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dragonfly717

My 5.5ft tall Kalanchoe Luciae...what NOW!?

dragonfly717
10 years ago

I know I should have acts sooner, being a mom to two wee ones has taken priority this summer. I have two "open planters" around my pool. Under screen but facing west in Zone 10 (hot and tons of sun) I love succulents so I gave it a go. So now I'm in a pickle! The agave is large enough it could be on its own in there, and I have two kinds of Kalanchoe (the soft green and white) and the "fantastic" luciae. Both the green have grown stalky and produced flower stalks. My "fantastic" took a heavy beating with our unusually soggy summer but are also flowering. Thoughts?! Take all out, trim, let callous? Yikes. I don't want to lose these. I have many pups in there so the flowering ones have given me babies (they will die right?)

Thanks in advance for any help.

Jamie

Tried to upload about 4 pics be would only load 1.

Comments (3)

  • Crenda 10A SW FL
    10 years ago

    Lovely plants! Our rainy summer caused no harm, so you must have good drainage. (I'm in Cape Coral.)

    Your Agave desmettiana is a good pupper. It will die after it blooms, but not just because of giving you pups. You can remove the pups and keep mama where she is, or leave them on. I remove my pups when there are too many and have them planted in other areas. I gave away some, too. Some of the pups already have pups! My plant is well over 2 foot tall now.

    After the Kalanchoe luciae flowers, it will give you pups, too. Some will be around the bottom of the plant. If you cut the top off (after flowering is done) more plantlets will form along the stalk. So you will have plenty of those to move around, too.

    I think it looks great, but thinning is up to you. Do you have room to start another succulent garden on the side of the house?

  • dragonfly717
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Hi from across the bridge :) ( I grew up in CC)

    I have room in other areas, just need to really plan things out to incorporate a succulent garden outside. I was thinking the Agave may need to make the move...they are really taking over and would look great in my existing beds. I really want to save what I can of the Kalanchoe Fantastic. I found an almost pure creamy yellow larger pup hiding in there today. If I cut their flower stalks before the bloom will the plant still perish? This one picture is the healthiest of the bunch (and no flower stalk yet).

    Thanks for your response and input!

    Jamie

  • Crenda 10A SW FL
    10 years ago

    I do love your Fantastic! Beautiful plants.

    Since you have a contained space in the planter, it shouldn't be too difficult to move your agave. I have no idea how the roots, pups will be intertwined with your other plants. But with patience I think you can do it. (You must already have patience with wee ones at home, huh?)

    I bought my agave at the plant show/sale at Rotary Park - probably in March? It had 8 pups in the pot and was 5 bucks! After I unpotted it, I removed the pups. Maybe I'm a wimp, but twisting them off like the guy told me was too difficult. I couldn't get any to twist off, so I used my handy sharp knife to remove them. Some had roots and a couple did not. All survived. If I were you, I'd remove the pups when you decide to move the agave.

    I should point out that the K. luciae will pup without flowering. It can make a nice mat of plants for you. But once it decides to bloom, even cutting off the flowers won't stop the plant's eventual decline. So you should enjoy the flowers. You will get a lot more plants to enjoy in the end. I planted 4 on an island out front. I got some pups, filling in the area, and then this year 3 decided to bloom. I will try to take a picture tomorrow.

    This link has some pictures of what I am trying to describe.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Propagation