Kalanchoe Blossfeld: How to grow a flower

Practically in any house, a special place is given to flowers, care for them, cultivation and reproduction. At the same time, everyone prefers plants of completely different types, so that the average apartment has at least 2-3 kinds of flowers. In this variety of domestic plants, Kalanchoe Blossfeld occupies a special place, which for many years has been known and popular in the open spaces of our country.

Due to its unpretentiousness and adaptation to real conditions of maintenance, it is not difficult to grow Kalanchoe, but experts still recommend taking into account the peculiarities of the plant and knowing how to care for Blossfeld's Kalanchoe, its preferences regarding maintenance and care.

Kalanchoe Blossfeld: features of the species

Kalanchoe Blossfeld is one of the few domestic plants that harmoniously combines decorative and medicinal components. The homeland of this thick-stemmed flower is the warm tropical zones of Madagascar. However, despite this, Blossfeld’s Kalanchoe belongs to extremely unpretentious houseplants that are easily grown at home. To do this, it is enough to know just a few features and recommendations.

View of Blossfeld - Kalanchoe with large leaves, which blooms with small, rarely exceeding 1 cm in diameter, terry flowers gathered in massive brushes. The natural color of the flowers is red, and among the hybrid varieties you can find yellow, pink, coral and even orange inflorescences. Kalanchoe Blossfelda blooms in the period of the end of winter - the beginning of spring and can last more than two months.

Necessary conditions for growing

Potted flowers of Kalanchoe Blossfeld are rather unpretentious to home conditions, but growth, development and flowering blooms are usually determined by exactly where the flower is located in the house and how it is looked after.

Lighting

Kalanchoe refers to those plants that need constant sunlight but at the same time there are some features. So, from the very morning until noon, a pot with a flower is allowed to be kept on the windowsill or in any other well-lit place. However, after lunch Kalanchoe Blossfeld is extremely important to move in the shade, thus creating a feeling of the night.If it is not possible to constantly rearrange the flower to a new place, you can solve the problem by covering the pot with a light handkerchief. This mode of lighting for Kalanchoe Blossfeld is obligatory, because after lunch the flower ceases to perceive the sun's rays.

Temperature

In the case of temperature, the plant is unpretentious and resistant. It feels equally well at + 20 ° C and at 5 ° C. This allows them to decorate any room in the house. But the flower can dry out quickly with constant content at excessively high temperatures (25 ° C and higher). In such cases, it is desirable to move or increase the volume and frequency of irrigation.

Air humidity

Despite the nature of this plant, its content in rooms with a high level of humidity is detrimental to it, since Kalanchoe actively absorbs all the available moisture and accumulates it in the stem, and not in the root system. Such a surplus leads to the activation of processes of decay, the formation of mold and fungus. That is why for Kalanchoe Blossfeld it is better to choose a room with moderate or even low humidity. Moreover, it is best to place a pot with a flower in a place where overmoistening and drafts are excluded.

The soil

For this home flower, it is necessary to prepare a nutritious, multicomponent and pre-fertilized soil that will absorb well and release water.

The best option is self-preparation of the substrate for growing Kalanchoe Blossfeld. It is desirable to add peat, river sand, humus, sod and leaf soil in equal proportions to the composition of such soil. In some cases, experts recommend making charcoal. The pot with soil must have a drainage layer consisting of expanded clay, crushed stone, foam plastic or brick chips.

How to plant at home

The incredible popularity of Kalanchoe Blossfeld is due to many factors, so it is not surprising that almost everyone wants to have this plant in their home. To do this, of course, it is enough to simply purchase a flower in a specialty store, but most people prefer to propagate their own Kalanchoe.

There are several effective ways to reproduce this perennial: cuttings, seeds and leaf. The methods are quite diverse and specific, but each of them deserves attention.

Planting cutting

The easiest way of breeding Kalanchoe Blossfeld is considered to be grafting For this purpose, apply young cuttings, rarely exceeding ten centimeter length. It is possible to cut such a stalk with any knife, after which all leaves in the lower part of the shoot should be removed. Before planting a sapling in a new place, it must be dried and kept in a composition that accelerates root growth.

For transplants, it is better to use a shallow wide pot with a drainage system (holes) in the base. Planting flower soil should be nutritious, contain peat, sand, fertilizer and soil. The depth of planting cuttings, as a rule, does not exceed 5-6 cm, with each layer of the earth methodically and carefully compacted.

After planting the cutting, it is important to provide him with the most optimal conditions of detention.To do this, water and put in a room with a constant temperature in the range of 20-23 ° C. Reproduction by grafting almost always gives positive result.

Seed method

Breeding Kalanchoe Blossfelda seminal method requires skills and time, however, subject to the rules and recommendations allows you to always achieve good and fast shoots.

The composition of the soil for sowing and reproduction by cutting should be similar. Sowing Kalanchoe Blossfeld seeds should be carried out at a warm temperature in a pre-moistened soil. Sowing depth should not exceed 2-3 cm, while the soil on the surface should be light and loose. After planting the seed, a pot of seedlings must be placed in a warm room, protected from drafts.

During the entire period of germination, crops should be watered regularly, but moderately. Immediately after the shoots of Kalanchoe Blossfeld grow and get stronger, they pinch their top to form several branches.Only after that the plant can be transplanted to a permanent place.

Leaf reproduction

Breeding sheet Kalanchoe Blossfelda can be carried out at any time of the year. To do this, it is necessary to cut off the adult leaf of the plant and plant it in a separate pot with the soil previously placed there. In the pot must be a drainage layer.

Before breeding Kalanchoe Blossfeld, be sure to consider the fact that reproduction best occurs in a moist and fertilized substrate.

Planted leaf Kalanchoe need to tightly cover a can or glass. After a few days, the leaf, as a rule, takes root and begins to form into a full-fledged plant. After that, open the sheet, moderately watered and fertilized.

It is noteworthy that in relation to Kalanchoe Blossfeld reproduction by leaf can be called one of the preferred options.

Basic rules of care, how to grow a flower at home

Basic questions about home maintenance of Kalanchoe Blossfeld - how to care, water, fertilize and trim - they have certain features that should be taken into account in order to grow a flower worthy of the pride of the owner and the envy of the guests of the house.

How to water a flower

In summer, Kalanchoe Blossfeld should be provided with regular, abundant watering, while avoiding drying of the flower soil. Water should be immediately after the top layer is a little dry. It is extremely important that the water in the pot does not stagnate - the main volume should be absorbed by the root system of the flower, and the excess flow through the drainage holes in the base of the pot.

In winter, reduce the volume and frequency of watering, watering the flower only as urgently needed. For irrigation, it is desirable to use softened and pre-settled water. This will avoid premature salinization of flower soil.

Plant nutrition

Kalanchoe Blossfelda does not apply to home flowers that are strictly dependent on regular feeding. However, in caseswhen the state of the plant to some extent begins to deteriorate (aging, diseases, pests, drying, etc.), and also after its seasonal pruning, the flower should be fed.

In specialized stores, fertilizers for Kalanchoe occupy a special place and are represented by a wide assortment variety. It is best to make a choice in favor of succulent fertilizers, which are fully absorbed by the plant. In this case, the fertilizer procedure is strictly prohibited to be carried out in the winter period. This is due to the fact that in winter the root system of Kalanchoe Blossfeld is overloaded with maintaining the general condition of the plant and will not be able to assimilate the mineral substances introduced, so that they will accumulate in the flower soil and gradually kill the flower.

An important secret of experienced flower growers is that when feeding, only half of the norm is applied, indicated on the packaging of fertilizer. Long-term practice proved that such a reduction in dosage is very effective due to the full absorption of the flower.

Trimming rules

Kalanchoe Blossfelda, like most home flowers, needs regular pruning of shoots. This procedure is especially relevant and necessary for flowering species for which cardinal cutting is strictly mandatory.

To rejuvenate the flower and protect it from damage by diseases and pests, the peduncles should be removed completely, without leaving any stumps. All damaged, dried up and just old shoots are cut. In some cases, you can slightly trim the tops of young shoots, which contributes to rooting and an increase in the rate of further growth of the flower.

Trimming is best done in summer period and then the flower will certainly be watered and fertilized. In order to form side shoots, the plant can be pinched. It is best done in the summer when the Kalanchoe is in the most optimal conditions of detention and can easily transfer this procedure. This technique allows us to give Kalanchoe Blossfeld a regular and unusually beautiful shape.

Flower transplant

Kalanchoe Blossfeld has a high growth rate, so over time its transplantation becomes inevitable. Fortunately, Kalanchoe, a transplant after purchase for which is mandatory, quickly adapts to new conditions.

The root system of this plant develops much faster than the stem part, so before you transplant Kalanchoe Blossfeld, you must prepare a large pot with a drainage system.

It is important to note that in the case of Kalanchoe, transplantation and reproduction have close relationship because without proper, timely transplantation, the plant will stop growing. Kalanchoe: how to transplant after purchase? The process takes place in several stages, each of which should be carried out with great care and trepidation.

First of all, you need to carefully remove the flower from the old pot, ensuring the integrity of the root system. After that, the plant should be placed in a new pot, on the bottom of which a drainage and a layer of fertilized soil should be laid. It is desirable to level the root system of Kalanchoe to ensure even growth.

It is better to fill the soil in the pot in layers, compacting and fertilizing it at each stage. As a result, the root system of the plant should be completely immersed in the ground.

The main diseases and pests of Kalanchoe Blossfeld

The Kalanchoe Blossfeld flower, home care for which is simple and clear, in some cases, is exposed to diseases and attacks of pests. The causes of damage can be different, but to prevent them or to deal with them, you should know the possible threats.

• Shchitovka

If during a visual inspection a grayish bloom of an unpleasant consistency consisting of small insects was discovered on the surface of the plant, we can safely say that the Kalanchoe is affected by the scutes. Owing to their activity, the general condition of the flower is rapidly deteriorating, fungal infections appear, and flowering stops.

The guards emit poisonous acid mucus, which is why an alcoholic treatment of the plant's surfaces must necessarily precede their removal. After that, insects can be removed with a soft cloth or brush, completing the cleaning with a repeated alcohol treatment.

With a significant damage to the shield, you can use not pure alcohol, but specialized flower medicine based on it, which is offered in stores. After treatment, Kalanchoe Blossfelda is fully restored on its own.

• Aphid

The most common and dangerous lesion for a plant of this species. It can be found quite simply: on the stem and leaves, small greenish insects are almost always observed, affecting any plant life processes due to the complete cessation of nutrient access to the root system of the flower. Therefore, it is not surprising that from the activities of such pests Kalanchoe can easily die. Do not delay the beginning of the fight against aphids.

If the leaves of Kalanchoe Blossfeld begin to dry out, turn yellow and lose their shape, and the inflorescences fall off or do not appear at all, there is no doubt that the defeat of aphids is already very serious. First of all, the affected areas should be removed immediately, and the rest of the flower should be treated abundantly with potassium soap and / or alcohol solution.

It is noteworthy and extremely important that the plant does not tolerate the ingress of these substances into the soil, which is why it must be covered before processing.

The most frequent cases of the disease of this plant and pest attacks are directly related to violation of care and conditions of detention. In order to further protect the Kalanchoe from risks, one should follow the recommendations of specialists.

In conclusion, we can conclude that the Blossfeld’s Kalanchoe is great for home cultivation. Thanks to the ease of care and amazing unpretentiousness the plant is very popular in our country over the years and every year becomes a favorite in new homes.