COMMON NAME:
► Kalanchoe
SCIENTIFIC NAME:
► Kalanchoe blossfeldiana
GROWER HINTS:
►Some folks say ‘kalan-cho’…some folks say ‘kal-an-ko-ee’. However you choose to say it, this lovely plant is pretty to look at and easy to grow. Kalanchoes are one of the easiest of all blooming plants to grow.
►An actual succulent that takes very little water but can easily live with a regular watering schedule. Put it inside your house, place it on the patio table or plant it in either shade or sun outside. This kalanchoe is remarkably flexible. This kalanchoe has some very pretty cousins for your succulent garden but none that bloom as bright and flashy as this one.
GROWTH HABITS:
►After all the blossoms have finally finished, cut off the flower stems but leave the foliage alone. In your garden your kalanchoe will come back into bloom naturally in late fall or sometime next spring.
►Here’s the trick that growers use to make the easy kalanchoe bloom any day of the year. Kalanchoes like many of our blooming plants react to a set number of hours of dark night and a set number of daylight hours. Kalanchoes need about six weeks of 12 hours of dark and 12 hours of light to set buds and bloom.
►To make this happen growers use both black plastic coverings and lights. Every evening in summer black curtains automatically roll into place and the greenhouse becomes as black as midnight. Every morning at the set time the Black plastic curtains roll back up and the daylight pours in. In winter, lights are used to adjust the hours. Like magic the Kalanchoes set buds and come into glorious colorful bloom. You can’t miss any days or the Kalanchoe will know you goofed up and not bloom. For a fun experiment you can try it with a box or an empty closet.
SHADE/SUN:
►You may put your kalanchoe in the house in a bright sunny window until it finishes its blooming cycle or grow it outdoors. You may grow your Kalanchoe on in full sun but they will look best with a little bit of shade. After the blooms are all finished plant it out in the garden and watch it grow and re-bloom every year.
FEEDING AND WATERING:
►Undemanding as far as water, it will tolerate the occasional lapse in care that we gardeners are guilty of. Not you, of course! Fertilize it occasionally.
FLOWER/FOLIAGE COLOR(S):
►Foliage is light green and leaves are somewhat thick. Flowers come in white, yellow, bright orange, red, salmon and bright pink.
SEASON(S) CARRIED AT WEIDNERS:
►Spring/Summer into early Fall
CONTAINER OR GROUND?
►Container or in the ground. Can use in a basket but Kalanchoes are very upright.
PARTICULAR PESTS:
►Aphids can attack but when treated early you can get the upper hand.
