Kalanchoe: Looking After

Kalanchoe blossfeldiana , is an undemanding flowering plant, the red forms of which are justly popular winter flowering plants. Now it can be found in a range of colours from pink through to salmon, yellows, cream and orange shades. Choose a plant that has just a few open blooms and has bright green shiny leaves. Place in a sunny window in a temperature of around 50 degrees . Water regularly , but allow the compost to dry out between waterings. Should the temperature drop below 50degrees , keep the plant almost dry and it ill survive. When in bloom feed fortnightly with liquid fertilizer. Pot on in Spring using a pot one size up and a gritty potting mix. Kalanchoes can be a little tricky to flower again as they are day length responsive .This is easy to overcome by putting the plant in a dark place overnight and back out into the daylight in the morning for a period of three weeks in August, This initiates the flowers and the plant will then bloom consistently at Christmas.