How to grow Kalanchoe Degremona at home

Almost every one of us has an unusual plant with fleshy leaves on the windowsill. But not everyone knows what conditions are favorable for growing medicinal Kalanchoe Degremona, what are the peculiarities of home care, the ways of its reproduction, and what, in fact, he has healing properties. So, first things first.

Kalanchoe Degremona: description

Kalanchoe Degremona (Latin Kalanchoe daigremontiana) appeared in European countries only in 1925. It is considered the birthplace of the tropical belt - the countries of South Africa, South America, Asia and the island of Madagascar.

This is a perennial succulent flowering plant of the Crassulaceae family. Kalanchoe reaches an average height of half a meter.It has motley leaves of gray-green color, elongated elliptical shape and covered with purple spots on the underside. As a rule, Kalanchoe Degremona blooms with pink or red flowers located on long pedicels, in most cases in winter.

How to choose a place to grow

Kalanchoe Degremona - quite unpretentious planthowever, elementary rules and recommendations still need to be followed. Only with proper care, succulent will delight with abundant and beautiful flowering.

Air temperature and humidity

Degremona - a subtropical plant, so it is important to create the right temperature conditions for it. In summer, the optimum temperature for a flower is 27 ° C, but in winter, when buds are laid and Kalanchoe Degremona bloomsmost importantly observe temperature conditions.

In winter, the indoor temperature should not fall below 15 C, but also it is not recommended to have a flower pot close to heating devices - it can prevent proper growth.

Kalanchoe does not like abundant moisture. It is recommended to spray a plant not too much and only in summer. Otherwise, from the excess fluid leaves can rot.

Lighting

The main condition for the successful cultivation of Kalanchoe is good lighting. In winter, it is best to leave the plant on the south or southeast windows. However, in summer he should create a penumbra, otherwise the leaves may turn red as a result of sunburn. The most optimal period of exposure of ultraviolet rays to Kalanchoe Degremona in the summer is about 9 hours. Compliance with these conditions in the future will have a beneficial effect on its flowering.

Growing soil

In order for Kalanchoe Degremona all year round to surprise with its beauty, it needs properly balance the composition of the soil. It should be borne in mind that this plant don't like sour soil, it develops well only in the land of neutral or weak acidity.

Soil for the plant should include two parts of deciduous land, two parts of sod land, two parts of peat and three parts of coarse sand or perlite. For such a case, very good drainage or vermiculite is necessary, since the land should not be heavy.

The flower will feel comfortable in a heavy steady pot of not very large dimensions.

Peculiarities of home care

Any houseplant can throw off the leaves and "get sick." In order to avoid this, acquiring Kalanchoe Degremona, need to know certain features care for him at home.

How to water the plant

Like all succulents, Degremona accumulates moisture in the leaves, which then consumes as needed. With this feature, the flower does not need frequent watering.

But excess moisture for Kalanchoe is contraindicated. At the slightest waterlogging its roots begin to rotappear harmful insects and fungus. The plant may die.

It is undesirable to allow stagnation of water in the pan. The solution to this problem will help good drainage and soil.

Top dressing flower

This unpretentious plant does not need frequent feeding, nutrition once a month is enough for him. Fertilizers are preferably used for cacti or succulents. However, if you could not find such, you can buy feed for any plants and use half of the dose specified in the instructions.

In winter, in the flower feeding you need to take a break.

Rules pruning Kalanchoe Degremona

Pruning excess flower stalks and leaves helps to form Kalanchoe bush, give it a neat round shape. To form a crown in bright light is undesirable, it can lead to intensive flower growth. After flowering, it is imperative to remove excess flower stalks and leaves so that the plant does not rot.

On young shoots, 1-2 top leaves are usually removed. Pruning culture preferably in the morning. After flowering and pruning, the flower is restored within a month.Over time, you can see how the shoots of the flower are exhausted, and the leaves have become smaller, this is a sure sign that it is time to pinch Kalanchoe Degremona. Do this with scissors or just nails, gently tearing off the top of the plant.

Plant transplant

Kalanchoe Degremona grows and develops fast enough, the root system grows very strongly, so for further proper growth and flowering it must be systematically transplanted. It is desirable to do this in early spring.

Young plants under the age of five, transplanted once a year. More mature flowers of Kalanchoe Degremona, with careful care and watering, need to be transplanted much less frequently, approximately once in two or three years. It depends on how much the roots have grown in the drainage.

The process of transplanting a culture should occur as carefully as possible., because its roots are unusually gentle and easy to damage. Simply remove the plant from the pot and gently place it in a larger pot without brushing off the remnants of the soil from the rhizome.Next, fill the void with earth, slightly shake it for a more dense filling, ram and fill the missing ground from above.

If all the conditions of transplantation are fulfilled correctly, the succulents take root in a new place within a week. To make it easier for a “migrant” to get along in a new pot, he it is desirable to provide good coverage and fertilize one week after transplanting.

How to multiply

As with most houseplants, reproduction in Kalanchoe Degremona occurs mainly by grafting. But this culture is amazing because it breeds more and children.

Breeding kids

Children are brood buds on the tops of the leaves. In the spring ready-made kids with the roots fall away themselves. They need to be selected and planted in separate containers with peat and sand, covered with foil and make small holes for ventilation. When the shoots take root, plant them and place them in bright ambient light conditions. When three pairs of leaves appear on the stalks of young Kalanchoe, you need to pinch the top of the head.

Cuttings

Another fairly easy way to grow succulents is grafting.There are two types of grafting: instrumental and manual.

The instrumental method of grafting at home is carried out with a sharp knife or blade. It is necessary to cut the tops of a healthy stem of the plant.

When carrying out cuttings manually, you just need to gently separate the lateral escape in the leaf axil with your fingers.

In the event that the cuttings already contain air roots, their rooting will occur very quickly and easily. They can immediately be planted in a permanent pot.

If there are no air roots, it is necessary to remove the lower leaves of the cutting and leave it to dry for about a day to dry the cut. Then the process should be placed in a temporary tank with wet peat.

Reproduction by axillary buds

If there are no babies on the leaves of the Kalanchoe, then the axillary buds appear at the place of attachment to the leaf stem. You can wait for the axillary bud to form and fall into the ground itself. Then it can simply be transplanted on the principle of transplanting children. You can also cut a kidney with a sharp knife, as soon as its stem increases in size by about a centimeter, and land it in the ground.

Leaf propagation

This type of breeding is convenient because it can be used at any time of the year. Kalanchoe is very easy to propagate with the help of a leaf plate, you only need to cut a healthy leaf and prikopat it into the ground. Top sheet must be covered with a can or a glass to create a favorable environment for the future of the succulent. Soon a young plant will be formed from the leaf.

Fallen leaves can also be used for breeding. You just need to briefly immerse them in the water for the appearance of roots, and then landed in the ground. As easy as a leaflet, you can grow a Kalanchoe from a process.

A little bit about the healing properties of Kalanchoe

Kalanchoe is called a plant-doctor and is widely used in traditional medicine and cosmetology. The plant is often used for the prevention of diseases, as well as for their treatment.

An adult healthy flower, while indoors, disinfects the air in it, destroys the bacteria.

The medicine is made from the juice of succulent leaves, after putting them in the cold for a week.

Kalanchoe juice contains substances such as calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, ascorbic and organic acids, flavonoids, polysaccharides, tannins, enzymes, vitamin C, and so on. This explains the beneficial properties of the flower.

The plant-doctor found significant use in medicine. Kalanchoe flower is unique in that its juice cures so many diseases. It helps to heal wounds, cures runny nose and other ENT diseases, is used for burns and frostbite, relieves any kind of inflammation, helps with stomatitis and other diseases of the oral cavity, cures many skin diseases, including dermatitis, is used as a choleretic agent.

Also apply the juice of the plant and in cosmetology. It is used to make vitamin and antibacterial masks and creams, cleansing lotions, to remove freckles and age spots.

If you still have not purchased the "grass of life", it's time to visit the floristry shop to buy a magical plant called Kalanchoe Degremona.