Kalanchoe blossfeldiana

Flaming Katy ( Kalanchoe blossfeldiana )

Kalanchoe blossfeldiana ( Syn: Kalanchoe globulifera coccinea var H.Perrier ) is a native of Madagascar flowering plant in the genus Kalanchoe, belongs to the family of the Crassulaceae ( Crassulaceae ). The specific epithet honors the German plant breeders and dealers Robert Blossfeld (1882-1945 ).

Description

There are perennial succulent plants that rarely exceed plant height of 30 cm. The simple leaves are dark green and slightly fleshy. Because of this thickened leaves the plants evaporate relatively little water.

The name Flaming Katy (also Towering Katchen written ) owes the plant to exclusively red flowers of the first varieties, of which up to 500 are on a plant. Today in different colors flowering varieties are available; the colors range from red, yellow, orange and white to pink and purple tones. There are now also double varieties on the market.

Cultivation

The many varieties include the standard range of the Central European ornamental plant. The multiplication can be done with generative seed both vegetatively by cuttings, tissue culture ( " in vitro " ) or. 1 g of seeds contains 70,000 to 80,000 grain.

To flowering ( flower induction ) is a short-day phase is needed. Only falls below 11 to 12.5 hour day length over the course of a month, the flowering is induced ( depending on variety ). 8-9 hours is optimal. To achieve this in a natural way, the plant is cultivated in the winter months. An artificial induction of short day by darkening with foil or other materials is possible all year round.

Kalanchoe blossfeldiana is relatively easy to clean and keeps well. The plant flowers in the following year again. The default size of the pots is from 9 to 13 cm, mini sizes have 7 cm pots.