Good afternoon, my reader. Kalanchoe can be seen in many city apartments and offices. The popularity of the indoor flower is due to its unpretentious care, the presence of healing properties. By properly caring for the plant, you can achieve its flowering. Although it is short, it is very beautiful.
Please put your likes and subscribe to the channel "About Fasenda". This will allow us to publish more interesting garden articles.
Plant Details
Kalanchoe is a native of Madagascar. This representative of the Tolstyankovye family is common in Asia.
The flower feels good not only in a greenhouse, but also in a city apartment. The advantage of the Kalanchoe is its undemanding care. The plant has thick, fleshy leaves. It is not afraid of drought and does not need frequent watering.
How to care for Kalanchoe growing at home?
Flower care does not take much time and effort. It consists in:
- competent watering;
- providing sufficient lighting and suitable temperature conditions;
- transplant;
- fertilization;
- protection from disease.
Watering features
Indoor plant does not like waterlogged soil. It thrives on mild droughts.
On hot summer days, the Kalanchoe needs more moisture than in the cold season. In the winter months, the decorative culture is watered no more than 2 times a month.
Irrigate the soil in moderation, avoiding stagnation of water. Otherwise, there is a risk of rotting the Kalanchoe. It is preferable to water the flower through a tray.
Lighting and temperature requirements
Kalanchoe is a sun-loving culture that is not afraid of direct sunlight falling on foliage. However, during the winter months, the plant needs rest. It should be removed from the sunny windowsill to a shaded place.
You can stimulate flowering by reducing the length of daylight hours for the flower. In its natural habitat, the culture blooms in the cold season, when the amount of light it receives is reduced. In order for the Kalanchoe to please the owners with flowering in spring or summer, the daylight hours are artificially reduced to 10 hours.
In the cold season, the optimal temperature for keeping a flower is between +14 ⁰С and +18 ⁰С, in the warm season - from +18 ⁰С to +28 ⁰С.
Transfer
In order for the plant to develop well and please with flowering, it is timely transplanted into a large container. The procedure is carried out as needed, when the overgrown roots become cramped in the pot.
The transplant is carried out in the spring (April-May). The new container should be wider than the pot in which the Kalanchoe grows. The composition of the soil used for transplanting is left unchanged.
The plant is carefully removed from the pot along with the earthen lump and placed in a new container. The voids are filled with soil.
Kalanchoe grows well on loose nutritious soil. Experienced flower growers prepare their own soil mixture from the following components:
- leaf land - 2 parts;
- sod soil - 4 parts;
- sand - 1 part;
- peat - 1 part.
Fertilizers
An ornamental culture needs additional feeding for abundant flowering. It should be fertilized at least once every 30 days. For this purpose, store-bought fertilizer mixtures intended for succulent plants are suitable. Thanks to the complex feeding, Kalanchoe will receive all the nutrients necessary for its growth and development.
Fertilizers must not be overused. In this case, the plant will grow green mass and will not bloom.
How to deal with disease?
Disease protection is an important component of Kalanchoe care. Although the ornamental culture is ill infrequently, the florist should know what to do when the first symptoms of plant illness appear.
The appearance of spots on foliage (white, gray, brown) is a sign of mistakes made in care: waterlogging of the soil or excessive fertilization. To help the plant, you need to correct the mistake: reduce watering, stop feeding the flower, change the soil in the pot.
Kalanchoe is susceptible to aphid attacks. The plant affected by the pest is determined by yellowing and falling leaves. You can overcome the problem by cutting off the affected parts of the flower and treating it with soapy water.
Pruning
Pruning a flowering plant is resorted to only if it is sick. The procedure involves removing the affected parts of the flower.
After flowering, the plant needs to recuperate. You can create a dormant period for culture by following several procedures:
- cutting off the peduncles;
- moving the pot to a shaded cool place;
- stopping watering for 1.5 months.
Topping
Kalanchoe tends not to bloom again due to thinning of the shoots caused by a lack of nutrients. So that the shoots do not completely dry out, they carry out the pinching procedure.
Manipulation is not difficult. It is required to carefully pinch off each weak shoot, and then sprinkle the "wound" with charcoal.
Caring for Kalanchoe at home is not burdensome and not difficult. It is enough to create favorable conditions for the plant, water it regularly, feed it and transplant in order to be able to admire the beautiful flowering of this unpretentious pot inhabitant.
Does Kalanchoe grow in your house?
Original articleand many other materials, you can find on ourwebsite.
Read about watering grapes in the summer in the following article:Watering grapes in summer is the key to a good harvest in autumn