This plant can experience a growth spurt before it flowers, which may be happening to yours. Sometimes the upper part of the plant produces heavier growth which causes the stems to bend. If it were outside in the ground, the stems would eventually touch the ground and root. If your plant is leggy, go ahead and take cuttings to start new plants. Wear gloves. The sap is toxic.

Thanks lgteacher, I was hoping you would say that! And thanks for the heads up on the sapbeing toxic - I didn't know that.

They can grow quite tall under the right conditions. I had one of the K. x houghtonii grow to 5 ft. I also saw K. daigremontiana in nursery greenhouses taller than that, especially if about to flower.

I believe lgteacher is mistaken about the sap. As far as I know, Kalanchoes don't have sap. Maybe s/he is thinking of Euphorbia, with the toxic sap to watch.

Aerial roots is usually an indicator the plant is searching out water. The curling leaves could be caused by an insect infestation, or perhaps needing more water or sun. A photo here would (maybe) help to guess at causes.

This plant is on the ASPCA toxic plant list and the Canadian toxic plant list. I have one, but my dog doesn't eat plants, so I'm not worried.

Devil''s-backbone (Kalanchoe daigremontiana) is an indoor ornamental plant. This plant contains a cardiac glycoside that has caused experimental toxicity and death in chicks and mice. It has caused illness in pets, such as rabbits and mice. Dogs and cats are also at risk from ingesting plant material. The plants should be kept away from children, as well.

Maybe you can skip the gloves, but don't eat any leaves!

Thanks to both of you for your suggestions. After more research - and seeing a friend's mature plant - I've decided to make a bunch of cuttings from this one and give them away at our plant swap. I like the kalanchoe, but I just don't have room inside for it to grow to the size it needs to be to bloom and be happy. I'll take care to wash my hands after handling the cuttings, too!

New information about its toxicity. Thanks, I'll look into that, lgteacher.

Livinginoz, they can & do bloom while they are short. If you plan to take to a swap, just be forewarned that many consider this to be a weed (for their propensity to deposit babies everywhere they go). Folks may curse you for spreading it around.

Hi Folks,

If I may, I believe this discussion includes confusion between two different plants here; one toxic, one not.

When I hear Devil's-backbone, I think Pedilanthus, not Kalanchoe. I did a couple of searches to check this first.

IIRC, Pedilanthus is a form of Euphorbia, suddenly caution about toxic sap makes total sense. Not so w/ Kalanchoes, aka Mother of Thousands, not Devil's Backbone.

The 1st search I did yielded entry w/ 3 mentions/pix of Pedilanthus & 1 mention/pic of what I think was a Kalanchoe/Bryophyllum Crenatum (bright green, large, leafed w/ babies on the edges).

RoRo, think w/ me on this, do you see my point?

It's good you pointed that out, Rose. I knew they could be invasive. Good thing is I doubt they would survive outdoors in winter here (but I guess you never know!!)

I see where you're going Pirate Girl and I think you've got it - but just to clarify: this particular plant is definitely a mother of thousands (K. daigremontiana).

Kalanchoe daigremontiana mother of thousands Devil's Backbone is listed as toxic as stated in post above.
Euphorbia Pedilanthus Devil's Backbone is mildly toxic.
Both toxic. The Kalanchoe more so. I grow both and I am careful with both.

What about jades and other plants which are related to kalanchoes, I wonder? I've never seen that about any kalanchoe before.

I did some digging/research into this. I will not go into all the detail I read & hope that I can convey the info I learned without repeating everything. You can always go looking for yourself! =)

First, it is a mistake for Kalanchoe daigremontiana to be called by the common name, Devil's Backbone. But, like many common names, more than one plant (that has just one botanical name-or reclassified, having a new name) can be known by the same common name. In addition, on the Internet, it only takes a few to start calling something by another name ~to make it so! It takes on a domino effect, snowballing, & then you can find it all over the web!! It doesn't mean it is correct.

Devil's Backbone is the common name for Pedilanthus tithymaloides (aka Euphorbia tithymaloides). It got its name from having zigzag stems. Euphorbia are known for having a milky, latex sap which can be toxic should be handled with care.

It seems there are many references to Kalanchoe daigremontiana as Devil's Backbone on the web (I somehow missed this reference early on in the post, Karen, but now I'm 'thinking w/you on this'). That little detail aside, I still assert that Kalanchoe does NOT have poisonous or toxic SAP.

There have been many tests/experiments done (chicks were mentioned) over a number of years by various agencies (several in Australia). Yes, they have found that several Kalanchoe species contain toxic properties (cardiac glycoside-mentioned earlier, & bufadienolides). They have cited cattle/livestock deaths attributed to some of these Kalanchoe.

Interesting to note that the most poisonous were the flowerheads (in descending order) of hybrid (Bryophyllum/Kalanchoe daigremontiana x K. tubiflora/delagoensis which I believe is now considered~) Kalanchoe x houghtonii, Kalanchoe pinnata & Kalanchoe tubiflora/delagoensis. The whole plant of Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi is toxic...all of these...IF EATEN...and you would have to eat QUITE A BIT (like cattle do while grazing). They found 20g wet wt per kg body wt would do the trick. Anyone care to translate that to measurements we use more often here in the U.S.? In chicks (2 wk-old Leghorns), they had to eat 12-18 mg per g. of body wt to be poisoned.

Using the 1st set of figures, I get this, roughly: If 200 lb. person + 68.2 kg
20g (wet wt) x 68.2kg = 1364g = 5.77 cups (needed to be eaten)

There were several Kalanchoes mentioned that could be toxic: daigremontiana, tubiflora (now delagonensis), fedtschenkoi, pinnata & prolifera. But never was any sap mentioned. You would have to consume the plant to be poisoned. There is no sap. I may have goofed in some detail above, but I think you get the jist of it. If you have pets you think will EAT the plants, keep them from it (by whatever means).

Also, I grow these types outside, so it's not just an indoor ornamental. I have dogs & a cat. These plants are all over my back yard (weed that they are). My pets don't eat these plants. Also, no, I do not think any of the Crassula ovata plants are poisonous.
Hope this helps ease some minds. =)

Have a good day! ~Rosemarie

I, too, grow both of these outside, and have never had any problem with the sap of Pedilanthus tithymaloides. We have chicks rummaging around and haven't seen any problem with them either.
I have several Kalanchoe daigremontiana plants that have flowered at varying heights and have different colored blooms including some that seem to be very leggy...but I love them all!