Please help not the best way to care for it

14 years ago

I have a couple of questions as this season has caused some radical changes in my succulents and I want to give them the best possible care. But I don't know much about the process.

I have had this guy for a couple of years and has changed a lot each summer. My question is do i need to replant it into a larger pot or should/can i remove the offshoots and repot them...

If so what is the best process to do this safely?

Any idea what he is?

here is a link to a few other pics

http://picasaweb.google.com/gmoses/MyGarden?authkey=Gv1sRgCNGY7eOFyNj9XQ#

Also it grew a long stem from teh center with a flower at the top. When it died it just dried out but never fell off. Was i supposed to remove it? If so where and how?

Thank you

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:620829}}

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

paracelsus
14 years ago
The plant is Kalanchoe luciae or thyrsiflora.

It looks like you have already lost the rosette on the tallest stem, and new inflorescences (several) are developing on the stalk below. They will grow longer. The inflorescence (flower stalk) will eventually dry out after the flowers are done opening, and the rosette it sprang from will die. But it's OK, you have lots of young pups at the base. You can cut off the dead upper part of the stalk and leave the rest alone.

You do not need to repot. Yes, you can remove the offsets if you want to propagate the plant, but I like to grow mine as a clump. It is easiest to remove offsets after removing the plant from the pot. Do this when the pot is dry. You may need to loosen up the root ball a little, especially if it is rootbound. I like to use a flat bladed screwdriver to create space between the soil clump and the pot. Tapping with a rubber mallet may help. Take your time. At some point you should be able to lift the plant and root ball out of the pot. You may need to turn it upside down, so be careful you don't let the plant drop and break stems. Another person may be helpful. ;)

You must be doing something right, or it would not have flowered. There should be several flowers on each inflorescence, opening from the bottom to the top over a few weeks. Since you have inflorescences, you will know that proper name of your plant by the flower color. Kalanchoe luciae has white flowers, and a powdery coat on the leaves. Kalanchoe thyrsiflora has yellow flowers and no powdery coating. K. luciae is by far the most common, but ironically, most are labeled K. thyrsiflora erroneously.

Basic care instructions: Water when dry. Practice Benign Nelect.

Happy growing!
gmoses
Original Author
14 years ago
Thank you so much for the very helpful information.
Related Discussions
best way to plant amaryllis seeds+best amaryllis book
Q
Comments (17)
If you want to grow alot of these you need to start them in open flats. Get some plastic trays from the five and dime. You are looking for something that would double as the bottom of a cat litter box. With about a 1/2 inch wood drill bit put about 12 holes in it. Six of them on the curve of the bottom to side. This is so if sitting flat it won't fill with water. I use a compost soil with a little sand and mix 50% with miracle grow soil or peters which is sold in our area. Fill about an inch from the top and water thoroughly. Add more soil if needed to keep an inch from the top. Lay out seeds flat with about the same space as the seeds are wide. Cover with 1/4 inch of soil mix. Mist top of soil until real wet. Set in semi bright light or on porch but not full sun. After they have had three or four leaves come out strong you can gradually introduce them to more sun. Don't worry about thinning out after they start sprouting. Leave in the tray and fertilize as required. Donts soak and don't let dry out. Leave them in tray for first year, then plant them out or in pots. You will end up with over 50+ a tray and are great for starting a whole bed with one tray. Hoped that helped you some it has worked for us for years. Warning; cats love to lay in these flats of young Amaryllis. Here is a link that might be useful: Town Square
...See More
Please help identify these succulents and how to care for them, please
Q
Comments (5)
is there drainage in that pot?? .. thats very important as to watering ... insert finger.. and do not water.. until its dry in there ... in my MI ... i would not put that shallow a pot in the sun ... excet for the fact that they are sedums.. and you can barely kill them if you wanted .. lol .. to simplify it.. they are full sun.. carp soil plants .. they live in my sand.. with no water after the first year ... and therein lies the rub to trying to make them a winter houseplant.. not enough sun.. and most likely the potting media will hold too much water ... ergo.. i would plant them out in fall ... in native soil.. and get rid of the media .. and i would separate the plants ... not plant the whole gob ... you could have a nice 2 or 3 foot square garden with them .. so start prepping the bed now.. and plant in fall ... and in a few years.. you can start planting them everywhere .. as they will multiply with abandon.. but not in a bad way ... and broken off part can be rooted.. and planted out.. often.. just sticking them in the ground ... ken
...See More
Need help identifying cactus, and learn how to best care for it
Q
Comments (12)
You'll have to be very careful not to have it sitting in water which stays in the bottom of the white pot. That's the proverbial "recipe for disaster." Lifting it out to water and drain would be best. I realize it's awkward to handle. I hope someone will chime in here as to whether it needs to be in a slightly bigger pot. I realize you must have been delighted with how the plant looks in that corner, but if you leave it there and there is not enough light, by the time you realize it the plant could be negatively affected. In the store, it's possible that there was store lighting on it many hours a day, so maybe that's why it did so well. How quickly it dries out depends on the soil, your humidity, how much light it gets, time of year--lots of different factors. You can stick a skewer into the soil for a while and pull out to see if it's damp.
...See More
Rusty on my Hoya care, best way to dry out soaked plant
Q
Comments (2)
Just a suggestion: the potting media they use for the hoyas you get from Home Depot, Walmart, and the likes, is pretty terrible. As soon as you can, go back to Home Depot, Lowes, or any other store with a garden center and look for fine grade orchid mix. When I run out of my go-to mix (expensive, and useless for your average hoya owner), I hop over to Lowes and grab a (blue) bag of Gubler Fine Grade orchid mix. If you cannot find this, grab a bag of perlite (preferrably without the added fertilizer) and a bag of pine bark mulch. Mix equal parts mulch and perlite into a small container, and soak overnight in water. If you found the Gubler, soak overnight in water, as well. Until you can get a suitable mix, just keep your hoya in a warm, draft free location with bright, indirect sun (a West facing window with sheer curtains works well). The important thing is to protect the plant from cold/drafts, while the potting media dries out. Once you get your mix, and after it has been soaked overnight, rinse as much of the old media off of the roots as you can, gently running your fingers through the roots to loosen them. Soaking the rootball in warm water for five minutes helps. Wash your pot in soap and water with a 1/10 ratio of bleach added (1 part bleach to 10 parts water). Rinse well. Rinse off your new potting mix. Place an inch of your new mix into your clean pot. Insert the rootball into the pot and add the mix around the rootball, gently tapping the pot onto your work surface to allow the mix to get into all root nooks and crannies. Cover entire roit system with your mix. Do not water for a week or two, to allow roots to recover. After the initial dry out phase, you can continue to water weekly to every 10 days, feeding the plant with 1/4 strength water soluble (MiracleGro water soluble tomato food is great: contains all the nutrients your hoya needs, and is inexpensive) food to 1 gallon warm water.
...See More
ilovecacti_grower
14 years ago
when and if you remove the offsets can i have one?
gmoses
Original Author
14 years ago
Where are located? Do you have experience? If so for help you can have one as payment cuz not sure if i want mess with it.

Please help not the best way to care for it

Comments (4)

paracelsus

gmoses
Original Author

Related Discussions

ilovecacti_grower

gmoses
Original Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Please help not the best way to care for it

Comments (4)

paracelsus

gmosesOriginal Author

Related Discussions

ilovecacti_grower

gmosesOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

gmoses
Original Author

gmoses
Original Author