7

I first adopted my K. Blossfeldiana about a year ago from a friend of mine. When I got it, the flowers had all wilted and were falling off. Since then, it only blossomed around 2 or 3 flowers (single flowers, not bunches). Moreover, the bigger leaves fell off and new leaves never grew to the same size. Still, it never stopped growing more stems and leaves and is much larger now than it was when I first got it.

What worries me about it is that some of the leaves are yellowing and that some of the leaves curl inward towards the stem. The yellowing leaves aren't crispy, but soft. I expect this is due to overwatering, so I'm not overly worried about it. I've reduced my waterings since then. At times, the leaves will bend downwards from their base at the stem. The leaves themselves will look fine, but they won't be perpendicular to the stem. Is that normal? If not, any comment on what the cause could be is greatly appreciated.

Finally, the tallest stem is somewhat flimsy and is leaning to the side. Is it normal for it not to hold its form?

There probably isn't much wrong but I am somewhat of a doting plant owner and want to make sure my plant is doing fine. There are pictures of the plant linked below. Thanks in advance!

enter image description here enter image description here enter image description here enter image description here

user20750
  • 71
  • 1
  • 1
  • 3
  • 1
    When you click on each picture in your Imgur account you're given direct links. Please use those here so that the images appear in your post. – Graham Chiu Feb 05 '18 at 21:03
  • What soil did you use in your pot? Did you put rocks or gravel beneath the potting soil? Should be all potting soil, no garden soil, no rocks at bottom above drain hole...your plant is healthy but beginning to be compromised by too much water held in garden soil? and have you fertilized ever, and if so what did you use? – stormy Feb 07 '18 at 10:35
  • I use a potting mix to which I added some parts sand and perlite for extra drainage and aeration. The original potting mix tends to hold a lot of water and I don't have access to ready-made well-draining potting spoil, so I improvised. I don't put any rocks at the bottom of the pot and I have never fertilized this plant before. I only water it when the I think the soil has drained completely. I haven't watered in a while but more leaves continue to yellow, is that normal? Should I just reduce the watering and wait for it to get better? – user20750 Feb 09 '18 at 00:44
  • @user20750 How is it doing today? Prune those yellowing leaves. Get yourself some pop sickle sticks and string to give it some support. Give it a bigger pot and check the roots for rot when you re-pot that's going to tell you a ton. – Rob Aug 10 '18 at 21:22

3 Answers3

2

Don’t worry too much about the leaning of the stem. It’s just that the plant is getting a bit heavy and is starting to lean. It’s actually better if you cut some of the stems diagonally to allow new growth. Once you cut the tops off, you can actually put them in water and after a while once they start showing roots, you can plant them

1

By no means am I an expert, but this is my 2 cents. First of all do not worry about the healthy, green leaves bending inwards/down at times, they probably only do it in the evenings right? They do it since the plant needs rest and since in the night it can't do photosynthesis anyways, so it lets it's leaves droop. the plant is "sleeping".

Now about the yellowing leaves, since you say they aren't crispy it's most likely an over watering problem as you said. it is always better to under water than to over water. I used to have a Kalanchoe myself, unfortunately it died due to root-rot since it was over watered d. Here is a series of events that occurred which lead to the plants death, If yours starts showing these symptoms it's probably too late.

  1. Leaves toward bottom of stem begin to dry and fall off
  2. bottom of stem becomes dry and woody
  3. Green stems at the top of the plant start to develop aerial roots, as to look for more water
  4. All the leaves fall, off stem is dry as a bone

All of the above happened because to roots of the plant were destroyed due to overwatering, so even if the plant was thoroughly watered it wouldn't be able to take in water and eventually dry out.

In conclusion your plant is probably fine, just look at all the healthy stems/leaves. I'd recommend you reduce watering and make sure the soil is completely dry between watering.

Mihkel
  • 673
  • 8
  • 18
0

Your Kalanchoe looks completely fine to me, albeit some of the stems are a bit too long (the distance between the leaves is too big) indicating the need for more light (they should always be in a well-lit place of a house or an apartment). The fact that the leaves are too small is indicative of a lack of nutrients. Once all the flowers fall of it's pretty tricky to re-induce the flowering. To do that it'll need a steady supply of potassium (ions) for several weeks. In order to achieve that I usually push in a couple fertilizer sticks into the plant's soil and then water them every 1-2 weeks with a liquid fertilizer solution as an added measure too. This is the only way I'm aware of that can induce flowering in Kalanchoes (nothings else has helped, not even regular doses of potassium sulfate that have given me spectacular results with chilies and strawberries).

CoolKoon
  • 686
  • 3
  • 8