Flaming Katy or, as the botanist says, Kalanchoe blossfeldiana is a very pretty, easy-care houseplant. It is characterized by wide, thick, dark green leaves that grow in a rosette-like manner and red, pink, or orange flowers that emerge from the center of the leaf rosette. The succulent thick-leaf plant is usually only kept once a year. What many do not know: with a little care, the Käthchen can be cultivated for several years.
Flaming Katy is best cut when all the flowers have faded
Why cutting back makes sense
This care includes regular pruning, which should always be done after flowering. Although a pruning is not absolutely necessary, it serves to rejuvenate the plant and ensures that the leaf rosettes remain taut and do not bare. Over the years, the Flammende Käthchen has the habit of not only pushing its shoots up rapidly - it also develops longer, leafless and flowerless stalks. Of course, this must be avoided and therefore you can reach for the scissors. Speaking of scissors: Always use the sharpest possible specimen so as not to unnecessarily squeeze the handles. The instrument should also be clean so that no unwanted germs are transferred to the plant.
Cut back flaming Katy - That's how it's done
And this is the best way to proceed when pruning the Kalanchoe:
- Wait until all the flowers have faded.
- Take the opportunity and immediately repot the plant in fresh substrate.
- Regularly repotted Kalanchoe do not need to be fertilized either, so you save yourself work.
- Cut the stems as low as possible.
- Make sure, however, that there are still eyes (buds) below the cut.
- Optionally, you can also set the cut so that it extends to the next shoot.
- The new leaves finally grow from these buds or shoots.
- A cut below the eyes ensures that the plant can no longer sprout again.
- So it's better to take a double look before you finally start using the scissors.
You don't have to throw away the cut shoots, instead they can be used wonderfully for further propagation using leaf or shoot cuttings. In between, you can also free the plant from yellow leaves and faded flowers. Both are simply plucked off.
tips
If you want to get the Kalanchoe to bloom again, then from November the plant must not be exposed to a light source for more than nine hours a day and the temperatures should also only be around 16 to 18 °C - the thick-leaved plant belongs to the short-day plants.