Is this the Florist's Kalanchoe the often sold K. blossfeldiana often found at florists?

I've never heard of grooming this plant. My indoor ones don't bloom or haven't yet -- I just pick off dead or dying leaves (unless I want babies, in which case I left the dropped leaves root in the mix below). One needn't remove any limp leaves unless you don't like their look (I guess).

I'd just remove any spent blooms -- these are pretty rough & tumble plants, in nature, there's no one to 'groom them' so I don't bother.

Also, of my 1/2 dozen not that ordinary kinds, 2 of them get wild, crazy, messy-looking aerial roots which I leave unless they just get to messy/ugly for me.

Umm, I really can't say the type, it was at a nursery. Yours don't bloom?? They usually bloom in winter I think, I've only had it a month or two..But just because no one grooms them in nature doesn't mean anything. There's no one to do that to all the other plants yet they bloom better when they're dead-headed and roses bloom in spring better if you cut them back and etc etc etc. So I don't think ignoring all plants just because they were not created in a house with an owner is really the best choice.

Anybody else have an opinion please?
My main question was is it best to remove the bigger older leaves that get less firm (to make way for new baby leaves?)
And also, do I remove the dead flowers by taking the whole thing including the little green bulb-y thing they come out of? If anyone gets that =P

Kindly don't assume that 'cause I don't groom them, means I ignore them. Far from it, but I guess you'd rather assume. If I were abt ignoring plants then I wouldn't have them over 10+ yrs & over 150 plants at a time 'til lately.

You don't say if you grow indoors or out. Maybe in CA you grow outdoors, I don't, that can certainly affect blooming. Taking off larger leaves doesn't make room for smaller new ones if I understand your point.

If it's the very dark green glossy leaves w/ a bit of a frilly outer edge, that's called K. blossfeldiana which often comes w/ a lot of small colorful blooms & is available w/ different color blooms. If it's that one, many people throw them out after blooming as they don't readily re-bloom esp. when grown indoors.

I wasn't being sarcastic, I was making a point. You can disagree w/out being snooty about it, I'm trying to help you, since you don't know what you've got ID-wise, calm down there.

You registered here a wk ago; I'm here since '01, see how far your snootiness gets ya when you're asking for help.

Wow....I'm the snooty one?
It is indoor I may have only been here for a week but I posted this in houseplants cause it is a houseplant for me, lol.
Annnnyways, thanks eversomuch for your help.
-Dani

I have one of these also and I noticed the older leaves do very limp. By everyones response my guess is that it is ok and I should not worry. Do you all feed this plant any specific food?

Hi Jean, welcome to GW!

Limp leaves sounds like it may be getting a bit too dry.

I think I have the same one as you. I took the scissors and cut under the green part where the bloom is coming out. If you look REAL close you can see baby leaves growing under the bloom. I TRY to leave those. I've had mine since May or June and it is now blooming for the second time AFTER I cut the old blooms off. I did that probably two weeks after I got it. So they CAN bloom again if you're willing to put the work into it. I have mine in Al's gritty mix and it get fertilized just about every time I water at a quarter strength. But that's only needed if you're potted in a gritty mix. The BIG leaves I find if they get TOO BIG and are towards the bottom of the plant, they tend to hold the moisture on the surrounding leaves and CAN cause mold. (That's been my observation) I hope this has helped you!

I would cut the bloom stem as close to the bottom of it as I could.

Thank you sooooooo much :) This helps me a lot!!!!

Could you post a photo?
I have few of these, they are sold as house plants & bloom in different colors.
It gets some limp leaves when inside, maybe not enough light & perhaps too much water sometimes.
It looks much better outside. It is in full sun until abt. 3pm or so. It blooms inside too, but sparsely. I cut spent blooms & stems as zackey advised.
Rina

I have an orange one. Oh your picture is really pretty. I had no idea they could be outside, well wait I live in Arizona. Are they heat tolerant?

Your leaves grow up? Wow ... Is that the effect of being outside.. Mine is indoors and kind of droops. I am worried Arizona heat even in the shade will hurt this pretty plant.

Probably significantly hotter in AZ than AL, so can only answer your question to the point to say that temps around 100 for weeks at a time don't seem to bother my plants.

Your question inspired me to remind myself where this plant is from - Madagascar. Looking @ the link below, my yard is much hotter than its' native climate, avg summer day is 92 (which I don't believe at all, that's way low.) If you have a significantly sunny spot inside, that's where I'd put this plant if I was in your climate, at least during the hottest part of the year.

The blooms finished about 2 months ago, but I expect them to show up again around the first of the year, Dec. 8th, to be exact.

Here is a link that might be useful: Madagascar averages

I suspect you have a humidity advantage,Purp.

In your neck of the woods,a kalenchoe would stand less of a chance of losing it's life water to the surrounding air.

By the by...the kalenchoe I used as "stuffing" in the box blooms red.

Just so ya know. :)

Oh these are gorgeous! You have given me hope! I will keep them inside for now, and as fall approaches and we stay in the 90's I will see how it does outside..

Excellent point, Asleep, about humidity here. A climate with more dry air would dry plants more quickly. These are quite thirsty during the heat of summer, even with the humidity, forgot to say above. Makes sense if they're spending so much time at 10-15 deg. higher than their normal hottest weather. Also forgot to say, moved one to clay to compare their progress in diff pots (starting about a week ago, when I changed one from plastic pot to clay.) Hope that turns out to be as good of idea as it seemed like a week ago.

Red blooms sounds great! Didn't yet have that.

Sounds reasonable, Jean, hope it works as good as it sounds!

Here is photo of another one (original, same color blooms as one before). They are both outside, same exposure - full sun. Obviously, not as hot as AL, but also not humid-at least not this year.
I water them little more often than most of succulents.
They are much more compact when outside, getting more etiolated indoors.
Rina