned the name flapjack plant for its flat, rounded leaves, which can develop red edges in winter. It's hardy in USDA hardiness zones 9 to 11.
• K. pinnata: This kalanchoe species, also called cathedral bells, has fleshy green leaves and bears tiny plantlets along its margins. It's hardy in USDA hardiness zones 10 and 11.
• Kalanchoe tomentosa: Known as chocolate soldier or panda plant, this kalanchoe has thick, fuzzy leaves with a blue tinge and brown spots around their edges. It's hardy in USDA hardiness zones 9 to 11.

Pruning

Pinching back the stems of a kalanchoe plant will help maintain its shape and promote more robust blooming. Trim off any dead flowers to keep the plant looking neat and encourage new growth. This is especially important to do during the plant's resting period in late winter and early spring.

Propagating Kalanchoe

Kalanchoe is very simple to propagate, and doing so is actually beneficial to the plant's health. As a mature kalanchoe grows, it produces offsets that can be taxing on the mother plant. Instead of allowing them to leech nutrients from the mature plant, you can propagate the offsets (or take stem cuttings) at almost any time. Here's how:

1. Cut a segment of stem several inches long from a mature plant using a sharp clean knife or clippers. If using an offset, remove it at the joint where it connects to the parent plant.
2. Allow the cutting to dry out for a few days, or until the end appears to have healed shut and calloused over.
3. Dip the calloused ends of the cutting in a rooting hormone.
4. Plant the cutting in soil comprised of the same mixture used to grow the mother plant.
5. Place the newly planted cutting in bright indirect light, but do not water it; the stem should take root within a month, at which point you can care for it as you would a mature kalanchoe plant.
   

Potting and Repotting Kalanchoe

Unlike plants that prefer to be pot-bound, kalanchoe plants actually thrive best if repotted rather frequently. For best results, repot your kalanchoe annually in fall after the plant has bloomed. Doing so will encourage new growth and increase the plant's fullness. Increase the container size to one size larger each time you repot.

Make sure to use a well-draining pot. Clay is a good choice because the material is porous and will help keep the soil relatively dry.

Overwintering Kalanchoe

In colder climates, you can relocate indoor kalanchoe plants to the outdoors once night time temperatures are above 60°F. Bring them indoors when temperatures begin to dip in late summer or early fall. If your kalanchoe is exposed to temperatures below freezing (32°F) it may die, so a good rule of thumb is to bring it inside when overnight temperatures dip below 55°F.

In USDA hardiness zones 9 through 11, kalanchoe plants can often survive a frost, even if their foliage dies back. In colder climates, however, they won't survive frost damage.

During the winter, keep your kalanchoe in a place with bright, indirect light, such as a south- or west-facing window, during winter. You can use a grow light if needed.

Kalanchoe plants need less water in winter than they do in spring or summer. Allow the soil to dry out fully between waterings.

How to Get Kalanchoe to Bloom

How to Keep Kalanchoe Blooming

For your kalanchoe plant to bloom to its full potential, it should be located somewhere where it gets at least six to eight hours of bright light each day. During the fall and winter, the plant should experience near total darkness for the other hours of the day. A full 14 hours of daily darkness for at least six weeks is necessary for the plant to amass energy for further blooms.

Roughly four months later, in spring, you'll be treated to bursts of colorful flowers that can last several weeks. Blooms can recur throughout much of the year if you control its exposure to light.

With the proper care and environment, kalanchoes can bloom year-round indoors. Kalanchoes require bright sunlight during the day to bloom properly. Harsh direct sunlight can actually inhibit blooming, so bright, indirect light is ideal.

How to Encourage More Blooms

Deadheading the flowers once blooms are spent is another way to prompt continual kalanchoe flowering. If you're struggling with getting your plant to flower, look for a fertilizer blend that is high in phosphorus, which can help produce more buds.

Common Problems With Kalanchoe

Kalanchoe plants are very easy to grow, but problems can arise when they are not watered correctly or if they experience temperature extremes.

Soft, Damaged Blooms and Leaves

Plants that are touched by near-freezing temperatures will often experience damaged leaves or stunted blooms. For best performance, keep these plants at temperatures above 50°F.

Wilting

Temperatures that are too high can cause leaves to wilt. Ideally, keep these plants below 80°F.

Drab or Burned Leaves

Proper light exposure is key to good-looking plants. Too little light and the leaves will lose the trademark glossy green. Too much direct sunlight and you can expect burned leaves. Indoor kalanchoes will do best in a location that receives a lot of bright indirect light, but not too much direct sunlight.

Soft, Fragile Stems

A very common problem with kalanchoe is overwatering or planting in a soil medium that holds water. Excessive water can easily cause root and stem rot with these plants. If you see this problem beginning, withhold water until the plant recovers.

Failure to Bloom

When a kalanchoe fails to bloom, it is usually because it does not get the lengthy period of winter darkness that allows the plant to reset its bloom cycle. During the winter months, these plants need a six-week period where they experience nighttime darkness lasting a full 14 hours each day. Without this reset period, the plants usually fail to bloom again.