We all love succulents. Easy, compact plants that can thrive even when neglected. And among succulents, Kalanchoe is a beautiful tropical plant that can grow indoors, and guess what?
It can also gift your garden a colourful bloom. Kalanchoe (Kalanchoe blossfeildiana) is a native Madagascar shrub. With its mushy, plasticky leaves and long-lasting blooms, it has become a staple part of table decor in recent years.
When well cared for, this plant can give you tiny flowers in pink, yellow, red, orange, white or peach, adding charm to your indoor plant collection. In this article, let’s see how to grow it well.
This plant can be easily grown into a pot-sized shrub even from a tiny rooted stem. It thrives inside your house in any corner indirectly lit by sunlight for 6 to 8 hours.
Exposure to direct sun for long hours will scorch its squishy leaves. If your plant starts to stretch or become leggy, move it closer to a window to help maintain compact, strong growth.
For potting, use a well-draining sand or perlite-mixed succulent soil. Watering every 2 to 3 weeks is enough—only after ensuring the topsoil is completely dried out.
They can be fertilised during their growing season, avoiding winter. Using compost tea or seaweed-extract liquid fertilisers is suggested.
Since they are flowering plants, occasional pruning can help them maintain the shrubby shape and encourage healthy blooms. They have to be repotted every 1–2 years with fresh soil to refresh nutrients.
Indoor succulents bloom every winter or during the early spring. They have great drought tolerance, making them a good choice for beginner gardeners as well. If you have pets at home, please note that the plants can be toxic to pets if ingested.
And for curious gardeners, here is a fun fact: Kalanchoe species was one of the first plants to be sent to space!
It was sent on a resupply mission to the Soviet Salyut 6 space station with flowering tulips in 1979.