How To Grow And Care For Flaming Katy (Kalanchoe Blossfeldiana)

Flaming Katy (Kalanchoe Blossfeldiana) is an ideal indoor cultured flower in winter and spring. Flaming Katy is a small plant with compact plant type, green leaves and dense flowers. It has the meaning of good luck and long life. It is an ideal potted flower for relatives, friends and elders. What should we pay attention to the maintenance of flaming Katy? Today, I'd like to introduce how to grow and care for flaming Katy.

Flaming Katy Quick Info

Botanical/Scientific Name	Kalanchoe Blossfeldiana
Common Name	Flaming Katy
When to Grow/Bloom/Harvest	Flower buds will appear in about 6-8 weeks
Uses	Interior plant
Origin	Madagascar
Light Care	Bright light to full sun
Soil Care	Drainage soil
Temperature Care	65 to 70 F. (18-21 C.)
Humidity Care	40-50% relative humidity
Watering	Apply water from the base of the plant
Pruning Care	Prune a leggy Flaming Katy
Fertilizer Care	Fertilize monthly with a diluted flowering plant food
Propagation	Stem cuttings or leaf cuttings
Toxic	Highly poisonous when ingested

Flaming Katy Care in Detail

Flaming Katy Watering

Specifically, we can use the watering can and other tools to slowly pour along the edge of the flaming katy flowerpot. It is best not to splash on the leaves, especially the flaming Katy flowers. It is best not to pour directly down from the top of the plant, and do not use the "dip basin method". There is a simple way to judge whether flaming Katy needs watering. You can insert them into the soil with the help of common tools around you, such as bamboo sticks and small wooden sticks. Take it out after a while. If there is moisture on it, flaming Katy needs watering.

The interval between two watering is different in different seasons. The spring and Autumn period is about three days. Summer is about five days (because of the high humidity, the interior of the soil does not necessarily dry quickly, so the interval is generally slightly longer than that in spring and Autumn). Winter is usually once a week. The temperature can affect whether watering is needed. If it is higher than 35 degrees in summer and lower than 8 degrees in winter, watering flaming Katy should be stopped.

Flaming Katy Soil

When planting flaming Katy, we should try to choose the soil with good drainage and air permeability. It is very important to have good drainage. Flaming Katy is a plant that is afraid of water logging. We can mix garden soil, coarse sand, cinder and rotten leaf soil. The prepared soil not only has good drainage, but also has very loose soil. It is very suitable for the growth of flaming Katy and is very good for its roots.

Flaming Katy light

Generally, flowering plants are inseparable from light. Light promotes flower bud differentiation and makes the flower color more gorgeous. The lack of light affects flowering, and the flower color will be dimmer. Flaming Katy is a plant that cannot lack light. In addition to avoiding strong light exposure when the flowers are in full bloom, it can be cultivated in a sunny environment for the rest of the time, even in summer.
Therefore, under the condition of sufficient light, the color of flaming Katy leaves will become lighter and red edges will appear. Flaming Katy's flowers are slightly larger and the color is more bright, but the color will slowly fade. If we want flag Katy to have a longer flowering period and more colorful flowers, it is better to place it in a bright place after the bud is opened.

Flaming Katy Temperature

The suitable temperature for flaming Katy's growth is 15 ~ 25 ℃. If the high temperature exceeds 30 ℃ in summer, the growth is blocked, and the indoor temperature in winter is 12 ~ 15 ℃. Below 5 ℃, the leaves turn red, and the flowering of flaming Katy is delayed. In winter and spring, if the room temperature exceeds 24 ℃, flowering will be inhibited. If the temperature of flaming Katy is about 15 ℃, flaming Katy will bloom continuously.

Flaming Katy Humidity

We often keep flaming Katy slightly moist in spring and autumn. It is better to water less in summer and once every 5 ~ 7 days. After entering the room in winter, water close to the room temperature should be poured once a week. Flaming Katy has compact plant type, thick and shiny leaves, petite and beautiful flower shape, long flowering period and high ornamental value. Flaming Katy can absorb carbon dioxide at night and release oxygen to make the indoor air fresh and natural. And flaming Katy's leaves can accumulate moisture and effectively regulate indoor air humidity.

Flaming Katy Fertilizer

Flaming Katy's root system is not very developed, so it has poor tolerance to fertilizer. It can be applied with appropriate amount at ordinary times. When changing soil, you can use an appropriate amount of base fertilizer. In normal growth period, topdressing can be used, and some additional fertilizer must be used in flowering period.

For the base fertilizer of flaming Katy, we can choose slow-release fertilizer, which can play a role slowly. Foliar fertilizer can be used for topdressing in the growth period. In addition, phosphorus fertilizer, such as potassium dihydrogen phosphate, is mainly supplemented during the flowering period of flaming Katy.

Slow release fertilizer can be buried in the soil, so that it will slowly exert its own effect, and generally no fertilizer damage will occur. The foliar fertilizer used in topdressing can be directly sprayed on the surface of the leaves to make the flag Katy leaves look more shiny and better. When using potassium dihydrogen phosphate, pay attention to the concentration, which can be about one thousandth.
The frequency of fertilization also needs to be controlled. Flaming Katy can change soil once every two years, and slow-release fertilizer is applied at this time. Flaming Katy's foliar fertilizer can be used once every two weeks. Flaming Katy uses potassium dihydrogen phosphate once a week until flowering.

Flaming Katy Pruning

When flaming Katy fails, we will conduct a systematic pruning for flaming Katy. Of course, the residual flowers that fail during flowering should also be pruned in time, otherwise it will not only affect the beauty, but also waste nutrition.

How do you trim flaming Katy? We just need to cut off from the base of the remnant flower, and only keep the two leaves of the flower stem, so that flaming Katy can better germinate new branches and bloom more next year.
After cutting the flower stems of flaming Katy, trim some yellow and rotten leaves, and trim some old leaves at the bottom, otherwise it will easily affect the photosynthesis of the new branches below, which is not conducive to the growth of new branches of flaming Katy.

The trimmed flower stems of flaming Katy can't be wasted. We can cut off the residual flowers and leave a pair of leaves, and then air them. We can survive by inserting them into the soil.

Flaming Katy Repotting

The best time for us to repot flaming Katy is after flowering and in the season of rapid growth, that is, spring and autumn. In summer, it is hot and stuffy, and there is no ventilation. Flaming Katy grows slowly and even sleeps. If you change the pots for flaming Katy, it is easy to have rotten roots and leaves due to improper operation, and the temperature is low in winter, The growth is relatively slow, but it is the flowering period of flaming Katy. Damaging the root during flowering will weaken the absorption function of the root, affect its flowering, and even drop the flower bud. The flower bud is dry and falls off. Therefore, the best season is in spring after flowering.

Just after summer, you can also change the pots for flaming Katy in autumn. If you don't change the pots in spring, autumn is the best choice. The nutrients in the pot soil are insufficient. If you change the pots, you can change the nutrients for flaming Katy, so that its roots can grow rapidly in the pot soil and absorb the nutrients in the pot soil. Autumn is the season for it to breed flower buds, After changing the pot, the root system grows rapidly, grows new buds, and then directly comes out to blossom. The new soil has sufficient nutrients, and the flower buds can expand and open quickly after they grow. If we find that flaming Katy has rotten roots or rotten leaves, we must change it in time.

When changing the basin for flaming Katy, whether in the growing season or after flowering, we must remember that we can't wash the roots and change the basin. Most of the roots of flaming Katy are capillary roots. After changing the basin, the roots are seriously damaged, which will easily lead to its failure to recover. How can we change the basin for it? When we change the basin for flaming Katy, we remove most of the soil and keep the protective soil in the middle. When we see that most of the root systems are exposed, we change the basin for flaming Katy. When we change the basin, we try to configure the soil similar to its original soil. After that, we pour water through it. When pouring water, add some carbendazim rooting solution and put it in a place with good scattered light and ventilation, Let it grow slowly and gradually grow new roots, which proves that flaming Katy's pot change is successful.

Flaming Katy Pest & Disease Cotrol

• Leaf Spot

Leaf spot disease mainly invades the leaves of flaming Katy, and the damaged parts of the leaves show brown spots. If it is not found in time, the spot area will expand into dark brown "spots", and will also infect the adjacent flaming Katy potted plants.

Treatment: we can use carbendazim, chlorothalonil or methyl tozin powder, according to 1:200 to prepare water solution, pour into the flowerpot, or spray the pot to spray the positive and negative sides of the leaf, three days to five days, and after three times, it can be cured. If flaming Katy is seriously ill, we can dig it out, wash it gently with water, wash the soil mass at the root, soak it in the prepared aqueous solution for 2-3 hours, then change the basin, change the soil, plant it again, and pour it through with the soaked aqueous solution. After changing the basin, flaming Katy should often spray the front and back of the leaves with the prepared aqueous solution, which can be cured after more than half a month. In spring and autumn, let the victim flaming Katy receive more sunlight, which can also increase the plant resistance, promote the absorption of liquid medicine and recover health faster.

• Black Rot

The main causes of black rot in flaming Katy are hardening of nutrient soil, poor air permeability, lack of ventilation and excessive watering at high temperature. It is manifested in the root of flaming Katy. Under normal growth, the plant suddenly blackens for no reason, and then spreads upward rapidly. As the blackened stem becomes soft and unable to support the upper branches, the branches will hang upside down, and the leaves will become soft and wrinkled. "The invasion part of bacteria is deep and the incidence rate is fast", which is a major feature of flaming Katy black rot. If it is not found in time, the upper branches will turn black and die in a few days.

In this case, we must not worry. As long as we observe more and find the disease in time, we can cut it more than 1-2 cm away from the blackened part of the root, mix it with carbendazim, chlorothalonil or methyltobuzin powder, soak the branches in the aqueous solution prepared at 1:200 for 2-3 hours, and then re cuttage with plain sand or vermiculite. The management is the same as above.

• Mosaic Virus

Mosaic virus is the most common virus of flaming Katy. It appears widely in modern hybrid varieties. This virus only appears in the poor growth environment and is transmitted to the plant by severe root infection. It shows that there are light green to yellow mosaic spots or patches on the leaves of flaming Katy, and the surface is uneven. In serious cases, it will inhibit the growth of the plant. Flaming Katy is most vulnerable to this virus.

On the one hand, the treatment method is to cut off some flaming Katy branches, remove the diseased leaves, and then soak the branches with carbendazim aqueous solution for about 5-6 hours for sterilization. On the other hand, the original roots must be abandoned and the original pots and substrates must be sterilized; Then, the sterilized branches are re cutted into plain sand or vermiculite to excessively promote the root, which can take root in about ten days, and in about twenty days, when the root grows to 1 ~ 2 cm long, It can be planted in nutrient soil (peat soil + perlite are prepared in a ratio of 1:1, or a small amount of vermiculite can be added); finally, we should put flag Katy in a place with moderate temperature and good ventilation to slow down the seedlings. After the leaves are in good spirits, we can move them to astigmatism for maintenance, and we can take full-time light until new leaves come out (we should avoid full-time light in summer, which will burn the flag Katy leaves).

• Powdery Mildew

Powdery mildew is a fungal disease, mainly affecting the leaves and stems of flaming Katy. The injured part appears white powder, which is difficult to wipe off by hand and brush. The injured plant leaves are weak and stop growing. It looks sick and feels very distressed.

We can treat it with potassium permanganate aqueous solution, but it is only limited to the initial stage. If the powdery mildew is serious, sulfur powder is recommended. Make sulfur powder into a paste with water, apply it to the damaged flag Katy leaves and stems with a soft brush, and sprinkle some sulfur powder on the surface of the substrate in combination with watering to promote root absorption.

Flaming Katy Propagation

• Flaming Katy Branch Cutting

We can use flaming Katy branches for cutting propagation. First of all, we can use the previous soil, or change the soil in the park and the soil in the vegetable garden. The soil should not be very tight, otherwise it is airtight. We can add some fine sand to increase the gap. We can use shallow pots for cutting and shallow pots for flower pots. The cut branches are easier to survive after being stored for a few days, Moreover, the branches only need two leaves to take root. When cutting, the leaves should be exposed to the soil, do not bury the leaves, and water thoroughly after cutting. The later watering principle should follow the principle of seeing dry and seeing wet, rather dry than wet.

• Flaming Katy Stem Cutting

Flaming Katy stem cutting propagation is very simple. You only need to select a slightly mature succulent stem, cut this succulent stem five or six centimeters long, insert it in the sand bed, and then pour some water into the flower pot. The cutting can take root for more than two weeks and can be used for pot planting in a month.

• Flaming Katy Topping Cutting

Flaming Katy topping cutting is also one of the cutting methods of longevity flower. First, we should pick the heart of longevity flower, and then insert the section after picking the heart into the soil. The watering is also done when it is dry, so as to avoid direct sunlight and irradiate it with scattered light. When the leaves are changed and shiny, they will live.

• Flaming Katy Layering

We can choose a leaf that grows better and stronger, cut it off, put it in a cool place to dry the wound, and then insert it into the breathable sand to maintain and water it more, so as to ensure the wettability of the plant, but don't be too wet, otherwise it will rot. if it is placed in a place full of sunshine, it can take root in a month.

• Flaming Katy Propagated in water

When scion is used, natural air drying is used to cut the mouth one day and one night, and the container is filled with cold and white about eight minutes. Then we can poke the sterile foam into a hole and use the alcohol to distill the rooting powder, then dip the root powder into the socket, then insert the box into the bright place and wait for its rooting.

Flaming Katy Benefits

• Beautify the environment

The best place to plant flaming Katy at home is that it can help decorate the home. Its flower color is very gorgeous. The flowering period of flaming Katy is also very long. It can be seen by people. Putting it in the house can also make the air more comfortable and our inner heart more comfortable. Its vigorous vitality can alleviate some bad emotions.

• Clean air 

Raising flaming Katy at home can clean impurities in the air. Because it has many leaves, at night, it will breathe, absorb the CO2 in the air and release the O2 we need. Moreover, flaming Katy can also absorb harmful substances in the air, such as formaldehyde, which is very good for us and makes the air fresher.

• As a gift

Flaming Katy's appearance is very beautiful, and the legend about this kind of flower is also very moving. Flaming Katy means great luck, longevity and well-being. It is very suitable for us to give flaming Katy as a gift to relatives and friends. Before the Chinese new year, buy some pots for the elderly at home. The moral is very good. They will be very happy.