Kalanchoe spp.
Species in the Kalanchoe genus are hardy and low-maintenance, but they also take the whole notion of “tough plant” up a couple of notches.
Kalanchoes are members of the stonecrop family, aka Crassulaceae, along with other common succulents grown as houseplants like jade.
Not only do these plants thrive with benign neglect, but several types flower regularly, even indoors. Others are appreciated for their foliage.
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It’s quite simple to propagate new specimens too, either from seeds or cuttings.
And many species, like K. daigremontiana reproduce viviparously. These varieties grow bulbils, or baby plants, along the edges of their leaves.
Grown outdoors, kalanchoe can be a good ground cover option since it tolerates dry spells well once established.
Some types are superior to others for ground cover – one is the low-growing, spreading species commonly known as flapjack paddle plant, or K. luciae.
Another is the flower dust plant, K. pumila, which forms small shrublets with leaves that are white to pale pink in color and dusted with a powdery coating that looks like light frost.
It will send up stalks in late winter that flower with tiny pink blooms.
Intrigued? I’d like to tell you a bit more about kalanchoes and give you a few tips on how to grow and care for them.
After all, even the most easygoing succulents have a few needs that must be met for them to thrive, and kalanchoe is no exception.
Here’s everything I’ll cover:
What You’ll Learn
Native to Madagascar and other tropical parts of Africa, the Kalanchoe genus includes at least 120 species.
Many of them are cultivated worldwide, but the majority are found only in their native range.
They aren’t particularly cold-hardy and can only be grown as perennials outdoors in Zones 10 to 12, or sometimes in Zone 9, depending on the variety.
But these species don’t necessarily share visual similarities. In some cases, they don’t look at all alike.
Flapjack paddle plant (K. luciae), for example, has flat, circular leaves produced in stacks, while panda plant (K. tomentosa) has silvery fuzz on its blade-shaped leaves, and may sport brown markings that look like streaks of chocolate.
Other types will start out with green leaves and develop red tints or maroon edges if they receive enough light.
The size range among plants in this genus is also impressive.
It includes the velvet leaf plant (K. beharensis) that can grow up to 20 feet tall outdoors under ideal conditions, along with dwarf floral varieties that bloom in bright colors and can live their whole lives in four-inch pots.
You may be most familiar with the florist’s kalanchoe that’s often sold as a blooming houseplant in the months leading up to Christmas.
Single blooms of this species may be orange, pink, white, or yellow, and a double variety, ‘Calandiva’ or the rosebud kalanchoe, first came onto the market in 2002.
Another claim to fame: A kalanchoe was sent into orbit in a resupply mission to the Soviet Salyut 1 space station in 1979.
If you live in Zones 10 to 12 where most varieties can be grown outdoors as perennials, you may want to plant kalanchoe as an accent in a bed or border, add it to a rock garden, or use it for xeriscaping in arid climates.
Keep in mind that mother of millions and mother of thousands are both considered invasive in some areas.
Houseplant aficionados can employ many varieties as centerpieces or dish garden specimens, and flaming Katy in particular will bloom readily indoors.
And as a bonus, unlike the monocarpic succulents that only bloom once before they die, many varieties of kalanchoe can bloom numerous times, with some coddling as needed.
How to Grow
Whether you’re growing kalanchoe outdoors, indoors, or combining the two approaches by bringing potted plants inside through cold winters, bright light and good drainage are key.
Be sure to choose a pot with good drainage that is large enough to hold the root structure with a little growing room to spare.
Fill it with porous soil formulated for cacti and succulents. You can make your own succulent potting mix following the guidance here.
Light
Outdoor kalanchoe specimens should be planted in-ground or their containers should be placed in a location that receives full sun to part shade, while houseplants will need bright, indirect light.
Supplemental lighting can also be used indoors if you don’t have a sunny windowsill available.
Water
Kalanchoe plants of all types don’t like wet feet. Overly moist soil or sitting in water can lead to root rot.
Mostly, you’ll just need to water the plants any time the soil has dried out completely to a depth of several inches.
It’s a good idea to use a moisture meter so you’ll know when to water, and this can help to prevent overwatering and root rot.
Temperature
Indoors or out, these plants also need nighttime temperatures of at least 60°F. Daytime temperatures around 70°F are ideal, though they can tolerate temperatures much warmer.
If you’re growing container kalanchoe in regions north of Zone 9 or 10 where they aren’t hardy, beware of the onset of cooler weather.
Make sure to bring potted plants into the house or place them in a heated greenhouse before temperatures dip below 40°F.
These are tough plants, but they can’t withstand freezing temperatures.
Species to Select
With over 100 species in the Kalanchoe genus, most of these are not in cultivation. But the ones that are readily available to the home gardener are still quite diverse.
Here are a few of the most popular varieties you might want to opt for to grow at home:
Florist’s Kalanchoe
K. blossfeldiana, or florist’s kalanchoe, aka flaming katy, is known for being one of the easiest varieties to grow among flowering houseplants.
With a max height of about 12 to 18 inches and spread of about a foot, it produces clusters of flowers that may be white, yellow, orange, or pink, depending on the variety.
The foliage is fleshy and green, with scalloped edges.
Bear in mind that while you can force plants grown indoors to bloom again, the process takes about 12 weeks, beginning the previous fall.
You can learn more about encouraging kalanchoe to rebloom indoors here.
Yellow-flowering K. blossfeldiana plants in two-and-a-half-inch containers are available from Hirt’s Gardens via Walmart.
Or read more about caring for florist’s kalanchoe/flaming katy here.
Mother of Thousands
K. daigremontiana reproduces readily from both cuttings and the little plantlets that develop along the edges of its leaves.
It features bright green foliage with saw-toothed edges on fleshy stems.
It’s similar to the mother of millions kalanchoe but has larger leaves that grow up to eight inches long.
Mother of millions produces plantlets on the top of its leaves, while mother of thousands may grow them all along the leaf margins.
Mother of thousands is hardy in Zones 9 to 11. Outdoors it flowers in winter and then dies, producing bell-shaped red-orange blossoms that hang down in a ring from a tall stem.
Planted in the ground, it can reach three feet tall. If its pot is large enough and it receives ample light, it can also grow to this size in a container.
Begin with a more modestly sized four-inch pot of ‘Mother of Thousands,’ available from Hirt’s Gardens via Walmart.
Learn more about growing mother of thousands here.
Panda Plant
K. tomentosa, known as panda plant, is also called pussy ears or chocolate soldier – not to be confused with the columbine cultivar of the same name, or with the flame violet (Episcia cupreata) which also sometimes goes by this common name.
This species is valued for its fuzzy leaves – silvery with chocolate-brown piping along the margins – more than its blooms.
But it may sport clusters of purple-tipped, yellow-green flowers in spring.
These sizable succulents are a suitable accent for gardens and borders in Zones 11 to 12, and they also offer indoor appeal as houseplants.
They can grow three feet tall and two or three feet wide under ideal conditions.
Two-inch pots of K. tomentosa are available via Walmart.
Learn more about growing and caring for panda plant here.
Maintenance
You can remove any dead leaves or spent flowers every couple of months. You can prune these plants to shape them if you like.
Only cut a few inches from the top of any stems that have grown lanky, and keep in mind that this is typically a sign of inadequate light exposure.
If you’re growing in containers, you may need to repot every year or two, depending on how fast your chosen variety grows.
Look for roots peeking out the bottom through the drainage holes, and make sure to only move to a pot that’s one size larger.
These succulents don’t mind being a little root bound, and if they get a bit cramped, they just won’t grow as big or as quickly.
Make sure to move your plants indoors in the winter well ahead of frost if you live in a region with cold winters, or if a rare cold snap is in the forecast.
They’ll tolerate drought, but frost and freezes will kill them.
If you can’t move the plants because they’re growing in the ground, row cover or plastic might help prevent an unexpected freeze from claiming the plants.
I always recommend taking a few cuttings to root ahead of any freezes in the forecast if you’re growing succulents as perennials.
That way you can root the cuttings if anything happens to the garden plants.
Propagation
If you’ve acquired a plant from a nursery or have a friend who’s growing kalanchoe and willing to share, it’s easy-peasy to grow more.
You could also grow kalanchoe from seed, but you can more reliably and far more readily root cuttings to produce new plants.
When you take cuttings, you’ll also always know what you’re growing – while cuttings produce clones, seeds may not produce kalanchoe with characteristics identical to the parent plants.
From Cuttings
To root branching kalanchoe types in potting mix, take stem-tip cuttings about three inches long, and remove any flowers.
Prepare a pot or tray of moistened cacti or succulent mix, or combine your own mixture with equal parts peat and vermiculite.
Poke the cut side of the stem into the soil about an inch deep.
Place the tray where it will receive bright, indirect light, and keep the soil moist but not wet until roots form. This usually takes a couple of weeks.
You can also propagate kalanchoe from leaf cuttings, but reserve this for the varieties that don’t have sturdy stems to cut.
Choose those with thick, fleshy leaves that don’t produce new plantlets on their leaf margins.
Just a few of the many varieties that are suitable to start from leaf cuttings include panda plant, paddle plant, flapjack kalanchoe, and K. humilis.
Learn more about rooting leaf cuttings in our guide to propagating succulents.
From Plantlets
If you’re growing a viviparous species, meaning it produces new plantlets with their own roots along its leaf edges, it could not be simpler to propagate.
When the plantlets are able to live on their own, they’ll drop from the parent plant and stretch their roots into the soil at the base.
You can also gently dislodge them before they drop on their own.
Then place them on the surface of lightly moistened cactus potting mix in a pot, or on the garden soil.
Transplanting
To transplant out of starter pots, wait until the new starts produce a couple of sets of new leaves. You can disentangle each transplant or plant a clump of three or four together.
Move them to their permanent home, either in a suitable spot in the garden or placing them in a pot of pre-moistened succulent growing mix.
Position so the roots are lightly buried just below the surface of the soil.
Pests and Disease
Like most of their succulent kin, kalanchoe is known for being relatively pest- and disease-free. These are the main issues to watch for:
Pests
Most pests that afflict kalanchoe can be taken care of easily in the early stages but are more difficult to deal with once they gain a stronghold.
Mealybugs
Mealybugs are insects in the Pseudococcidae family. The nymphs and adult females are less than half an inch long.
They feed on all parts of the plant and secrete a sticky “honeydew” that promotes the growth of unattractive black sooty mold.
If you spot just a few, you can usually wipe them off with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol.
To learn more ways to detect and eliminate mealybugs, read our guide.
Scale
Also icky and sticky and related to mealybugs, scale insects suck sap from fleshy plant parts.
They’re tiny, waxy, and usually white, brown, or gray.
If you spot an infestation early, you can use a rubbing-alcohol-dampened cotton ball or swab to wipe them off the plants manually.
More severe infestations may require insecticidal soap or neem oil to eradicate.
Learn more about preventing and eradicating scale in our guide.
Spider Mites
You’ll usually only see the webbing these teeny-tiny pests leave behind, but if you spot the mites themselves, you can see they’re tiny arachnids.
These sap-suckers from the Teranychidae family cause discolored streaks, yellowed leaves, or brown spots on the foliage that get darker and larger with time.
If you see mites or webbing on outdoor plants, spray them off with a hose in the morning a few weeks before bringing them inside. Repeat weekly until the pests are gone.
Indoors, isolate infested plants immediately and wipe off mites and webbing with a damp cloth. For severe infestations, apply neem oil according to package directions.
For more tips on coping with spider mites, see our guide.
Diseases
Kalanchoe isn’t prone to many diseases, which is one of the reasons why it’s described as “easy care.” But keep an eye out for these potential ailments:
Powdery Mildew
If you see floury spores on the leaves, you may be dealing with powdery mildew. It’s caused by fungal parasites in the Erysiphe genus, which feed on and weaken plants.
The spores reproduce in humid environments, even in the absence of moist soil or standing water.
If you notice it in time, you can probably eliminate powdery mildew by wiping it from affected areas with a water-dampened cloth.
More advanced cases might require treatment with fungicides. Learn more about home remedies for powdery mildew in our guide.
Root Rot
Root rot is devastating for us succulent lovers since the only solution is to toss affected plants and the soil they’re growing in.
Rhizoctonia solani or Fusarium pathogens typically cause the root rot, which announces itself with mushy, black or brown root systems – and usually, a telltale rotting smell.
Be sure to protect your kalanchoe from root rot by only watering at the soil line, never overwatering, and never letting the plants rest in pooled water.
Only choose pots and soil that drain readily, and be sure to pour the excess out of any saucers placed beneath pots.
Learn more about rotting succulents here.
Kalanchoe Rhymes with Showy – or Zowie!
I hope you’ll think about adding one or two kalanchoes to your collection of garden favorites or houseplants.
Be forewarned, though: They’re so easy to propagate, you may very easily end up with more plants than you know what to do with!
Are you growing kalanchoe? Which species? Let us know in the comments section below!
And if you’re looking for information on other easy-care succulents to grow at home, check out these guides next:
