Having recently received a gift of a kalanchoe (Kalanchoe blossfeldiana) as a houseplant, I realized how little I knew about it. It originated in Madagascar, a large island off the east coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean. Its other common names include flaming Katy, Christmas kalanchoe, florist kalanchoe and Madagascar widow's-thrill.
They are succulents with circular, dark green (often tinged with red), fleshy leaves that are up to five centimetres long. The small flowers are in dense, erect clusters of about five centimetres in diameter. Most of the older kalanchoes had single flowers in red, orange or yellow. Among the single-flowered varieties recommended and long used in Saskatoon's Mendel Conservatory are Tenorio (red), Yellow Josephine, Sunset (orange) and Jacqueline (rose). Newer introductions have broadened the range of colour to include pink, white, purple and bi-colours. Double flowering types such as the Calandiva series are also available. Plants are generally 30 to 45 ccentimetres in height.
Kalanchoes make ideal houseplants, well adapted to the dry winter atmosphere of our prairie homes. Their flashy colours are a welcome contrast to the dull grey (and soon to be white) outside our windows. A bonus is their ease of care: full sun and normal room temperature are all they require. They will arrive in well-drained soil and should be watered sparingly, only enough to prevent the soil from drying out. Apply a water-soluble houseplant fertilizer, according to label directions, about once a month.
Generally on display at garden centres and florists from fall through Christmas, kalanchoes are long lasting, up to three months, but are not easy to push into a second flowering. Like poinsettias, they depend on day length to re-bloom and require about three months of short days (less than 11 hours of light) for this to happen. It can be done with effort and forethought, but is hardly worth the effort. Keep in mind that a houseplant's main purpose is to beautify your home. When they've stopped doing that, it's time to perhaps start fresh.
Other species of kalanchoe are also commonly used as houseplants.
Felt-bush or velvet leaf (K. beharensis) is primarily a foliage plant. Tall (30 to 60 centimetres ) and upright, it has large (up to 30 centimetres) triangular leaves with undulating margins and a pubescent, rust coloured surface. The bottom leaves may fall off as it ages.
Pussy ears (K. tomentosa), also grown for its foliage, has a rosette form with succulent, pubescent, silver oval leaves with a rusty-brown edge. It's 30 to 45 centimetres in height and "cute" in the same way as perennial lambs ears.
A miniature species, K. pumila, is smaller in all its parts. Only 30 centimetres in height, it has silver-grey, pink tinged, tomentosa foliage, a semi-prostrate habit and violet-pink flowers, making it an excellent candidate for hanging baskets.
Tessa and Wendy are inter-specific hybrids. With large, pendant, tubular flowers in pink and green, they are also ideal for hanging baskets.
Sara is the author of the new and revised Creating the Prairie Xeriscape. In her latest book, Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo: A Photographic History, she tells of the history of an institution and the personal stories of the people who made an important impact on Prairie agriculture.
- This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (www.saskperennial.ca; [email protected]). Check out our Bulletin Board or Calendar for upcoming garden information sessions: Oct. 22, A History of the Forestry Farm Park and Zoo, 7:30 p.m. at Emmanuel Anglican Church on Dufferin Street.
