Kalanchoe in home gardening is known as a medicinal plant. Many home plant lovers grow a flower, but not everyone knows how to properly care for it. The article provides recommendations for pruning the bush and further care.
Why do I need to cut the Kalanchoe at home?
Pruning is an important procedure for the care of a plant.
Basic goals:
- giving the bush a decorative, compact form;
- rejuvenation of the bush (cut off the old shoots and foliage);
- prevention of disease (faded flower stalks often rot);
- the more compact the shape, the more evenly nutrients and moisture are distributed along the stems and leaves.
When to cut?
The first pruning young bush spend spring. Forming or rejuvenating procedure - in late spring before flowering or in summer, when the plant has faded. Remove shoots better in the morning.
The newly purchased flower must adapt to the new location before pruning. Immediately after transplantation, neither trimming nor pinching is necessary, you need to wait about three weeks. It is not recommended to carry out procedures with a plant that has been attacked by insects or unhealthy. The manipulation is carried out 2 weeks after the complete destruction of pests or recovery from the disease.
Important! You can not cut the flower during the rest and during flowering.
How to cut a flower depending on the variety?
It is necessary to form and rejuvenate any plant, while taking into account the varietal characteristics of Kalanchoe varieties.
For example:
- varieties Blossfeld, Kalandiva handle manipulation easily. Rapidly increasing shoots and foliage, even when pruned "under the stump";
- Behar more needs to be updated, because over time the leaves remain only at the top, and the bottom and side die. At a grade cut off a top and transplant;
- fiery as it grows, it does not branch much; it is enough to pinch it from time to time;
- bryophyllum - leave the stump with a pair of leaves, the tops do not pinch, and cut the leaves, removing the growth point;
- felt produces long flower stalks, which, after flowering, must be cut off under the base of the shoot;
- trumpet produces a lot of lower leaves, lateral shoots neatly thin them out.
Did you know? Kalanchoe is originally a Chinese name consisting of two words: Kalan Chauhuy. The translation of the phrase is "that which grows from the fallen."
Step by step trim instructions
For manipulation, prepare a sharply honed tool so as not to cause unnecessary damage to the plant.
First pruning
The first time the procedure is carried out in 3-4 weeks after the rest period. During this time young shoots appear on the bush. 2-3 leaves are removed on new stems. Be sure to remove the shoots that have chosen the wrong direction of growth: inside the crown. Cut the lower leaves, if there are too many of them at the base of the stem - the tip will not receive enough nutrition.
Pruning for preventive purposes
The procedure is carried out as it grows throughout the life of the flower.
It consists of the following steps:
- As new sprouts appear in the axils of the stems and leaves, 2-3 upper leaves are removed. This can be done until late autumn, excluding the flowering period.
- To prevent diseases, all broken and damaged stems are removed.
- In case of preventive rejuvenation, old shoots are cut, too large lower leaves.
- In the summer at Kalanchoe active growth is observed, especially the tip is drawn out. It is cut so as not to spoil the existing shape of the bush. Clipped shoots are not discarded, but used as cuttings for reproduction.
Important! After pruning, all sections, in order to avoid damage by microbes, are sprinkled with pounded activated carbon.
How to cut after flowering?
After a period of flowering on the bush dry flower stalks remain, which begin to rot. In this case, healthy parts of the plant can be infected with rot. Before you clean the bush, you need to make sure that all the flower stalks have bloomed. Remove the stems with dry buds just below the base. If the leaves on the top shoots during the period of flowering are strongly grown, they are also pruned.
Aftercare
After the formation or rejuvenation of the bush need a rest. Kalanchoe for a month removed from the windowsills. Recommended ambient lighting.
Rest after cleaning from peduncles requires special conditions:
- content in the twilight;
- temperature + 16 ° С;
- watering 1 time in 3 weeks.
Do I need to pinch Kalanchoe?
On the question of whether to pinch Kalanchoe, experienced flower growers give an affirmative answer. With the help of pinching it is easier to form a beautiful shape, directing the growth of shoots. As the young stems grow, remove the apical pair of leaves. After the appearance on this place of two shoots with foliage, pinch at the level of the third pair of foliage. Repeat the procedure again until the crown of the bush does not acquire the desired shape.
Did you know? Residents of some countries in South America use Kalanchoe juice as a contraceptive.
Useful Care Tips
To successfully grow a flower, it is advisable to familiarize yourself with the rules of maintenance and care for it:
- The lighting should be bright, and the light day should last no more than 10 hours. From too aggressive rays of the sun need pritenyat.
- The temperature of the content in the summer is + 25 ° С, in the winter - not lower than + 12 ° С.
- In the summer the plant is watered more often, in the winter - twice a month. The frequency of summer irrigation determines the rate of drying of the soil in the pot. When watering the soil should be moistened to the full depth to the bottom. Excess water is drained from the pallet. In winter, moisture should not fall on the foliage.
- Leathery leaves collect dust, so the leaves, even in winter, should be wiped with a damp cloth.
- Feed the plant 2 times a month in the summer, use the mineral fertilizer "Agricola" or "Bona Forte". The dosage is less than 2 times than indicated in the instructions. In the autumn they fertilize once a month, and stop feeding during the dormant period.
- Most varieties are transplanted annually in the spring, as the plant quickly grows the root system and the ground part. The pot is taken 2-3 cm more than the previous capacity. The soil should be light, permeable to moisture and oxygen, nourishing.
- To achieve flowering, you need to put the pot in a dark place for 25-30 days without watering. Then return to the usual conditions. Regime change stimulates the formation of buds.
