I don't rename mine either, Daisy. It's just not that important to me. If it's something I can remember, I'll use it, but otherwise the old name suffices.

I have this variety and i dont like the long stem. Ive seen this plant in stores where it has a much thicker stem and is very compact. How do i keep mine from getting so tall? Id like to keep more compact/short

DaisyI said:I never keep up with the name changes for two reasons: First, I don't feel like wasting all that plastic writing new tags. And second, I don't want my cactus, most of whom are old, to have an identify crisis in their old age.

And I especially don't rename Kalanchoes.

What happens with an identity crisis?

First there's denial when the cactus won't talk to anyone about its problems and grows bigger and bigger spines in an attempt to keep everyone at a distance. Then, rationalization: The cactus thinks "I'm as good as they are!" and blooms madly in an attempt to make its point. Next, there's bargaining when the cactus tries to take all the resources for itself, grabs every bit of water and nutrients within reach. And then it swells up and turns orange, like a big pumpkin. Finally, acceptance.... but its too late.

Its best not to put your cactus through this emotional turmoil in the first place. And always maintain a good relationship with open communication because it may save their lives.

The funny thing about Kalanchoes is their name, especially how it's pronounced.

The most common one that I hear is Kall (rhymes with tall) an koe wee.

But I have heard Northern Irish people reduce it to "clan kwee" and I like that. It's so much simpler.

Jill, I had one looking just like yours. Feel free to cut it down as far as you'd like. The stem left will very soon grown new leaves, and you can also root all the pieces you cut off. These grow really well from leaves. Even terrible looking leaves will grow new plants for you.

.... tagging my plants? You actually do that?

You don't?

I use tags for most plants. The ones which don't have tags are those which are obviously not going to be confused for anything else, such as my lone citrus tree or those whose identity I don't know for sure.

Some of us might be older or have more cluttered minds.... Yes that's me, I come down on the side of labeling my plants.

pod said:Some of us might be older or have more cluttered minds.... Yes that's me, I come down on the side of labeling my plants.

I'm 34 but have a cluttered mind, a cluttered plant room, and occasional difficulty pronouncing Latin. Tags help with all three!

No i dont. I tend to keep a full list of what is where in my mind. Errors happen, but the same can be for paper and tagged plants....

Jill, your plant looks like this one:
Coleus (Coleus scutellarioides Kong™ Mosaic)

"Mother of thousands/millions" is a nickname shared by various species that make the prolific leaf-edge babies:
Mother of Thousands (Kalanchoe daigremontiana)
Mother of Thousands (Kalanchoe delagoensis)
Mother of Thousands (Kalanchoe 'Houghtonii')
Mother of Millions (Kalanchoe laetivirens)
Kalanchoe (Kalanchoe rosei)

The leaves of other species will make leaf-edge babies, but from what I've seen of them, the leaves generally do not do that unless/until it is removed from the plant.
Cathedral Bells (Kalanchoe pinnata)
Marnier's Kalanchoe (Kalanchoe marnieriana)
Lavender Scallops (Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi)

And "donkey ears" usually makes just 1 or 2 babies @ the end of each leaf.
Donkey Ears (Kalanchoe gastonis-bonnieri)

Kalanchoe 'Houghtonii seems to be the best match, though ive seen a lot of variation among the photos on this site. Like i said, mother of millions=/=mother of thousands. Mot. of . millions from what ive read is a referred to hybrid between wide and thin leaves bryophyllum species, resembling a colorful succulent nettle, where as the regular mot.of thous. is less collorfull, and stubbier too. while the name mot.of mil. is often used for tubular leaved bryophyllums(delagoense), i actually consider it inapropriate given that its leaf plantlet survival rate is smaller than the regular daigremontianum, where as the more appropriately named hybrid, is basically a relentless cloning factory(i had too pull the small plants out of other pots.....).

I have a few;
Kalanchoe x houghtonii..........
Kalanchoe x houghtonii by longk48, on Flickr

Kalanchoe daigremontiana............
Kalanchoe daigremontiana by longk48, on Flickr

Kalanchoë delagoensis............
Kalanchoë delagoensis by longk48, on Flickr

Kalanchoe 'Dorothy'...........
Kalanchoe 'Dorothy' by longk48, on Flickr

Kalanchoe 'Azumi'............
Kalanchoe 'Azumi' by longk48, on Flickr

Kalanchoe 'Azumi' by longk48, on Flickr

Ive never gotten any of those to bloom though. I got close(let out buds) but no flowers though...

skopjecollection said:Ive never gotten any of those to bloom though. I got close(let out buds) but no flowers though...

To induce flowering properly in the spring they seem to respond to a period of low temperatures over the winter, maybe a low as 5°c. That is what works for me.

Those Kalanchoe flowers are awesome, both shy and outgoing ones.

Regarding name tags, I'm not a big fan. For serious growers they tend to be pretty important, and I can see how they would help keep track of vast amounts of plants. But my situation is not so complicated. I have a spot in the garage where I have put every name tag that ever came my way. They never make it out onto the patio. At this point I only keep them in case I need to extract information in the future.

When I need to label seedlings in order to know who's who down the road, I will use a sharpie on the side of the pot, where I'll never see the ink unless I'm looking for it. When I pass plants on, I will tape a nametag label onto the side with care info. But otherwise, I find tags an aesthetic loss, cluttering up a scene I like to look a certain way. I don't need to know exactly when I sowed X, Y or Z. And actually I find the lack of tags a good incentive to remember who's who in my own head, or at the least know where to look if I really need to tell two plants apart. Each watering session gives me an automatic review so nobody is forgotten.

And when the cacti change names all over again I'll just be blissfully ignorant, which is mostly how I prefer it with that family.

I have to confess: the only cactus/succulents that are tagged are the newer ones and names I am likely to forget. The old cactus are not the ones that are tagged.

I also have Kalanchoe sexangularis or petitiana, not totally sure yet as it is still to bloom - hopefully this winter or next spring.

Going back to Kalanchoe x houghtonii. After flowering it will divide at the flowering point and start to grow three or more strong shoots. Cut these off, dry for a couple of days and pot up for a head start on new plants. Cut off what is left of the old stem just above the second leaf node and strong new stems will start there as well...................


If you're being greedy cut the old main stem into two leaf chunks, remove the leaves down one side, dry for a couple of days and then press them down into some compost - even more new fast growing plants!