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I don't think this is normal for a Kalanchoe Luciae

13 years ago

I potted this group of succulents (see pictures below) this winter and they've been doing alright, though maybe not great. The darndest thing, though is the kalanchoe. When I bought it it's leaves were all gathered vertically as you'll see in k. luciae photos on google images, but they almost immediately flexed down, recurving towards the soil once I transplanted it. The bottom leaves discolored very gradually, acquiring a rather unpleasant yellowish cast, so I eventually cut them off. I'm wondering about the general yellowish cast of the plant (shouldnt it have a more bluish hue?) and the position of its leaves. I was suspecting overwatering, but I really did only water the pot once a week at most, to the point where the haworthia got mildly desiccated. Final question about the kalanchoe is: what might have caused the strange deformed growth of its newest leaves? They're curving off to one side and one of them has a notch in it. (And yeah, it got a bit burnt when I put it outside in the spring, but it's healed right up and the damage is flaking off.)

Okay, and also, on a really final note this time, do you know what type of cactus I have?

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Comments (17)

  • 13 years ago

    Ooops, here are the pictures:
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  • 13 years ago

    I think I have a few of those (mostly offshoots from a mother plant); it may be a Kalanchoe "Fantastic." The yellowish cast you saw was probably variegation.

  • 13 years ago

    The cactus is an Echinocereus sp.

    As for the Kalanchoe, I think watering once a week is too much. "Water when dry" is a good rule of thumb. It sounds like you keep this as a houseplant part of the time (since you said you take it out in the spring-and it had gotten sunburned a bit. That ~might be the problem causing the leaves to droop & yellow. All the plants in your pot would rather be out in the warmth & sun.

    Not sure about the leaf curl-but if there's a bite & the plant had been outside, I would suspect snail damage. The leaf could curl as it grows after a bite/damage (being deformed). Some lower leaf drying/dying is to be expected as part of its natural process.

  • 13 years ago

    Thanks so much for the feedback, Landruc and Rosemarie! I have been keeping the pot out in the sun about 90% of the time for the last month or so, now that I'm not concerned about it getting too cold at night. I just photographed it inside because I'd brought it in to use as a centerpiece. The plant did raise its leaves a little when originally placed outdoors, and acquired its lovely rosy tinge, where it had been pale green before. The pot is shallow (3"), on a sunny south facing balcony, and it's been hot, so the soil dries out very quickly. I'm worried that the haworthia and senecio rowleyanus may be at odds with the kalanchoe about how much water they like. I left the pot dry for less than a week and both had started shriveling! I'm going to move them back out to the balcony today, and continue to water sparingly, while trying to avoid letting my lovely haworthia get too thirsty.

  • 13 years ago

    The K. luciae can take some frost. The cold and the sun make a gorgious red on it. They love winter sun. I think yourproblems are due to not enough light. I do not think it is K. luciae "Fantastic".

  • 13 years ago

    The cactus does not belong in that mix of plants, it will quickly be smothered by its neighbors.

  • 13 years ago

    Thanks for the advice! I know it's not "fantastic"; I got it from a man who propagates the plants himself, and it was sold as k. luciae. It's wonderful to know that it can withstand the cold. Now I'm wishing I'd kept it outside all winter!
    I'm sorry to hear that the cactus doesn't belong. I will admit that I chose this mix of plants based largely on aesthetics... A lot of them have lovely pink accents! Perhaps I will repot it this summer.

  • 13 years ago

    I think that K Lucia will show frost damage at about 28F. I froze all the leaves off at 27 but it came back from the center and the roots. I think the roots die at 26. So one is having to watch out. I am in Z8b so I moved it down to a warm sunny micro climate by a southern stone covered patio with cement pillars (lots of thermal mass), and moved it in for the one time that we dove down to 23. I do a lot of moving plants in and out.

  • 12 years ago

    Hey, everybody! I have a little update on my succulent planting. It's been outdoors since May, and all the plants have definitely perked up and gotten much more colorful. I water it once to twice a week, since it's in a sunny location and dries quickly. Here's what it looks like now:
    {{gwi:539296}}
    Thanks to everyone who offered advice. I think it really helped. The Kalanchoe has even sprouted two offshoots!

  • 12 years ago

    I does look good. I still think you can get by with once a week watering. Where are you. I am in Texas, 100F temps but in part shade and it is happy and growing. That said, yours looks like it is doing fine with your care. Nice color! My K. luciae flowered so it is cut down and making three offshoots. I cut off the others so the energy keeps to the three.

    Some plants need to be outside to sho their true forms. This is one of them. Good job..

  • 12 years ago

    I'm in the San Francisco bay area. My plant has interesting conditions, because I live right in one of the foggiest microclimates. When it's 90 degrees 20 minutes inland, it's about 70 here, and often hazy. Yuck. Anyway, to counteract this, I keep the plants in (what ought to be) full sun. I water them so often because I had the Haworthias dry up once, causing some permanent damage (which actually looks pretty now, with the pink theme), and because the bowl is so shallow that it dries quickly despite the fog. From what uou're saying though, they could probably take less and still be fine. It might even help punch the color up more. Thanks for the tip!

  • 12 years ago

    Haworthias are more of a shade lover and will be fried by all day sun or even foggy sun I guess, and the lucia is more of a sun plant. 70 degrees!!!. I haven't seen that since March! No wonder why it is so red. Your Kalanchoe thinks it is winter! LOL. Once a week watering is fine for it. I drove through San Francisco to get on a plane to Hawaii and I about froze my @ss off in August. I was watering once a week during 70 days above 100 last year and I had the plant below. It was getting ready to flower near the end of the Summer From Hell. Second photo is a couple of weeks after cutting off the spent flower stalk at the beginning of the summer. I have since, trimmed off babies and left the three largest suckers. They are growing nicely and the babies are rooting successfully.

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  • 12 years ago

    Oh WOW! That Kalanchoe is amazingly beautiful, before and after the whack. You also have quite an eye for photography. Thanks for sharing your photos and your knowledge!

  • 12 years ago

    Thank you for enjoying the photographs. I do work at making them good. I like to communicate what I find beautiful and make the photograph into a exercise of light and color..Photographing life gives me as much joy as gardening.

  • 12 years ago

    Hey, just thought I'd add another update, as my little planting continues to grow and change. I was inspired by wantonamara and decided to lop off the main stalk of the kalanchoe since it was getting to be too large for the arrangement. I think it looks great now, and all the plants seem to be flourishing. It's amazing how much this little planting has changed in a year, and it's taught me a lot about the importance of good light for succulents!

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    If you look closely, you can see the effects of variable light conditions on the coloration of the aeonium "kiwi". My plant has white and pink edges and some burns on the outer leaves from a period where it was exposed to intense afternoon and evening light during most of the summer. I moved it to a more sheltered position around late July, and all the new growth has been bright green. It sure makes for a pretty contrast!

  • 12 years ago

    You will still need to get the small ball cactus out of there and into a place that has faster draining soil And more ventilation.It will cut the ventilation around the cactus and rot most likely will occur. The succulents and the cactus have different needs. AWWW, the Luciae was doing real nicely. I like how they grow in the single column. They get so nice and large before they flower.

  • 12 years ago

    I agree with wantonamara about your cactus. That particular one is more prone to winter rot. I killed one, I know. ;)

    Planto