All about flowering Kalanchoe: what varieties happens, what is known about planting, what does it look like in the photo?

The festive bouquets of small Kalanchoe inflorescences are very impressive, especially in the winter - they get such a warm, cozy atmosphere.

Unpretentious and very beautiful, of course, such a flower can not remain in the shade, its popularity is very wide, and even the name translates as “health”. So Kalanchoe not only gives a good mood, but is also able to heal.

From the article you will learn more about Kalanchoe, how to care for and propagate it, as well as how it looks.

Botanical Description and History

All Kalanchoe belong to succulents, although by external signs they can vary greatly. Unites all species with the same structure: dense, juicy and fleshy green leaves that perfectly retain moisture for a long period of time and a juicy green stem.

Plant height can vary from 25 cm to 1.5 m, the flower grows very quickly and is easy to reproduce. Kalanchoe is a tropical aborigine, it first came to Europe (from the island of Madagascar) after the story of a Russian sailor who was cured of fever with his help, it was in the 18th century.

Varieties and features with photos

Here you will see in the photo how each cultivar with flowers looks. The following varieties of flowering Kalanchoe are most common:

Blossomfeld

Beautiful, long-blooming (up to six months) shrub. Its inflorescence is umbrella-shaped from tubular red flowers, the leaves are small, green with a red tint. Easily propagated by side shoots.

Behar

This plant is a giant, large leaves are wedge-shaped, serrated (their location resembles a Maltese cross), blooming in summer with small yellow flowers. Read more about Behara and Felt Kalanchoe here.

Fiery

A low plant, almost no lateral shoots, the leaves are small, and bright red-orange flowers are large, form an umbrella inflorescence. The flowering hat actually looks like a flame.

Terry

It has oval leaves of dark green color, rough to the touch; large double flowers of bright pink color - long flowering - from the beginning of winter to the beginning of summer. Easy to propagate by cuttings or layering. This species is very sensitive to air temperature - it loves heat (17 - 22 degrees, not lower).

Rosalina Mix

It stands out with an incredible amount of inflorescences of delicate shades (blooms for six months), the plant is low, does not like drought, is sensitive to watering.

Kalandiva Mix

The most unpretentious of all flowering varieties, succulent leaves of a dark green color; flowers can be red, yellow, white, orange and some other shades. We talked about Kalanchoe Kalandiva in this article, and about the hybrid bred from this species called Mix, read here.

Where and how to plant it?

1. Need to decide on pot selection, you can plant, in principle, in any pot - ceramic or plastic. But here it is important to understand that moisture in the earth will remain longer in a plastic pot, since its walls do not let anything through, so watering in such a pot will be less common. And in a ceramic pot, especially unglazed, the walls are porous - moisture evaporates faster and watering will often be needed.
2. Pot shape, it is allowed any, the pot can be round, square or oval, Kalanchoe will look great in any.
3. Pot size, you don’t need to take it too low or too high, you need a “golden mean”, that is, the height of the pot should be equal to its diameter, this is an ideal size.
4. Pot volume, Kalanchoe loves tight pots, so for the right volume you need to take the volume of the root system and plus 2 - 3 cm.

Now to the question - how to plant:

1. at the bottom of the pot pour a layer of drainage not lower than 3 cm, more can be done;
2. pour a little soil on top;
3. we lower our plant there so that it is located in the center;
4. carefully add soil around the root system;
5. as a result, the flower should lower leaves, as it were, rest on the ground and stand straight;
6. Now water and put in place.

Lighting and location

Kalanchoe feels great under the bright sun, and at home, of course, he needs a lot of light. In the summer period, it is best to place a pot with a plant on the east or southeast window. You can put it on the south side, but there is one caveat - the pot can stand in direct sunlight until noon (until about 2.00 p.m.), and then it should be rearranged in a shaded place (or shaded slightly with a curtain).

Soil requirements

The soil for Kalanchoe is best acquired already specially compiled in the store, it should be suitable for all succulents. You can immediately plant the plant in this finished soil, or you can take 2/3 of it and 1/3 of sand or perlite, then you will get a lighter and more airy substrate. Kalanchoe will be more comfortable in such a ground.

Proper care

Of course, every living plant needs some care, no matter how unpretentious it is. Of course, some rules for care should be followed for Kalanchoe.

1. Watering - it needs to be produced about 1 - 2 times a week, so that the top layer of the soil has time to dry, it is impossible to overmoisten. It is important to ensure that water does not fall on the leaves and stem of the plant - only moisten the soil. Spraying leaves and flowers should not be done either; leaves can only be periodically wiped off with dust with a slightly damp cloth.
2. Humidity - there is no need to create additional air humidity, the plant likes dry air, it simply will not survive in humid air.
3. Top dressing - you need to use special fertilizers for cacti or succulents, and during flowering, you can also make fertilizers for flowering plants, only diluted twice with the norm.
4. Temperature - a very wide spread: from 15 to 35 degrees, this temperature is quite comfortable with Kalanchoe, but not lower - it does not like the cold, it can die.
5. Pruning - all flowering species must be cut off, otherwise decorativeness and attractiveness will disappear very quickly - the plant will begin to stretch. After flowering, it is necessary to cut off all the peduncles, and if the lateral processes are extended, then we cut them too. Also, to form a lush bush, you need to periodically pinch the tops of all branches (it is better to do this in spring and summer).

There is another important point in leaving - you need to periodically check the plant for any pests or diseases. The most common ones are:

• Aphid - it affects the leaves (sucks out the juice from them), bathing the plant in a solution of laundry soap and pruning the most damaged processes can help.
• Shields - an unpleasant gray coating (from small insects) is visually noticeable, you need to wipe the leaves with an alcohol solution.
• Leaves turn yellow - the main reason is the lack of lighting, you need to quickly change the location of the flower, to provide him with the right light.
• The plant dries - the reason may be in the wrong soil or you just forgot to water it (for a long time).
• The plant wilt - occurs due to waterlogging of the soil, the roots are damaged by rot.

Next, you can watch a video that talks about caring for flowering Kalanchoe:

Breeding

Kalanchoe is quite easy to propagate, it has a very good survival rate, the best time for this is spring. There are several ways - you can sow seeds, you can root leaves or processes, let's take a closer look at reproduction:

1. Seeds - this method is good for obtaining a large number of young plants, the process does not happen as fast as we would like, but then a lot of ready planting material is obtained immediately.
2. Leaf - A good way and a simple, enough leaf (from an adult plant) to dig along the edges into the ground, water, you can put on a transparent bag on top, and after a short period of time the roots will begin to grow in the ground. As soon as rosettes of 4 distresses form on top, each new plant can be planted separately.
3. Processes (cuttings) - this is the most common and convenient option, and cuttings (they should be no longer than 8 cm) perfectly give roots both in water and in the ground. If you want to put the cuttings in water - it should be at room temperature, the cuttings should be lowered into the water by about 2 cm - the roots form very quickly.Advice! Cuttings are also well rooted in the ground - the main thing is to be warm and humid.

Conclusion

The conclusion as a result we can make unequivocal - blooming Kalanchoe must be settled in his house. The plant is amazing, exotic, easily propagated, which is a big plus (you can give it to friends), it’s easy to take care of it - even a beginner amateur grower can easily manage it. And most importantly - Kalanchoe is able to maintain a healthy microclimate in the house.