Kalanchoe Houseplants, native to Madagascar, are easy-care, flowering succulent plants that do extremely well indoors. Kalanchoes, a relative of the Jade Plant, are short, bushy, upright plants with thick, oval-shaped scalloped leaves. A Kalanchoe Plant’s long-lasting star-like blooms appear in clusters at the ends of sturdy stems. The vibrant colored flowers of Kalanchoe houseplants come in red, orange, yellow, lavender, white, and pink. Some new varieties of Kalanchoes even have bi-colored flowers. Kalanchoes are great houseplants to perk up your home during the long winter months. The shorter the days, the more flowers Kalanchoes produce. Best of all, the blooms on Kalanchoe Plants may last up to 8 weeks.
LIGHTING REQUIREMENTS: Kalanchoe Houseplants need bright indirect light and enjoy direct sun during the fall, winter, and spring. Direct sun in the summer is too intense and burns the Kalanchoe leaves. The blooms on Kalanchoe Plants are photo-periodically induced. As the days get shorter and Kalanchoe Houseplants experience longer periods of darkness, they produce more flowers.
CARE INSTRUCTIONS WATER: Kalanchoe houseplants are Succulent Plants with plump leaves that store water for long periods of time. Kalanchoes are easily over-watered which causes root-rot. Allow the top 50% of the soil of Kalanchoe Houseplants to dry-out before watering. If the soil of a Kalanchoe Plant is exceptionally dry, sit the plant in a deep saucer filled with water for about ten minutes. This not only prevents over-watering but also prevents water from dripping on Kalanchoe plant leaves and causing plant diseases such as leaf spot or powdery mildew.
FERTILIZER: Fertilize Kalanchoe houseplants monthly, when it is actively growing, with a plant food high in nitrogen diluted to 1/2 the recommended strength. If the soil of the Kalanchoe is very dry, moisten the soil with plain water before using water containing plant food. This prevents the fertilizer from burning the roots of the plant.
TEMPERATURE: Kalanchoe houseplants like warm temperatures between 60-85 degrees. Low temperatures of 40 degrees or less will damage or kill a Kalanchoe plant within a few hours. Always keep Kalanchoes away from cold drafts and open windows during the winter.
HUMIDITY: Kalanchoe Houseplants grow well in regular or low household humidity. When the humidity is too high, Kalanchoes develop plant diseases such as leaf spot or powdery mildew.
FLOWERING: Remove faded blooms from Kalanchoes houseplants as soon as they appear to encourage more flowers. Starting in October, keep a Kalanchoe plant in total darkness for up to 14 hours a day and then place it in bright indirect light the rest of the time. This forces them to bloom exactly when you want.
PESTS: Indoors, Kalanchoe plants are fairly pest resistant. When placed outdoors for the summer, Kalanchoe Plants attract mites, scale, and Aphids. Kalanchoe Plants are very sensitive to chemical insecticides. When treating Kalanchoe Plants for a plant pest infestation, use the green solution, yellow sticky cards, insecticidal soap, or Neem Oil.
DISEASES: As mentioned earlier, Kalanchoe plants are prone to fungal leaf spot and powdery mildew. The best way to prevent these plant diseases is to keep Kalanchoe leaves dry and provide good air circulation.
SOIL: Use a light soil composed of peat moss, sand, and perlite that drains well for Kalanchoe houseplants. When using a basic store bought potting soil, be sure to add an equal amount of sand.