The Kalanchoe is considered to be a very uncomplicated plant that does not take offense to caregiving mistakes. That's why it's being cultivated more and more frequently as a colorful splash of color on the balcony or terrace. But what happens to the pretty succulents in winter? Can the plants from Madagascar remain outdoors in our latitudes?
The Kalanchoe should spend the winter in a cool, not too bright place in the house
The Kalanchoe loves warmth
The summers are getting hotter and temperatures of over thirty degrees are no longer a rarity here. The Kalanchoe is just fine, because it is one of those plants that like it warm. As soon as the thermometer falls below fifteen degrees at night, you should bring them indoors quickly, because the undemanding Kalanchoe is not hardy.
How do you overwinter?
Overwintering is easy if you heed the following tips:
- Keep the Kalanchoe at room temperature, even indoors the temperature should not fall below 15 degrees.
- A room that is not illuminated in the evening hours is ideal.
- Keep the root ball moderately moist, do not fertilize at all.
The short days stimulate flowering
The Kalanchoe is one of the short-day plants. This means that flowering specimens such as Flammende Käthchen should not be exposed to daylight for more than eight to nine hours over a period of several weeks. If this is not done, there will be no flowers.
If the Kalanchoe is in a room with artificial light, it should be artificially darkened:
- Cut a piece of cardboard to completely cover the succulent.
- Put it over the plant daily around 6 p.m. and only
- take it off again the next morning around eight o'clock.
There should also be owners who simply store the pretty plant in a cupboard overnight. It is a well-known fact that necessity is the mother of invention and in this case leads to a certain blossoming success.
tips
You can also easily plant the Kalanchoe in a flower bed, dig it up again in autumn and keep it indoors in a flower pot until the next gardening season. The undemanding succulents are also ideal for planting in easy-care grave shells.