How and when to prune Kalanchoe plant

Kalanchoe is a genus with approximately 125 species, although it is native to the old continent nowadays you can find it in almost any corner of the world. With a few exceptions, they are small plants, which do not exceed one meter in height. Its beautiful flowers and leaves are the answer to why they decorate so many homes and gardens. In this article, and how could it be otherwise, we will devote ourselves to see everything about pruning kalanchoe, how and when to make it, necessary tools, etc. In addition we will take the time to see the most important care so that your kalanchoe stays healthy and strong.

If you read to the end you will learn the best techniques for proper pruning, the right time to trim and the tools to do it. The article has no waste, I assure you. 😉

1. How to take care of a kalanchoe

While the main theme of this post is how to carry out the pruning of Kalanchoe, this is none other than one of the many cares that these plants need. In what follows we will see some of the most important care that needs to be carried out.

• Sun and lighting: requires bright places, even in direct sunlight. If the sun hits directly on a cultivated kalanchoe in nursery, you will notice that the leaves darken acquiring copper tones. If it does not have enough light it is possible that the flowering will be lost.

• Soil: it must be porous. The excess of humidity damages them seriously, so that to avoid problems the earth has to facilitate the drainage of the water. For this reason, it is advisable to use black peat mixed with pearlite in equal parts and water only when the soil is dry.

• Fertilizer: during the whole growing season, that is, in spring and summer, they must be paid with mineral fertilizers. For this, fertilizers for cactus and other succulents can be used following the indications specified on the package.

• Irrigation: in general, it does not need to be irrigated very often or in a large quantity, although it is important to differentiate that their needs are different depending on the time of year. IN summer spring they will need a greater water supply than in rest seasons such as autumn-winter.

• Transplant: to the being of fast growth, every 1-2 years we will have to pass them to pots about 3 – 5 cm wider.

• Temperature: cold below 5 ° C seriously harms them, so if you live in an area where the winters are cold you will have to protect them indoors by placing them in a room where there is plenty of natural light, or in a greenhouse.

• Pruning: many forget this point to the point that they think it is not necessary. In what follows we will see that carrying out pruning is a very good practice to keep this plant healthy and strong.

2. Tools needed to prune or trim an Kalanchoe

Pruning Kalanchoe is not a complicated task, and with it the tools you will need for this task are easy to achieve.

• Shears.

• A pair of gloves.

Keep in mind that you must disinfect all the tools before trimming your sage. This will help prevent disease transmission, you will have to do it before you start pruning and every time you change plants.

2.1 Needed care of pruning tools

If you want to extend the useful life of your pruning tools there are some basic care.

• Use the right tool for a job and avoid twisting or straining it.

• Clean and oil tools regularly by wiping an oily cloth on blades and other surfaces.

• Keep cutting edges sharp by regularly using an oilstone.

• Wooden handles should be varnished or regularly treated with linseed oil to keep them from cracking or splintering.

Carry out the previous care on a regular basis and you will be saving good money on tools. 🙂

3. Pruning Kalanchoe plant – How and when to prune

Well, we said that doing a kalanchoe pruning is a fairly simple task, as we have plants that have up to 5 different types of pruning, in this plant it is enough if we list two types.

The flower of the kalanchoe not only serves to decorate the interior of your house or the garden, it also helps us to mark two seasons of very different pruning. That is why we will classify pruning this plant in two:

• Pruning necessary during flowering season.

• Pruning carried out after the flowering.

Since the tasks that need to be carried out in each of these prunings of the kalanchoe are very different, in the following we will develop each one separately.

3.1 Pruning necessary during flowering season

The pruning that is carried during the flowering of the kalanchoe is pruning of maintenance and cleaning, where we will be eliminating the dry and sick elements. It has two well marked objectives that are to improve the health and aesthetics of this sympathetic little plant.

First and as with any pruning of any type of plant, it is vital to take a few moments to observe the general state of the kalanchoe. With this observation we try to identify all those elements that we should cut, and that we will list below.

3.1.1 Trim out dead flowers

The flowering of this plant is carried out for several months, this brings as consequence that in the middle of the season a large amount of dried flowers begin to pile up. I think we should agree that these dried flowers will overshadow the beauty of the others.

For what has been said above is that you should periodically check your kalanchoe, look for the dried flowers or in the process of moring and cut them. These elements not only give a bad appearance to the plant, but also prevent new blooms in its place.

This pruning of the kalanchoe can be done with your own hands, it will suffice to pinch each cluster of flowers to make the cut. It is such a quick and practical task that it can be done almost daily.

3.1.2 Trim stems of dried flowers

This second task comes entirely from the hand of the previous one, and is that just as there are no beautiful dead flowers, neither are the dry stems of the flowers. That is why once pruned a branch of dried flowers you should take sharp scissors and cut the stem of it (make the cut at the height of a second or third sheet).

This pruning of the kalanchoe not only has aesthetic objectives, we will also encourage the development of new buds, and we will avoid that it continues wasting energies on useless elements.

3.1.3 Prune branches and dead leaves

We already cut dried flowers, we got rid of their dead stems, it’s time to go for the other stems and their leaves. Look carefully and look for all those stems and leaves dead or in the process of dying.

You can remove the leaves in poor condition with your own hands, in the case of the twigs go back to your scissors (always remember to disinfect the cutting sheet every time you change plants to avoid spreading diseases). Depending on the general condition of the branch to be cut, you can make the cut at the height of the base, or at the junction with the main stem.

Make sure you do not leave any element sick, otherwise you will not prevent it from spreading further. If you find that your plant is suffering a very large attack of any disease, pruning may not be the definitive solution, it may be a good time to consult an expert and analyze other options to save your plant.

3.2 Pruning carried out after the flowering

After the flowering season comes the time in which the kalanchoe plant, ideal time to perform the strongest pruning. A kalanchoe plant should have a rounded and compact shape, long demarcated branches growing in disordered directions is not good at all. We will prune the kalanchoe at this time seeking to order the development of the plant.

Again it is important that you take a moment to observe the little plant. Look for all those branches that have developed too long and / or their growth has taken an unwanted direction. In case of having a very dense foliage you can cut these branches at the height of its base, otherwise cut to a third of it.

This time is also a good time to eliminate all dead or sick elements that were left over from the previous season. As I said before, make sure you do not leave any sick element in the plant.

In case you want to increase the amount of kalanchoe plants in your house or garden do not waste pruning waste. This plant spreads excellently from its branches, so you can select the best branches to perform the reproduction.

If you have your kalanchoe in a pot, once the pruning is over, it is the ideal time to analyze a transplant to a larger pot. A good way to know if you need to transplant is observed if the roots protrude through the holes in the pot. If you do not want to move to a larger pot, take out the plant and perform a root pruning.

4. Pruning Kalanchoe video

As is the custom of this blog we like to close the articles with a video material (in this case Urban Scape Bangalore channel), where you can review more graphically and practice many of the concepts seen so far. 😉

Well we have arrived so far, I hope that everything was clear about how and when to prune a kalanchoe. And as we said at the beginning, do not have any doubts when it comes to taking your scissors.