Kalanchoe
Dr. Alka Singh
If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly our whole life would change.– Buddha
Brilliant, bold and beautiful often scarlet blooms with the thick green foliage of the Kalanchoe plant often catch our sight in chilling weather and as it blooms it brings numerous new hopes and happiness as the new year marks upon.
Kalanchoe is a popular succulent pot plant owing to its vibrant flowering habit and attractive foliage where some species can tolerate shady conditions and thus can be grown in indoors. Long-lasting colourful flowers and succulent foliage consisting of toothed thick waxy leaves thickly branched stems and cymose inflorescences are interesting features of it. Commonly, it is known by different names like Katy, Widow’s thrill, florist kalanchoe, Chandelier Plant, Devils Backbone, Mother-In-Law-Plant, Mother of Millions, Mother of Thousands, etc. It belongs to Crassulaceae (stonecrop family) and is native to Madagascar and tropical Africa. It was introduced in 1932 by Robert Blossfeld, a German hybridizer, hence, the species K.blossfeldiana has been named after him. There are around 120 species in Kalanchoe having variation in colour, multipe-talous flower forms, with variation in foliage colour and growth habit.
Kalanchoes as pot plants can be very well displayed on balconies, on verandas as well as in home gardens. They can be very well used in rockeries with other succulents as well as in dish gardens indoors. It tolerates drought conditions and can even grow well in low light conditions.
Species
Commonly known as florist’s kalanchoe owing to colourful flowers which have good longevity is the K. blossfeldiana. It is often seen in scarlet colour inflorescence but new varieties in different colours like white, yellow, and pink shades are also available. The species, valued for their unusual foliage, include the panda plant (Kalanchoetomentosa); penwiper plant (K. marmorata); velvet leaf, or felt bush (K. beharensis) and devil’s backbone or mother of thousands (K. daigremontiana).
Major types of Kalanchoe are classified as under
• Bryophyllums (Mother of millions)– It propagates in profuse as baby plants from fallen leaves at the edges that root. Usually, it is not that showy.
• Fuzzies (Panda Plant) – These are covered with pubescence-short hairs on the leaves. The leaves show light greying colour with brown edges. These look beautiful in an indoor dish garden or indoor pot plant. These are Kalanchoetomentosa
• Tree-like (velvet elephant ear)- It is also known as a Velvet Leaf plant, Felt Bush. Kalanchoe beharensisis the species that can grow so tall as a tree but is very slow in growth and flowers rarely. These grow tall up to 6 m and are found in Madagascar.
• Paddles – These show overlapping leaves in an oval shape with bright red colour. Kalanchoeluciae. These are highly prized.
• Profuse flowering types (Floriferous) -These are bright flowering types. Kalanchoeblossfeldiana and Kalanchoecalandivas are highly popular owing to their vibrant flower colours. Spreading types like Kalanchoefedschenkoi have pastel leaves and masses of coral flowers.
• Tropical – These are the types having large and thin leaves but are highly sensitive to climate and sun exposure. Kalanchoemarmorata, Kalanchoegastonis-bonnieri, Kalanchoeprolifera (box bloom) and Kalanchoesynsepala. These are often referred to as “walking kalanchoes”. These have arrowhead or elongated-oval leaves that produce baby plants at the tips of flower stems.
• Unusual types (Rarities)– Kalanchoehumilis and Kalanchoerhombopilosaare highly-priced and rare species.
Flower and foliage Description
Flowers are unscented, salverform (tubular), and fleshy and seen in different colours Corolla is 4-lobed and fleshy. Calyx is 4-lobed, fleshy, and small. Flowers have 8 stamens in 2 whorls of 4. Flowers are vibrant in colour in ranges from red to yellow, pink to white and have a sticky gland. Some hang in a bell-like way. The inflorescence is a panicle of cymes or an umbel. Double-flowered cultivars are available. Leaf colours vary from green, grey to silver, pink to lavender, reddish burgundy and with or without variegation. Leaves are fleshy, smooth or velvety and waxy and are opposite, simple, fleshy, succulent, and flattened. Some species have toothed leaves while some have scalloped leaf margins while others show smooth and sharp edges. Leaf colour variegation changes as per the availability of light in some species. Some species show viviparous nature and form plantlets at leaf edges.
Climate
Kalanchoes thrive well in a mild climate and love the coastal region. Extreme climate and freezing temperatures are difficult for kalanchoes. Frost is very harmful and a long spell of frost often kills the plant. It comes to flowering when the night temperature dips below 150 C.
Propagation Method
It is usually propagated through leaf and stem cuttings.
Pot Media Management
Potting mix for kalanchoe should be with good drainage as they are susceptible to rot under waterlogged conditions. Red soil and sand mixture (3:1) is often preferred with some added organic mix. However, a media comprising of cocopeat or peat moss, perlite or Styrofoam along with vermicompost (v/v3:1:1) is found suitable for growing kalanchoe.
Irrigation and Nutrition Management
Well-balanced N.P.K fertilizers along with micronutrients should be applied regularly for fast growth and good flowering. The plants respond dramatically to a regular diet of fertilizer. The best way is to apply relatively low nitrogen, moderate phosphorus and high potassium and apply in fractions with watering during the growing season. The plants are sensitive to nitrogen, responding to excess with rampant vegetative growth. The frequency of fertigation is important rather than the quantity of fertilizers to be added. Normally in soilless media according to the pot volume, it should be watered twice a week. In the initial stage of plant growth, the requirement for nitrogen and potassium is higher. Providing nitrogen in nitrate form is very important in order to avoid the lanky growth of the plant. Therefore, calcium nitrate and potassium nitrate which are a major sources of nitrate-nitrogen should be supplied through fertigation in the initial stages of plant growth. Water used for fertigation should have low EC i.e 0.1 to 0.2 Ms/cm. EC of the fertigation water should not exceed 1.00 Ms/cm and pH should be 5.5 to 6.5. Nutrient concentration in water should not exceed 1000 ppm. PH and EC of the leachates from the media should also be checked at regular intervals and if it exceeds 2.00 Ms/cm, it can be reduced by flushing or watering the media with plain water having EC 0.1-0.2 Ms/cm. Root rot may occur or is aggravated with excessive watering. Hence, restricted watering, well-drained media and drenching with fungicides can control these problems.
Pinching
Pinching in the initial stage at least two to three times when the plant is in the vegetative stage is an important practice to maintain plant dwarfness, to impart a bushy appearance and plant compactness. The use of plant growth retardants like daminozide, cycocel, etc can be done to induce further dwarfness, smaller leaves and compactness.
