OMG that's pretty! Never seen that Kal before. I've obviously been going to the wrong store!

...and I see you're an equal opportunity soap buyer - LOL! Blue AND yellow.

Tiff,
She got it at Kroger if you have one nearby (It was a bit pricy though, I think she paid $11 for it... well worth it IMO, it's not something you see every day).

LOL, well the blue soap is dishwashing soap and the other is hand soap. I'm a germ-a-phobe so I have to have anti-bacterial hand soap. ;) The blue soap isn't really THAT blue though, it came out really blue for some reason.

Planto

Planto,
Beautiful gift from your mom. I don't think I've ever seen one of these as I am not at all familiar with this plant. And how lovely that it is a gift from your mom. I hope the blossoms don't fall off when it adjusts to its new location. Did it come in that pot or did you transplant it? Thanks for sharing; it really is beautiful.

Rodden,
I hope they don't fall off either. Sadly, quite a number of them may fall off just because they appear to be on their way out already. They're sort of flat and dried up looking. The second photo shows one or two that are still "inflated." I hope I can get it to bloom again.

It came with the purple cache pot. The plant is sitting in an ugly green plastic pot that rests inside the purple pot. Maybe if the root system is big enough, I can drill some holes into the purple pot and pot the plant directly in it.

Kalanchoes are supposedly easy plants so maybe you could get one for yourself. There are different kinds of flowers, this is just one "type."

I had a yellow blooming Kalanchoe last year but with all the rain we had, it died on me. I should have moved my cacti and succulents somewhere else while it kept raining. I think we had non-stop rain for a good two weeks. Doesn't sound like much, but for our state that normally has a yearly drought, we were begging for the rain to go away.

Planto

Rodden,
This is the most common blossfeldiana flower you'll find. They can bloom in white, pink, red, orange, yellow, hot pink... maybe there's more colors than that?

This isn't my picture, but just to share.

Planto

Rodden,
Here's a more uncommon flower that you can find.

Again, not my picture, but to share. :) I'm sorry the pictures are a little blurry.

Planto

Rodden,
Okay, one more lol. I saw this one at another grocery store this morning. I think the flowers are pretty, but I like the one my Mom picked up more. They wanted $13 for it... just seemed too much for me to spend.

I found this picture online as well.

Planto

Very pretty! Looks like Fuchsia meets Christmas Cactus!

Planto,
You are so kind and helpful with all your responses, words and photos. I think my mother once had a kalanchoe now that I look at the pictures you've sent.

Good luck with drilling a hole into a ceramic pot. I'm sounding pessimistic, but this usually doesn't work as the pressure will crack the pot, or if you don't put a lot of pressure on it, it will eventually heat up from all the friction and crack the pot. Maybe you can get it to work. If you do, let me know how you did it!

And I agree, $13 is a bit pricey unless finances are not a concern.
What state do you live in? We are so dry in Oklahoma right now that a lot of fires are raging, and although there are no fires in our area, the air is tainted with smoke. I hope it is better where you are.

Rodden Blessed

Rodden,
Thanks. I try my best to be helpful. :) Do you know what happened to your Mom's Kalanchoe?

I'm not sure the material is ceramic, it has a more of a... hard plastic feel to it. If it's the same material as another pot I used to have, it won't be difficult to drill holes into. I purchased a pot last year that was some sort of hard plastic (at least I think it was hard plastic; that's about the best I can describe it) and was able to drill a few holes in the bottom. The other pot and this one don't give at all like a "normal" plastic pot.

I've seen some "biodegradable" pots before that have the same feel as this one, but I'm not sure I'd stick this pot in the ground lol. The interesting thing about those pots was that they were hard like a "normal" pot, not the biodegradable pots you find used with container vegetables.

I know drilling a hole into a ceramic pot would be a disaster for me lol. I think some have found a way to do it. You have to have a diamond drill bit I think and a continuous flow of water on the pot to keep the bit from getting too hot. If that's something you're interested in, I think you can find a few posts on Gardenweb about it or even online. I think the drill bits can be purchased on eBay, but I hardly buy non-draining pots or pots I can't drill normally, so spending the money for one of those wouldn't be as useful for me.

I don't think $13 is bad if it's a large plant, but for a plant that's only about 5'' tall and maybe 4-5 inches wide... I think I'll save my money lol. I bought a 'Green Bonnie' spider plant the other day for around the same price but it's quite large.

I live in SC. We have some of the oddest weather. Last week it was 80, last night it got down to freezing. Heck... we had a bad ice storm a few weeks ago and it snowed before that. So, you go from snow, ice, to 80 degrees, back to freezing. I've given up on trying to figure out the weather.

I'm sorry to hear your state is experiencing wild fires. I know the West (mainly Arizona and California come to mind) are often troubled with wild fires. Wildfires are good for "reproduction" in the sense that the ash is good for the ground, but it's not good when the fires destroy homes. I hope some rain comes your way soon to "stomp" out the fires.

Planto

This post was edited by plantomaniac08 on Fri, Feb 28, 14 at 14:45

Planto,

It sounds as if you have a heavy plastic pot that can easily be drilled, so that should work well. I don't think I will attempt the drilling of ceramic items. I do find metal and plastic that I add holes to, and I keep my eyes peeled for second-hand pots all the time. Plus my daughter and friends know I like pots and tend to give them to me as gifts.

We actually got a bit of rain here today, but nothing to douse a fire. Snow and sleet are heading this way, and like your situation in SC, the weather changes drastically. I had my plants outside for a couple hours earlier this week, and now we are bracing for single digits.

I spent many a childdhood summer in SC, Greenville to be specific. My dad's sister and family lived there. However, that was many years ago, yet I still have fond memories of those travels. SC is very different from the North where I grew up, and as a child, I was amazed at the "different world" there. I actually felt much the same when I moved to Oklahoma as an adult---hehehehehe.

I didn't get any plants from my mom when she went into the nursing home and then later died, but I'm OK with that because she passed on to me her love of them, and that is what is most important. I grew up surrounded by people who were in relationship to plants, both outside and indoors, so I carry that blessing. My mom always grew irises around the mailbox, and she bordered every outdoor garden with zinnias. I now do the same and rarely look at an iris without thinking of her.

My next plant I'd like to acquire is a ponytail palm. I think your post really motivated me. When my collection of houseplants gets totally out of control, I'll simply blame everyone on this site!

So much accountability, ay?

Rodden-Blessed

Rodden,
Gifted pots are the best kind, second to secondhand pots. You reminded me that Goodwill would be a good place to look for pots when I need some. I am planning on checking them out sometime here for a basket or cache pot to sit my Chinese Evergreen in. I repotted it after purchase, but I kept it in the same pot it came in... A black plastic pot (ugly).

I think the trees and such are confused this time of year as to if it is Spring yet or not. Last week my car was covered in pollen lol. Now it's cold again. Haha, it sounds like you have traveled quite a bit.

I'm sorry to hear you didn't get your Mom's plants (moreso sorry about her passing), but lessons learned and memories are just as good as tangible items sometimes.

There was an older lady who lived in my parent's neighborhood whom I would go visit and bring flowers to every week. When she passed, I was able to get some of the purple Irises from her yard, but I unfortunately didn't put them in the best place. Too much rain one year did them in. Once we have a yars, I'd love to get some dark purple Irises to plant somewhere. Your mention of Irises reminded me of her, just as they remind you of your Mom. She was like another Grandmother to me. I still miss her.

Oh yes, GW isn't good at making you want to save money. At least not with plant purchasing. They carry ponytail palms at many BBS (big box stores).

It's never my fault for buying a plant. People on here make me buy plants lol.

Planto

Just to let you know, the original plant is Kalanchoe porphyrocalyx, not K. blossfeldiana.

Christopher

Chris,
Thank you for the correction. I don't know why, but DG has pages for Kalanchoe blossfeldiana 'Pearl Bells' and K. porphyrocalyx and both pages have pictures of the same plant (confusing for someone who doesn't know a whole lot about Kalanchoe).

Is there even a K. blossfeldiana 'Pearl Bells'? Is the care of this Kalanchoe any different than that of K. blossfeldiana? The different species would explain why the leaves look different.

I know... Some say DG isn't the best place to go for information, but it didn't help with the confusion finding pictures of my plant on Google when I typed in Kalanchoe blossfeldiana 'Pearl Bells.' Ugh.

Planto

This post was edited by plantomaniac08 on Fri, Feb 28, 14 at 20:11

Try searching Kalanchoe "Pearl Bells" and you'll find this same plant online in many places.

It's sold by a Canadian developer, Balfour Plants Ltd. -- and seems to be one of their varieties.
http://www.balfourgreenhouses.com/products/bells/pearl-bell/

The leaves, to me, don't match blossfeldiana leaves ... but I'm far from an expert, and I freely admit that when I think of blossfeldianas, I still think of the single coral-flowered Kalanchoes of the late 1960s/early 1970s. As far as I know, those were the first blossfeldianas in the U.S.

Thanks so much for the information! I was having a hard time, believe it or not, finding a whole lot of information on this plant. Most places seem to just describe the flowers, but nothing about its care. I saw 'Mirabelle' just the other day at another grocery store... I didn't know what it was other than a Kalanchoe; it's nice to know that one is also a different species.

I didn't think the leaves were similar to blossfeldiana either... I had just seen it online labeled as such do thought that's what it was. It doesn't help when companies don't label their plants/mislabel them and there is so much misinformation online.

Thanks again,

Planto

Planto - when you email a member, you need to include your addy or configure your user page settings so they can reply to your message, instead of getting the message "(PLEASE NOTE: The member responding to your post has chosen not to reveal his or her email address. Therefore, you cannot reply to this message via email.)"

You can cut back the K porphyrocalyx back hard if you want to, but wait until summer so it bounces back quickly. Cutting each stem back so there are only 1 healthy par of leaves will cause 2 or more branches to grow either leaf axils (crotches) or from latent buds above old leaf bundle scars. After those branches get 3 or more pairs of leaves, pinch them back to 2 leaves, too. You'll have the bushiest, tightest K porphyrocalyx you or your friends have ever seen. ;-)

Al

Al,
Okay, I apparently misunderstood which setting I needed to have selected. I did have "Allow other users to send you email from your profile page or if you wish to receive message reply notifications" checked, but I didn't have the option for other members to see my e-mail address selected. Thanks for the information.

Also, thanks for the information regarding my Kalanchoe. I just wanted to be sure I wouldn't cause it any harm by cutting it back "hard." I shall take an after picture once I cut it back and take another one next summer. I'm sure the "change" will be amazing.

Planto

Glad to see you taking control of your growing experience rather than allowing your plants to dictate all the terms. Yours is the more rewarding way.

Al