Hello,

I'm new here and I'm also new to plants, I've been learning things from YT, Google and sites like these, however, I need some advice on a Kalanchoe that I was given and on my own Kalanchoe.

The Kalanchoe that I was given is leggy, I have no idea if I can fix or help it.




This is the one I've been growing




Any advice would be really welcome.

Thanks in advance.

to the forum.

What kind of light do they get? You will see the best results from putting them right in front of your sunniest southerly facing window (assuming you're in the northern hemisphere). The more light, the better indoors. They should "see" the sun for hours a day, year round with no curtains or blind in the way.

Hello,

I'm in the UK, the sun is a bit hit and miss here lol. I've tried to put the leggy one in the hall so it gets the morning sun through the door windows and the one I've been growing is in my kitchen where the sun goes later on in the day. I do try my best to make sure they get sun but it's a bit of a pain where I live unfortunately.

The leggy one does seem to have gotten a bit better since I was given it a week ago, but I was wondering if it's always going to droop like that now? Is there anyway to fix it or is it fine the way it is or is there any point in trying to fix it?

The one in the kitchen seems to be growing fine? but I've read that you should prune them?

Sorry about all the ?'s I'm still learning.

I understand the limitations imposed by weather. You have to make the best of what mother nature serves up. If you can visually confirm the sun hits them for hours a day when it's sunny outside, that should be sufficient. Proximity to the window is key.

You can certainly prune if you like, that should cause no harm and the plant(s) will grow out of it just fine. But light should be your first consideration for the best long term results.

These plants tend to go on a downhill spiral after people buy them (usually in the flowering state). Without the flowers they tend to look a little gangly and unkempt. For what it's worth, flowering is determined by day length. So indoor plants which don't enjoy a proper dark period (uninterrupted by strong light) may have trouble flowering again. In any case, I think most people probably treat these plants as disposable once they're done with the first dramatic flowering event. Not that you should, just a point of reference.

Anyway, I hope this advice helps.

The Kalanchoe was given to me in a pot, it was flowering as you said, with a peace lily and rose, all were small, the rose sadly died, but the Kalanchoe and lily haven't done too badly, I've had them for around 6 months now, flowering doesn't bother me really. Yes I did actually read that people tend to dispose of them when they don't flower anymore which I was a bit baffled about because they're still growing regardless.

I do try my best to give them as much sunlight as possible, hence them being in the kitchen and hallway, I know you can't put them directly in front of the window because they'll burn. I'll have to figure something out to try and give them more light as I don't want my one ending up like the one my mum gave to me, she had leggy in her kitchen window, problem is, it was constantly shaded as she lives in a multi-storey building and the walkway above is over her kitchen window, she said she was told that shade was ok by the person that gave her the plant.

The advice is great thank you, thanks for taking the time to respond to me and for trying to help, I appreciate it

It is impossible to provide too much natural light indoors. They will not burn if placed right in front of a window, that is in fact exactly what they need right now.

ooo ok, it's just I put my one in the window and the leaves started to go a bit brown, so I thought I was burning it

Thank you I'll have a little shuffle around tomorrow.

Yeah, there may be an adjustment period, and always keep an eye on things, but in a couple of weeks things should look a lot better all the way around. Good luck! Stop by again if you have any other questions.

Thank you!

Hi & welcome! I don't think these plants go downhill, unless nothing but looking at them is done. Individual trunks don't last more than a few years, but a periodic re-do will ensure that you have your plants indefinitely.

It's so similar to the behavior of so many other succulents that get "too tall" and develop little trunks. It's the same thing you're always showing with your rosettes, Baja. I'm surprised you don't see a similarity. If left to its own devices for more than a year or two, they develop the trunk look and it's almost always advised to chop & lower them.

Leggy means excessive distance between nodes, which I don't see on the pictured plants. In deep shade the leaves can reach much larger sizes, so I don't see evidence that the light has been too low for normal temperate growth. Temperate growth being the seasonal swings that plants have when they have to come inside, at least for part of the year, and the consistent lower light for plants that never go outside at all.

The growth of temperate plants is different than that of plants that are able to stay outside in the sun all year, but it's enough for pretty soft, green leaves and annual blooms.

The blooms are why I have hundreds of these in the house for winter. I started with 1 funeral plant about 10 yrs ago, and by buying 1 each of a couple of others with different color blooms and now there are hundreds of them. The roots are hardy here, so it makes increasing the numbers very easy. In the fall, I gather all stems that are making bud and bring them in to enjoy the blooms, which usually get ruined by frost if left outside even though the plants grow like crazy between the frosts.

It's not possible to avoid eventual leaning, that's the nature of so many plants, to lean over and take root wherever it touches the ground.

It may be too late in the year to bother now, but you can put your plant(s) outside for summer when night temps are reliably above frost. Start gradually with small amounts of time at dusk or dawn to get them used to it so there is not sunburn. Then add a 30 mins or so, every week or two, until the exposure is at desired level. But don't worry about sunburn if it happens, new foliage will replace the old very quickly.

To rejuvenate, cut the tips with about 2-4" of stem attached, then stick them in the soil, like arranging flowers. Leafless lengths of soft green stem will also take root and grow. To use those, I bury 2 nodes and leave 1 or 2 nodes exposed above soil.

I realize there is a lot more sun in AL than UK, but during the winter months, at least it comes through windows better, at a sideways angle. That's great because that is when it is needed to form buds. I start seeing buds around November 1, and about 6 weeks later, blooms start to open. Some of them can last a very long time, some of my plants are still blooming. I think you would need to take them outside for summer to get that longevity but you should get some blooms on plants that look like yours do in your pics.

For winter, close proximity to an E/S/W window great. Right by an east window for winter:



In a lot less sun, the leaves are so big:



There are tons of additional pics of this plant in the plant database on this site:
Florist Kalanchoe (Kalanchoe blossfeldiana)

And many cultivars with double-petal blooms and unusual leaves:
https://garden.org/plants/sear...

If you like 1 Kal, you might like others. A discussion about any kind of Kals:
The thread "Kalanchoe chat and photos" in Cactus and Succulents forum

Thank you very much, I really appreciate you taking the time to respond and to explain things to me etc.

I'm a very new plant person, I was advised to take up an hobby such as plants due to me having mixed mental and physical health problems, I can see why the OT suggested plants to me now, I love watching them grow/change.

I'm a little bit weary about pruning the one I referred to as leggy and even the one I've grown because of my anxiety I think I'm going to mess up and harm/kill the plant rather than help it (you should see me with animals, I'm quite a soppy person lol). I know it's a matter of trial and error and learning. I'll make sure to look at the rest of the information that you've post.

Thanks again! Oh also, the one that's a bit out of control seems to have a new shoot growing from the soil and a bigger one at the side, the plant does seem to have gotten better since my mum gave it to me but she did have it in a shaded room where as I've put it in the hall which has decent light (when we actually get some sun here in rainy UK).

I'm happy to share what I've seen. : ) And can totally understand anxiety about cutting a plant. It is not something that needs to be done all at once, but I would encourage you to try a little bit to get comfortable with it, just because of the way old trunks tend to collapse. It would be more dramatic if that circumstance were to force a first attempt at cutting. No pressure if you're not ready, just encouragement that when you do feel ready, it is very likely to go well.

It might help put your mind at ease to know that cutting a small part off of this kind of plant does not cause a risk of killing the original plant. There can be fails in trying to get the cut off piece to make roots and become another plant, but this is very rare if the conditions are within the plant's range of preference.

The plants that are leaning offer the opportunity to make new plants without cutting anything. If you position a new pot so that some part of the leaning plant is in contact with the soil in the new pot, roots should form at the contact point. Laying a small rock or other object on the contact point can help speed this process. You want something heavy enough to maintain constant contact without breaking the stem. If it does break while you're trying to position this, don't panic. Just stick it in the soil like a stake, so that just the leaves are above the soil.

Thanks @purpleinopp , Tiffany. I need all the good advice and directions to successfully keep my kalanchoe alive and thriving.

Don't be surprised or worried if the leaves turn red in more sun. It's normal and can give a good show when they're out of bloom.

@Nash74
Hope you will enjoy the new hobby, just dive into to forum, discuss, share and chat with all the forum members here. Once you get addicted with the cactus and succulents, you will have a lot of them on your window shills

Frenchy, I'm happy to share what I've seen from my own plants. I'm glad you found some value in the info. Thank you for the acorn!