Tips for beginners: how to care for Kalanchoe so that it blooms?

When we choose plants for our apartment, we naturally want them to create beauty and coziness, while being unpretentious and easy to care for. Kalanchoe fits perfectly into these parameters, when it begins to bloom, then the mood immediately rises just from one glance at the flower. Flowering can last almost six months, the color of the flowers is diverse - well, what is not an ideal plant.

But in order for a beautiful plant to develop properly and delight us with its flowering, competent care for Kalanchoe and the right conditions of detention are needed. Let's talk about this in our article. Also watch a useful video on this topic.

Features

This plant belongs to the family Crassulaceae, due to its thick leaves and stalk, Kalanchoe retains moisture for a long time. Evaporation is prevented by a thin film that covers the leaves and stem.

Kinds

In home floriculture, the following types of flowering Kalanchoe are most common:

Kalandiva

This is the leader in distribution among gardeners, this species has a large inflorescence with double flowers (on short pedicels) of bright colors, with beautiful glossy leaves.

Watch the video about the features of the blooming Kalanchoe Kalandiva:

Blossomfield

Its feature is its height, which never exceeds 30 cm, rather large flowers are located on long peduncles, an elegant inflorescence is formed. The coloring of the Blossfelds is varied: pink flowers, red, orange, yellow, purple etc.

Watch the video about the features of Kalanchoe Blossfeld:

Laciniata

Interest in this variety is caused by unusual dissected leaves, nicknamed “deer horns,” it is often used as an ampel plant, since over time the stems sink and begin to creep along the ground.

The necessary conditions

Kalanchoe usually blooms in the winter months, can capture a part of spring, it all depends on the species of Kalanchoe. The flowering period is also different - it can last 2 weeks, or maybe six months.

For any plant at home, you need to try to create suitable conditions, Kalanchoe is no exception. Necessary conditions for its flowering:

• choosing the right pot and suitable soil;
• proper watering mode;
• compliance with lighting and temperature requirements;
• timely transplantation;
• proper top dressing;
• obligatory pruning and pinching of the bush;
• protection against diseases.

You can find out what conditions are needed for the Kalanchoe to start blooming, in this article.

How to care?

In order for Kalanchoe to bloom, of course, you will have to take care of it. You won’t have to do anything particularly complicated, but you must provide the necessary conditions:

1. Temperature. Should not fall below 15 degrees in winter, and rise above 28 degrees in summer. In summer, you can take the plant to fresh air - a balcony or a veranda, it will only benefit.
2. Lighting. Must be bright. Sunlight is needed, but it must be diffused, under direct rays the plant can get burns, so it is best to place it on the east or west window, and after dinner you need to slightly shade the flower, for this a light curtain or blinds will do.
3. Watering. It will be enough to water Kalanchoe in the winter 1 time every two weeks, in the summer, in the heat, of course, you will need to do it more often - about 1 time per week or more (look at the state of the soil), in the off-season everything will depend on the temperature and speed of drying soil, approximately 1 time per week.
4. Humidity. It is not required, it is not necessary to spray the plant, you can only wipe the leaves from time to time, since dust accumulates on them. Sometimes you can bathe in a warm shower, let the water drain to prevent accumulation of water in the pan and wipe all moisture from the leaves with a soft rag.
5. Top dressing. Necessarily necessary, only in small doses, it is better if it is special for succulents, and during the appearance of buds, fertilizers should be applied for flowering plant species, only the dosage reduced in half.IMPORTANT: All feeding should be done once a month and only in the spring-summer period, during the rest period, this should not be done.
6. Pot. It is important for the full development and, accordingly, flowering, to choose the right pot. It should be shallow, but wide, but any material will do. But if you choose a ceramic pot, then it is better to take unglazed.
7. Priming. You can make the correct composition of the soil yourself, you need to take in equal shares:
   • sheet earth;
   • turf land;
   • feathery;
   • sand;
   • or buy special soil for cacti, where you can also add a little sand.
8. Transfer. Kalanchoe grows quickly, so he needs a transplant every year, in extreme cases - after 2 years, it is best to carry out it by transshipment. Each time the pot must be taken a little larger in size - by 2 or 3 cm. The most important thing - do not forget to put a good layer of drainage on the bottom of the pot, and then the soil.
9. Pruning. In order that the plant does not stretch, but grows in a lush bush and blooms elegantly, it is imperative to prune and pinch it. It should be pruned after flowering (all peduncles and stems should be shortened), you need to pinch in spring and summer - during the period of rapid growth of the bush.
10. Prevention of diseases and pests of Kalanchoe. You need to regularly inspect the plant in order not to miss the appearance of any uninvited guests or the manifestation of diseases and take all the necessary measures to eliminate them in a timely manner (about what problems Kalanchoe has, you can read here).

You can also read about how to care for flowering Kalanchoe here, and here we talked about transplanting Kalanchoe immediately after purchase and taking care of it for plentiful flowering.

Watch the video on the proper care of flowering Kalanchoe:

The main reasons for the lack of flowering

Of course, not everything turns out smoothly, sometimes Kalanchoe does not bloom.

The reasons may be the following factors:

• Incorrect temperature. Kalanchoe does not like cold and does not tolerate a draft. After all, the plant is thermophilic, but it can also not stand the heat above 30 degrees, so you need to carefully observe the regime.
• Incorrect lighting. Both a deficiency and an overabundance of light can very much harm a flower, because a sufficient amount of light plays a very important role in the formation of buds.
• No cropping. If the plant grows as he wants, then very soon in front of you will be a bush stretched in height with a bare stem below, while you will not see any hints of flowering.
• Intensive fertilizer. Categorically you can’t do this, because you can’t wait for flowering. It is necessary to strictly adhere to the norms of top dressing.

You can learn more about why Kalanchoe does not bloom here.

Common mistakes

Beginning gardeners, when caring for Kalanchoe, unfortunately, can sometimes make mistakes. Most often it is:

1. Too plentiful watering in the winter, and moderate is needed.
2. Too weak watering in the summer, the plant begins to suffer from a lack of moisture and this will affect the flowering very badly.
3. Artificial creation of moist air. Frequent spraying (which is not necessary at all), because of this, fungi and other diseases may appear. Kalanchoe, after all, loves dry air.
4. Not providing enough light. If the plant is put in a shaded place, then, of course, it will not only not bloom, but will gradually lose all the leaves.
5. Lack of constant flower control. It should be regularly inspected for the presence of various harmful insects that can appear at any time and cause Kalanchoe very great harm. Because of their attacks, succulent leaves will begin to dry out, gradually fall off and the plant quickly loses the strength that is required for flowering.
6. Too zealous “feeding” with fertilizers, because of this, the plant grows rapidly and grows green mass, but will not want to bloom.
7. Fear of removing unnecessary - that is, the bush is not pruned and pruned, and if you do not prune it, you can completely forget about flowering. Kalanchoe must be formed, thanks to pruning, just get a magnificent beautiful inflorescence (the buds are laid on young branches that quickly appear after the correct pruning).

Conclusion

Of course, every living plant needs care, but caring for the flowering Kalanchoe is quite accessible even to any beginner. No supernatural tasks have to be solved here, you just have to follow the rules. So plant this wonderful flower with pleasure in your homes and apartments. In addition, it is believed that Kalanchoe perfectly cleans the air in the house from harmful impurities and the atmosphere from harmful emotions, and charges with positive emotions.