Kalanchoe plants are a great choice for gifts or to bring in a pop of color to your home. I love their glossy leaves, tiny flowers and the color options of shades of pink, orange, yellow, white, and red. There are well over 100 varieties of Kalanchoe. Pictured above is Calandiva which is a cultivar of Kalanchoe blossfeldiana.

They’re hardy in zones 10-11 but are great indoor plants or outdoor summer plants in other zones. They’re lovely in their own pot or placed into a dish garden or in an outdoor container arrangement. As an outdoor plant, they should be brought in if temps dip below 50 degrees F. Many people can’t get them to rebloom, but they need roughly 14 hours of darkness and then 10 hours of bright sunlight daily until they rebloom.

Soil should be succulent or cactus soil, but can be mixed with 50% potting soil. Well-draining and needs to dry out completely between waterings. Timeframe of about 1.5 weeks between watering. It won’t tolerate wet feet and overwatering. Indoors it requires bright, indirect light. You can feed it with water-soluble fertilizer monthly during spring and summer.

Kalanchoe like to be warm at 55-80 degrees F. They don’t require misting or added humidity. Pinch off dead blooms. Propagation is through stem cutting. Aim for four leaves when you make the initial cut and then remove two after the cut. Then allow cuttings to callus for a couple of days, then dip ends into rooting compound and plant in soil or simply place on top of moist soil. Can be upright in soil or flat on top of soil. Maintenance includes pinching back leaves to keep their shape.
Maintenance includes pinching back leaves to keep their shape.