Propagating Kalanchoe: Instructions for Cutting, Separating, and Growing from Seeds

Kalanchoe is one of the well-known medicinal plants and is also known as an indoor doctor or indoor ginseng. This plant has gained the fame of the tree of life for its extraordinary healing properties. Of the 200 species known in nature, about two dozen are used for indoor cultivation. All of them are equally well adapted for a prolonged stay in drought and in high humidity, and therefore are very unpretentious in indoor conditions.

General information about Kalanchoe

Kalanchoe very successfully combines the two most important functions for a houseplant. This extremely unpretentious plant can bring medicinal help for the disease and delight the eye with its beautiful flowers. His homeland is considered South Africa. From there, Kalanchoe spread to Asian countries, and subsequently to other regions.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, Kalanchoe was listed as a medicinal plant.

In practice, the following methods of reproduction are used: cuttings, kidneys (children), leaflets, root offspring and seeds.

Propagation by stem cuttings

Cuttings are one of the most common methods of propagation of Kalanchoe, it is carried out both in summer (rooting lasts three weeks) and in winter. After the mandatory removal of the bottom pair of leaves, the stalk is slightly dried and placed in a pot.

The specificity of the method is that the plant is pruned after flowering to update it and give a more attractive appearance.

Since the stalks of Kalanchoe are quite strongly stretched during the growing season, they are pruned and, if necessary, used for cuttings. Adult plants are most suitable for cuttings.

The grafting procedure must be carried out carefully, without undue rush, having prepared everything necessary in advance

To successfully plant Kalanchoe, you must follow the following rules:

1. The elongated part cut off after flowering can be immediately placed in the ground and watered abundantly or simply in a container with water for root formation. Over time, such a stalk is planted in a container with a substrate.
2. The shoots choose a straight shape, shortening them to 6-9 cm. Soft and juicy tips of the shoots are very suitable for rooting.
3. In case of landing in the ground, the places of cuts are powdered with crushed charcoal. When choosing a soil, it should be borne in mind that Kalanchoe does not tolerate acidic soil. Therefore, you can use the prepared soil for succulents or prepare the earthen mixture yourself by mixing sod land, leaf soil and river sand in a ratio of 4: 2: 1, adding a little humus there.
4. When the seedlings are firmly rooted (usually it takes about two weeks), they regularly pinch them, forming a flower bush. This technique contributes to the awakening of side kidneys and the formation of a subsequently lush bush.

Instructions for propagating kalahoe cuttings:

1. Cut suitable cuttings.
   

   To form a beautiful lush plant in the future, the selected shoot should have aligned leaves and short internodes

2. Place the handle in a container of water.
   

   The temperature of the water in the container where the cuttings are located should be 20-25 ° C

3. Place rooted cuttings in the ground.
   

   After the roots appear on the stalk, they must be pinched

The rooting procedure of a large branch is similar to rooting by cuttings. You can choose any branch you like if for some reason it does not fit into the general appearance of the plant. Do not rush to throw out a branch accidentally broken off from it. In this case, it is simply stuck in moist ground or placed in a small container with water. After a while, white roots will appear on it.

Leaf rooting

Propagation of Kalanchoe by leafy cuttings is very common. It can be used at home year-round. The order of propagation by leaflets is as follows:

1. A well-developed leaf is cut from a sprig of an adult plant.
   

   For cutting, it is better to choose medium-sized leaves

2. The cut sheet is planted in a pot with a well-moistened substrate (it is recommended to moisten with a Kornevin solution in a standard proportion [1 g of powder per 1 liter of water], preventing the substrate surface from drying out). Available substrate composition: 10 parts of washed river sand and one part of peat (humus). The leaf blade is deepened somewhat at an angle to a depth of 1-1.5 cm.
3. A place is selected for full lighting.
4. If the stem is rooted in water, the container is covered with a transparent lid to prevent rapid evaporation of water.
   

   Sprouts should be expected in a few weeks

It should be noted that even those leaves that have fallen off the trunk on their own but have not completely dried out are quite suitable for this breeding option. You can check their viability by dropping the leaves in a saucer or a cup of water until the roots appear. The most suitable time for rooting by leaflets is the end of May and the beginning of June.

This succulent perennial, also known as flowering Kalanchoe, is also easily rooted by stem cuttings and seeds.

Kalanchoe from seeds

Instructions for propagating Kalanchoe seeds:

1. Prepared seeds of Kalanchoe Blossfeld are sown in open containers filled with well-steamed substrate to prevent infection and rotting of the seeds.
2. Shallow grooves are pressed on the leveled surface of the substrate, into which the seeds are laid out at a distance of 3-4 cm from each other.
3. Seeds should be slightly pressed into pre-moistened soil.
4. After some time, shoots appear.

The temperature in the room where the Kalanchoe seeds are germinated should not fall below 20 ° C

Features of propagation of the species Degremon

This succulent family of Crassulaceae has its own breeding feature. Because of it, the plant is also popularly called Kalanchoe viviparous.

Kalanchoe Degremona has an unusual color of leaves

A distinctive feature of this species is the sawtooth notches on the leaves, in which miniature daughter plants (children) are formed with grown and ready to root roots themselves. By kids, leafy kidneys are understood. Outwardly, they look like mini-plants with a formed rosette of two leaves and roots.

Children of Kalanchoe Degremon have one remarkable property: when they reach the optimal size, they spontaneously fall off the leaf and, once they are on moist soil, are able to root themselves. At its core, a baby is a complete plant, ready for planting in the ground.

Instructions for rooting the baby Kalanchoe Degremon:

1. Separation of a baby from an adult leaf.
2. Easy penetration into the prepared substrate.
3. Moisturize the soil from a sprayer.

During the first week, the planted baby is hidden from direct sunlight, and also maintain soil moisture until it is finally rooted.

Video: 3 ways to breed Kalanchoe Degremon

Branch of root offspring

After flowering is completed, the tip of the shoot is nipped in order to stimulate the development of offspring. As a result, young offspring appear near the mother flower. They are used for reproduction. After this, the offspring can be separated and planted in a pot with sandy sod substrate (8 parts of river sand, 2 parts of sifted sod land).

Siblings must reach 1/3 of the length of an adult plant

Bush division

Division of the mother plant is the easiest way to propagate Kalanchoe. In many species of succulents, daughter plants grow, quite suitable for transplanting them into a separate container. The whole process consists in removing an adult plant from the pot, using a knife to separate suitable parts of the bush with roots and transplanting them into a separate container with fresh soil.

Adult plant constantly needs planting

Possible problems of breeding Kalanchoe at home

Although this plant is easy to grow and is called a home doctor, it can also become ill. Therefore, when propagating Kalanchoe, you should especially carefully consider the condition of an adult donor plant and observe the rules for growing planted plants. Kalanchoe is the most persistent of all known succulents. The main reason for infection with diseases is its improper maintenance: this is insufficient ventilation and increased soil moisture. This happens, for example, when a succulent planted in an unsuitable soil: heavy and dense, with a large proportion of peat. Use store mixes for cacti and succulents, and in other cases add sand or vermiculite to peat.

It is better to replace the soil if you notice that the young Kalanchoe plant has stopped growing, and the earth in the pot is always wet.

Improper conditions often cause powdery mildew

First of all, overdoing with watering can affect the appearance of the disease. When growing a Kalanchoe, a beginner grower should adhere to a simple rule - it is better to underfill than to overfill.

If the disease manifests itself on the plant, you will have to resort to effective measures - the use of fungicides, choosing them from the type of disease. So, when the first signs of a flower ailment are detected, the stems and leaves are sprayed with a fungicide solution prepared in accordance with the instructions for use.

Alirin-B is one of the most popular fungicides for indoor plants.

We can distinguish several of the most common fungal diseases of Kalanchoe:

• late blight;
• gray rot;
• powdery mildew;
• stem rot.

Table: Kalanchoe disease and their treatment

Sometimes there is a wilting of the planted cuttings for no apparent reason. This is facilitated by the development of the rootworm, the presence of which in the soil can be detected during plant transplantation. A control measure is a complete replacement of the substrate and capacity, three-fold spraying of the leaf portion with a tincture of garlic (3-4 medium cloves per 1 liter of water) with a 10-day interval or with Actara, Fitoverm or Mospilan preparations with the same interval.

A planted plant may stop growing due to the fact that a too spacious pot has been selected. Until the Kalanchoe grows the root system in this spacious container, new leaves will not appear.

Successful propagation of Kalanchoe does not require special knowledge. It is enough to carefully read the recommendations for propagation of this unpretentious plant. Knowing a few simple rules, anyone can effortlessly propagate a valuable plant at home. A young plant grown according to the rules will thank you with a beautiful shape and will delight the eye with abundant rainbow blossoms against a background of green foliage.