Reasons Kalanchoe Doesn't Bloom and How to Fix It
Kalanchoe gets its name from its exceptionally long overall blooming period and is known for being easy to grow. As more varieties gradually become available, it has grown increasingly popular. However, many friends find that the Kalanchoe they grow simply won't bloom. Below, let's take a look at the reasons Kalanchoe doesn't bloom and how to make it produce more flowers!
How many times a year does Kalanchoe bloom
Kalanchoe prefers a warm, slightly humid environment with plenty of sunlight. It is not cold-tolerant. The optimum growing temperature is 15-25°C. In summer, when high temperatures exceed 30°C, growth is hindered. In winter, indoor temperatures need to be 12-15°C. Below 5°C, the leaves turn red and the blooming period is delayed. If the room temperature exceeds 24°C during the winter-spring blooming period, blooming will be inhibited; if the temperature is around 15°C, Kalanchoe will bloom continuously.
Kalanchoe is drought-tolerant and not demanding about soil, though fertile sandy loam is best. Kalanchoe is a short-day plant and is quite sensitive to photoperiod. For a well-grown plant, giving it short-day treatment (8-9 hours of light per day) for 3-4 weeks will bring out flower buds and blooming. Therefore, the blooming period of Kalanchoe is from December to May of the following year. As long as it is well cared for, it will produce a steady stream of beautiful flowers during this time.
Reasons Kalanchoe doesn't bloom
1. Light: Kalanchoe prefers a sunny environment. At noon in midsummer, avoid intense direct sun; the rest of the time it can be placed in a sunny spot. It needs at least 4 hours of direct light per day to grow vigorously. To make the plant bloom evenly, be sure to regularly rotate the direction of the pot so the plant receives light evenly. On a balcony of a multi-story building, turn the pot 180 degrees every half month. It can grow in partial shade, but the stems will be thin, the leaves small, the flowers few and pale, far less lush than in a sunny spot. If it is too shady, it will not only easily drop leaves and produce no flowers, but even a plant that has already bloomed, if placed in shade, will have its flower color turn dull and then the flowers will drop and wither.
2. Nutrients: Kalanchoe likes fertilizer. Because its blooming period is long, one should break the rule of not fertilizing during blooming. Apply a dilute nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium fertilizer or a 0.2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate solution once a month, so that the later flowers do not become smaller and paler due to lack of fertilizer. From the time Kalanchoe is brought indoors at Frost's Descent until October of the following year is exactly the period of late flower bud differentiation and peak blooming, so its demand for fertilizer is great. Before blooming, apply a fish-based fertilizer mainly of phosphorus and potassium once a week to promote flower bud differentiation. During the blooming period, mainly apply quick-acting potassium dihydrogen phosphate, with a concentration of 2% being suitable, once every 10 days.
How to make Kalanchoe bloom more
1. The pot should not be too large: Some gardening friends mistakenly believe that the larger the pot, the better the plant grows and the more profusely it blooms. So they plant a small stem in a large pot that is completely out of proportion to it, apply plenty of base fertilizer, thinking it is “done in one step”, and just wait quietly for flowers. This method often works poorly. The reason is simple: a large pot means large space, the roots grow and spread freely, needlessly consuming a great deal of nutrients. This results in sparse, narrow, small leaves, few flowers, and small blooms.
2. The plant shape should not be too tall: After the summer dormancy, autumn is exactly the period of vigorous growth for Kalanchoe. A substantial pruning should be done before the Start of Autumn to make the plant shape low and sturdy and promote branch development. Combined with fertilizing, this ensures good plant growth. With more branches, there will be more flower heads later.
3. Fertilizer should not be too concentrated: Plenty of fertilizer and water is certainly the foundation for a plant's abundant flowers and lush leaves, but many gardening friends, partly to save effort and partly overestimating Kalanchoe's tolerance, often apply a large amount of concentrated fertilizer all at once, with the opposite result. Kalanchoe will either develop a large number of yellow leaves, or become listless because the soil solution concentration is too high. Kalanchoe is a plant with moderate fertilizer needs; applying light fertilizer frequently is the real rule. Topdressing should mainly be done during the bud stage and blooming period. Bone meal and potassium dihydrogen phosphate can be diluted into a liquid fertilizer. The bone meal bought from the flower market (80 grams/bag) and potassium dihydrogen phosphate (30 grams/bag) are generally each used at about one quarter or one fifth of the amount, diluted respectively into a 1.25L beverage bottle to make liquid fertilizer. Spraying potassium dihydrogen phosphate on both the front and back of the leaves, combined with watering using bone meal and potassium dihydrogen phosphate, will produce the effect of flower buds all over the branches.