kalanchoe tomentosa

El kalanchoe tomentosa it is one of the species of succulent or succulent non-cacti plants that most often wants to touch. Its fleshy leaves, full of hairs, are soft and very pretty. In addition, they produce equally decorative flowers, although they are small.

The maintenance of this plant is quite simple if you take into account what I will tell you next; it can even be kept indoors as long as it is placed in a bright, draft-free room.

Origin and characteristics

Our protagonist is a plant native to Madagascar that was described by John Gilbert Baker and published in the Journal of Botany, British and Foreign in 1882. Reaches a maximum height of one meter, although in cultivation it does not usually exceed 50-60 centimeters.

It develops fleshy stems and leaves, covered with short white hairs. These leaves are oblong-lanceolate, with a concave upper surface, and with a dark brown dotted apical margin. In spring several flowers appear grouped in tubular inflorescences of salmon or pink color.

What care does the kalanchoe tomentosa?

If you want to have a copy, we recommend that you provide it with the following care:

Climate

It is important when you are going to buy a plant, especially if you want to have it outside, to know in what climate or climates it is capable of living, since otherwise the money would be spent in vain. In the case of the species we are talking about, being from Magadascar we are facing a tropical plant, which at a minimum you need the lowest temperature to always be above 5 degrees.

And it is that if it reaches 0 degrees it will begin to suffer significant damage, and if there is frost, then we will lose it.

Location

It depends:

• Exterior: in full sun or in semi-shade.
• Interior: in a bright room, away from drafts. You should not put it right in front of the window, otherwise its leaves would be burned by the so-called "magnifying glass effect".

Earth

Regardless of whether you are going to have it in a pot or in the garden, the drainage of the soil is essential. It does not resist puddling at all, and one way to avoid it is by making sure that the soil in which its roots grow is capable of absorbing the water, but also of filtering it as quickly as possible.

• Flower pot: you can mix universal growing medium with perlite in equal parts, but if you live in an area where it usually rains regularly, or if you don't want to take too many risks, I would recommend planting it in pomx or other volcanic sand.
• Garden: grows in sandy, porous, well-drained soils. If yours is not like that, make a hole of about 50 x 50cm, cover it with shading mesh and fill it with the substrates mentioned before.

Irrigation

Irrigation has to be rather scarce. In fact, to avoid problems, the ideal is to let the soil dry completely before re-moistening it, since otherwise its roots will have a hard time. But how often do you have to water the kalanchoe tomentosa?

The truth is that it depends a lot on the climate above all, as well as on the land in which it is growing. It will not be watered as often in a very hot and dry area as in a colder and rainier one. In the first, you will probably need about 2-3 weekly waterings in summer and one weekly the rest of the year, but in the second, maybe 1 or 2 a week during the summer season and one every 10, 15 or even 30 days the rest would have enough.

In order not to be mistaken, you must know, broadly speaking, the climate in which you live, or at least be aware of the weather forecasts. If rain is expected, do not water even if the soil is very dry. Wait a few days. He thinks that it is much easier to recover a dry plant than another that is suffering from excessive watering.

In case of having it in a pot, do not put a plate underneath Unless you remember to remove any excess water 20-30 minutes after watering.

Subscriber

During all the warm months of the year It must be paid with liquid fertilizers for cacti and other succulents, following the instructions specified on the package. You can also pay in autumn if there is no frost in your area.

Multiplication

El kalanchoe tomentosa it multiplies by cuttings in spring-summer. To do this, you just have to cut a piece and plant it in an individual pot with vermiculite, for example, previously moistened with water.

Plagues and diseases

It is quite resistant, but can be affected by:

• Mealybugs: they feed on the sap of the leaves. Since the plant is rather small, you can easily remove them with a small brush soaked in pharmacy rubbing alcohol.
• Sea Conches: in the rainy season you have to be very careful with them, as they feed on all parts of this calanchoe.
• Mushrooms: like the phytophthora, they appear when the humidity is high, rotting the roots and / or the leaves if they have been frequently watered overhead. They are fought with fungicide, although prevention is the ideal, not wetting leaves or stems and controlling watering.

Rusticity

Up to 5ºC, although it prefers warm climates.

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