{"id":2935,"date":"2019-12-24T06:54:05","date_gmt":"2019-12-24T14:54:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/?p=2935"},"modified":"2019-12-24T06:54:05","modified_gmt":"2019-12-24T14:54:05","slug":"conspicuous-kalanchoe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/conspicuous-kalanchoe\/","title":{"rendered":"Conspicuous Kalanchoe"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"OLYMPUS<\/a><\/p>\n

The island of Madagascar, off the coast of Africa, is home to all kinds of interesting plants and animals.\u00a0 My favorites among the fauna are lemurs, primates that have adapted successfully to even the harshest environments.\u00a0 There is something especially endearing about the ring-tailed lemurs, which hold their long tails optimistically aloft while roaming through southern Madagascar.<\/p>\n

Kalanchoe, being a plant, is more rooted than the average lemur, but is also native to Madagascar.\u00a0 You have probably seen kalanchoe, specifically Blossfeld\u2019s kalanchoe or Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, in a garden center, nursery or grocery store near you.\u00a0 Though the plants are available year-round, right now they are decked out in holiday wrappings.\u00a0 Kalanchoe are not as traditional as poinsettias for holiday decorating and gift giving, but have grown in popularity over the last twenty-five or so years.<\/p>\n

The glossy green leaves are fleshy, as befits succulent plants, and nicely scalloped.\u00a0 Sometimes the edges have a reddish tint, which adds interest between flowering periods.\u00a0 The kalanchoe that are commercially available right now have been \u201cforced\u201d in greenhouses to ensure holiday bloom.\u00a0 Those blooms are eye-catching, in colors that run the gamut from white, through shades of pink, red, orange and yellow.\u00a0 Traditionally the plants have umbels–flat-topped clusters–of small, single flowers that rise above the foliage.\u00a0 Sometimes retailers carry a kalanchoe variety with the trade name \u201cKalandiva\u201d, which features umbels of double flowers that contribute to a more opulent, diva-like appearance.<\/p>\n

Kalanchoe belongs to the large and varied Crassulaceae family, and are related to another popular indoor stalwart, the jade plant.\u00a0 The vogue for kalanchoe fits nicely with the current fashion for other kinds of succulents.\u00a0 Unlike some of its succulent relatives, kalanchoe has showy blooms and a very long flowering period.<\/p>\n

Many holiday plants, like paperwhites and poinsettias, are meant to be ephemeral, but kalanchoe is easy to keep and care for.\u00a0 With a modicum of effort, it will bloom again eventually, most likely in spring.\u00a0 After the flowers fade, position the container in a sunny windowsill.\u00a0 Like other succulents, kalanchoe thrives with relatively little water.\u00a0 When you do apply the watering can, make sure the top of the soil is dry.\u00a0 Take a look at the leaves.\u00a0 If they are plump and firm, the plant may not need water at all.\u00a0 If they seem flaccid, water sparingly.\u00a0 In spring, the kalanchoe should start active growth once again, so begin feeding with a balanced fertilizer, applied according to package directions.\u00a0 Like many houseplants, it appreciates an outdoor vacation in the warm weather.\u00a0 This should not happen until night temperatures are consistently above fifty degrees Fahrenheit.\u00a0 When the plant goes outside, place it in a protected spot, as wind can topple it over and damage the branching stems.<\/p>\n

If those stems grow \u201cleggy\u201d, with relatively few leaves compared to the length of the stem, pinch the stems back by about one third.\u00a0 This promotes branching and increases flower production.<\/p>\n

As lovely as kalanchoe is on its own, it also plays well with others in container arrangements.\u00a0 As with any other living situation, the best way to ensure wellbeing is to combine the kalanchoe with other plants that have the same needs, including free draining soil, bright light and limited moisture.\u00a0 Other types of succulents fill the bill perfectly.\u00a0 If you have a large jade plant, kalanchoe might grow nicely at its feet.\u00a0 Conversely, a single kalanchoe might be the central plant in a large round container filled with lower-growing succulents.\u00a0 The advantage to these mixed container arrangements is that the relatively floriferous kalanchoe helps compensate for the minimal flowering habits of some of its fellow succulents.<\/p>\n

If, like me, you dream of someday visiting Madagascar, buy a kalanchoe to help keep the dream alive.\u00a0 You can even go one step further and hang a picture of a ring-tailed lemur somewhere nearby.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The island of Madagascar, off the coast of Africa, is home to all kinds of interesting plants and animals.\u00a0 My favorites among the fauna are lemurs, primates that have adapted successfully to even the harshest environments.\u00a0 There is something especially endearing about the ring-tailed lemurs, which hold their long tails optimistically aloft while roaming through … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,2,3,5],"tags":[1928,742,282,2226,954],"class_list":["post-2935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fall","category-general-interest","category-spring","category-summer","category-winter","tag-flowering-houseplants","tag-holiday-plants","tag-indoor-plants","tag-kalanchoe","tag-succulents"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2935"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2935\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2937,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2935\/revisions\/2937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2935"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2935"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gardenersapprentice.com\/gardeningtips\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}