Kalanchoe Pinnata Gone Wild

I received a small pot of kalanchoe 14 months ago from Ate Rose. She told me to re-pot it since they were overflowing from the pot. I wasn't familiar back then about taking care of succulents and researched before I embarked on re-potting them. I previously overwatered the succulents I bought and just gave up, so I saw it as a chance to learn.

Here's the pot of kalanchoe Ate Rose gave me -

And how I re-potted it -

It seems I finally learned how to take care of succulents. They are best left "alone". I just watered them once a week and more during really hot weeks. I did well because they had gone wild!

I potted them in more than 12 pots. I intended to give them away for Christmas last year, but I forgot. We got busy with renovations and I was distracted with other plants I needed to take care of  (Ate Rose gave another batch of cactus hehe). They were just there and didn't need much care, so I let them be.

Finally got around to re-potting the overgrown kalanchoe. The ones that curved out of their pots were harder to re-pot. I have to remember not to let them outgrow their pots. I'm making a new batch to give away. What I'll probably do is give away one everytime someone visits me, haha. They grow fast! I'll never not have kalanchoe with how prolific they are. They are after all also called the "mother of millions". 

What I hope to happen is to see the kalanchoe produce flowers. I think I saw it in one video and the flowers are pretty! I hope the bigger ones I re-potted in larger pots would grow taller and produce flowers. Well, let's see!

#BeKind #StaySafe

The Easiest Plant to Propagate: Mother of Millions

A year ago, Ate Rose gave me a pot full of kalanchoe pinnata. It's also commonly known as the mother of millions. I lost count on how many plants there were in the small pot she gave me. I re-potted them into separate containers with the intention of giving them away for Christmas. 

Kalanchoe as of July 2022

Re-potted kalanchoe

Well, I forgot to give them away. I water them just once a week since they're pretty resilient. They're the plants I least worry about when we go away for a few days. The tiny plants I re-potted a year ago is proof that this plant is indeed a mother of millions. 

Kalanchoe, August 2023.

I left it in the pots I put them in from a year ago and was super surprised they grew so big! I've been meaning to transfer them to bigger pots. I'll do that as soon as I finish re-potting another set of plants. Saw some videos though that this can grow big and maybe have flowers (?). I'm not sure, but we'll see. I probably need to get bigger pots so I can transfer them. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Plantita Saturdays: Kalanchoe, Super Low Maintenance Plant

A friend gave me several pots of kalanchoe last year. I have not been successful with succulents, so the opportunity excited and scared me. My friend gave me a pot that was overflowing and she advised to re-pot it. First thing I did was to read up on kalanchoe, of course. 

Kalanchoe is known to be the mother of millions (or thousands). The variety I have (Kalanchoe pinnata) multiplies by growing tiny new plants on its leaves. It was interesting to learn that there are plants that multiply that way. The pot I repotted has grown and multiplied. It can get gnarly though because the tiny shoots can easily be blow away by the wind and grow anywhere. 

It is a very resilient plant. It best grows on well draining soil. I accidentally scattered some of the sprouts on garden soil I meant to plant seeds in. I didn't even plant it and it eventually grew roots and started growing. Never had the time to move it to a proper pot and it's still growing. 

How to Re-pot Kalanchoe

A recent trip to the laundry cage at our condo showed that kalanchoe would grow and survive even with very little soil. I saw it started growing in cages that were left unkempt. The plant does not need to be watered often and best left alone. I guess the untended ones in the roofdeck just get its water when it rains or when the neighbors laundry drain reaches it.

Kalanchoe is known to be a houseplant and can live with sunlight or indirect sun. I noticed it grows bigger when it gets more sun. I'll likely move back my kalanchoes to it's original place when renovations are over so they can grow better. 

Among all the succulents given to me by my friend and the succulents I bought at Ikea, only the kalanchoe has survived! It's a low maintenance plant which you can place indoors or outdoors. It multiplies easily so I think I'll be able to give out some to my friends to pass the  love!

#BeKind #StaySafe

Plantita Saturdays: Getting into Succulents!

My track record with succulents is really bad. The culprit has always been overwatering. I just can't ignore my plants! My doctor told me to keep hydrated, so I feel my plants also need to be hydrated! You can't imagine the torture I felt when I was away on vacation. Anyway, together with the pothos my friend gave me were succulents. Her bilin was to re-pot them so they can grow properly. 

Kalanchoe pinnata also known as the mother of thousands/millions

I looked at the succulents and I honestly had no idea what they were called. I prioritized potting the pothos since I have experience taking care of pothos. I gave myself a few days before I sat down to re-pot the pots of succulents. First order of the day was to take their photo and use Google Lens to identify them. Then I did some research to understand what kind of soil they needed and how to take care of them.

Basically, the soil used for succulents is different from your regular plants. The soil has to drain well because succulent roots can rot easily if it's too wet. Rocks are usually put around the succulent to absorb more heat, prevent soil erosion and to stimulate root development. I didn't have these so I just ordered via Shopee. Good thing I ordered an extra set of small pots because I underestimated the number of kalanchoe pinnatas crammed in the pot. Here's how I re-potted them -

I must say the process of re-potting the succulents was both nerve-wracking and calming. The tiny plants looked so fragile and there were even tinier ones that the plant produced. I read that kalanchoe pinnatas are known also as the "mother of thousands". They grow babies at the edge of their leaves. These grow into new plants and they eventually fall and grow bigger. That's what I underestimated because there was a lot of babies on the soil when I removed it from the pot. 

I ended up using more than 10 pots. I read you should put it in indirect sunlight. I put half of them on the planter in the garage and the other half indoors. After a week I noticed that the pots in the garage seemed happier than the ones indoor. I moved the indoor plants nearer the front window where it's warmer. There was a number of babies I didn't want to cram in the pots so I just "threw" them in a pot with soil. They survived and are now growing nicely. I'll re-pot them properly when they're a bit bigger. 

Well, I hope they will survive because they will be good to give as gifts! I wasn't planning to buy plants for now, but I'm really happy Ate Rose gave me some plants to work on. Really hope I do better this time :)

#BeKind #StaySafe