The Kalanchoe Delagoensis “Chandelier Plant” are amazing plants that look great planted anywhere, plus they’re great for beginners.
The color of its leaves and its beautiful flowers make its ornamental value very high.
Also, many species, being small, can be used to create compositions, both with other Kalanchoe and with other flower plants.
Most Kalanchoe are toxic, there are others that, if used correctly, can help us improve health.
Is the case of the Kalanchoe pinnata, Kalanchoe daigremontiana and Kalanchoe gastonis-bonnieri.
Its leaves are medicinal and can be prepared to be applied externally or internally.
For external use, they are used to make plasters or poultices, and for internal use, you can prepare an infusion or add the leaves to dishes such as salads.
But they cannot be used during pregnancy, nor for long periods.
The consumption of Kalanchoe Delagoensis should not be abused, doses greater than 5 grams should not consumed.
It is best to go to the doctor before ingesting this plant.
The Kalanchoe Delagoensis “Chandelier Plant”
It is a succulent plant belonging to the Crassulaceae family, which is native to Madagascar.
The plant has an erect bearing and reaches a height of approximately 70 cm.
Its leaves are fleshy, cylindrical green with grayish spots.
Flowering appears on a stem with orange, red, or purple bell-shaped tubular flowers. The flowers remain perfect for several weeks.
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Kalanchoe Delagoensis “Chandelier Plant” Care:
Temperature
The ideal temperature for optimum plant growth is between 16 ºC and 22 ºC.
You must be careful when the temperature falls below 10ºC, especially if this temperature is maintained for a long time.
So it is recommended that if you have the plant planted in a pot outdoors, it is best to put the plant indoors during winter time so that the plant does not suffer any damage.
If you live in an area where summer lasts forever, the plant will grow without any problem, especially outdoors, since this plant requires good lighting.
Illumination
Kalanchoe Delagoensis “Chandelier Plant” requires sunlight to grow properly, so it is good to locate it in an area where it receives enough sunlight.
With 3 or 4 hours a day of sun is more than enough. Make sure that it does not receive direct sunlight, as an excess of sun rays can burn the leaves.
If you want to have it outside, locate the plant where it receives 3 or 4 hours of direct sun light and for rest of the day use indirect light to avoid leaf burns or leaf scorch.
If you want to keep it indoors, it is good that the plant is in a place where it receives a good amount of sunlight per day, so that the plant can grow healthy.
Substratum
Kalanchoe Delagoensis is not demanding, but it has to have good drainage, otherwise, its roots will rot.
It is best if the substrate is loose.
If not, you must plow the soil and fertilize the plant so that the vitamins reach the plant.
As mentioned above, the substrate must have good drainage. Succulents are plants that are very susceptible to excess moisture, which can cause fungus to form and root rot.
You can buy a special substrate for cacti and succulents, or you can choose to create your own substrate for your beloved plants.
Here are some ideas for substrates that you can make yourself at home.
Substrate ideas:
Idea # 1
50% river sand.
50% universal substrate.
Idea # 2
30% garden sand
30% coconut fiber
30% pearlite
10% humus for succulents.
Idea # 3
2 parts common ground
2 parts of Grow
1 part earthworm humus or earthworm compound
3 parts vermiculite or perlite
2 part coarse sand, natural gravel, or coarse river sand
1 part ground coal
1/2 part diatomaceous earth
Idea # 4
2/3 potting soil
1/3 pumice
Idea # 5
3 parts potting soil
2 parts pumice
1 part coconut peat
Idea # 6
3 parts potting soil
2 parts coarse sand
a part of pumice
Irrigation
Kalanchoe Delagoensis are drought-resistant plants, but that doesn’t mean you don’t water your plant.
In summer you can water your plant without much problem, with watering once or twice a week is more than enough.
In winter you should be more careful with watering at this time the probability of fungus growth is much higher.
So it is best to water the plant once a month at this time.
A tip that I can give you regardless of the time of year, is to wait until the substrate is completely dry before the next watering.
You can check this by inserting a stick into the substrate (until you reach the middle of the substrate), if the stick comes out clean it is because the substrate is ready to be watered again.
In summer you can leave the substrate completely dry for several days.
In winter you should leave it dry for several weeks, at this time of the year substrate takes longer to dry.
Fertilizer
This plant does not need fertilizers in its growth.
But it is recommended to fertilize the Chandelier Plant at least a couple of times a year, especially in the summer or spring season.
Use a fertilizer that stimulates the flowering and growth of the special plant for succulents and cacti.
You can also choose to make your own fertilizer for your Kalanchoe.
Homemade fertilizers for your succulent:
Banana peel extract: Banana, as it is popularly known, is rich in potassium. To make this nutrient available to your plants, boiled one or two banana peels with one tablespoon of sugar in one liter of water. Water your plants with that water no more than once a week.
Alfalfa flour: provides nitrogen and phosphorus. Alfalfa pellets (pellets) used to feed rabbits or other animals can be purchased.
Mix a handful of the pellets with the soil when you transplant or sow your plants and they will release the nutrient content over time, their effect lasts for about a month.
Wood ash: Wood ash is rich in potassium and phosphorous. Soak the ashes for a few minutes, then water,no more than once a week.
In addition, ash is a natural fungicide, it helps prevent pests. The resulting water has an alkalizing effect (increases the pH) of the soil, so if the soil you are fertilizing has a pH greater than 6.5, it is recommended to avoid using this fertilizer.
Hoof flour: it is a good source of nitrogen of slow effect, remaining in the soil for about six months. Mix a handful of granules with the soil with which you are going to transplant your plants.
Old nails: nails are made of iron and this element is essential for the development of plants. Bury the nails that you no longer use in your pots or in the garden and they will gradually release iron.
Eggshell extract: The eggshell is made of calcium carbonate, which is a very important nutrient for plants.
Soak about 2 or 3 eggshells in half a liter of water a day. Use that water to water your plants once every two weeks. You can also mix crushed eggshells with the substrate.
The carbonate that accompanies calcium has an alkalizing effect, therefore, if the soils are very acidic it can help, but if the pH of your soil is high, avoid its use.
Bone meal: mainly provides phosphorus. It should be applied close to the roots to maximize its effect, either mixing it with the soil before transplanting or mixing it with the first layer of soil surrounding a plant.
You can use raw bone or cooked bone from a meal. Bones contain more phosphorus and its action is faster.
Transplant time:
If you want to transplant to another pot or directly to the garden, it is best to do it in spring, when the risk of frost has passed.
Make sure that the substrate where you are going to transplant your Kalanchoe Delagoensis has the same conditions as the previous one.
If your plant suffers from some type of pest or fungus, it is best not to reuse that substrate, since the fungus can spread again.
It would also be nice if you added homemade fungicides to the substrate to prevent the fungus from re-forming.
Propagation of the Kalanchoe Delagoensis:
This plant can be propagated both by cuttings or by seeds.
Seeds: sow the seeds in the seedbed in spring or summer with vermiculite.
Cover the seeds with a very thin layer of this substrate and always keep them slightly moist (not puddled).
The seeds will germinate after a month.
Stem cuttings: Cut a stem cut in spring or summer and plant it in a pot or elsewhere in the garden.
Take care of it as if it were already a plant with roots, as it will take no more than a couple of weeks to take root.
Children: You can separate them from the mother plant when they have their first roots, and plant them in small pots until they grow.
You can use universal cultivation substrate, although I recommend covering its roots with river sand or pumice.
Plagues and diseases:
Kalanchoe Delagoensis is attacked by snails and slugs.
Mollusks are their main enemy.
You can keep these pests away from your Kalanchoe with diatomaceous earth, which is a very effective insecticide to fight all kinds of insects.
Put it on the substrate or the soil, around the plant, and thus they will not disturb.
The symptoms you will see for snails are eaten areas on the stem and leaves and the presence of the characteristic slime.
They can completely devour the plant.
These usually appear due to high humidity, rain or excess watering.
They are preferably in the most tender and juicy areas of the plant and are easily located.
They can be the most damaging, due to the voracity they present.
Slugs and snails attack fleshy surfaces, creating serious and unrecoverable damage.
To eradicate them, apply commercial insecticides suitable for this type of pest, according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
You should also control the risks between applications, eliminate them with the irrigation water.
An ecological, but slower solution is to place beer containers on the substrate.
The beer attracts them and they will drown there, which will allow us to eliminate them little by little.
Also, you can put a lettuce leaf soaked in beer, as another natural option.
Another remedy can be, tomato mixed with a specific granule against snails, metaldehyde, to eliminate them. For example. Mesurol.
Toxicity:
The level of toxicity of this Kalanchoe is generally moderate and on very few occasions is it severe.
When this plant is ingested by cats and dogs, the most common symptoms are irritation or gastrointestinal upset.
If ingested in large amounts, water increases the chance that symptoms will be much more severe, such as changes in heart rate and rhythm.
If this happens you should go immediately to the hospital, to avoid that the situation worsens.
Medicinal use:
The juice of this type of Kalanchoe in its composition contains tannin, vitamin C, flavonoids, aluminum, iron, magnesium, silicon, calcium, manganese, and copper.
It also contains polysaccharides, malic acid, oxalic acid, acetic acid, and various enzymes.
It is also anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, works for wound healing, the sap can be used as a lotion or ointment to treat venous and non-healing long ulcers, eschar and septic processes, tissue necrosis.
This species is used to treat boils, rashes, eczema, burns, cervical erosion, and cracked nipples.
You should only be careful when ingesting this plant, since not all Kalanchoe can be ingested (some are toxic), so it is best that before ingesting this plant, consult your doctor, to avoid any poisoning or allergic reaction.
Tips for caring for succulents in winter:
Fertilize your succulents one last time at the end of the summer.
Succulents will only need diluted fertilizer while they are actively growing.
Once they stop growing, they must stop feeding during the year and go dormant, which occurs when the temperature and light decrease.
An excess of fertilizer causes succulents to develop weak leaves, making them prone to rot.
Place succulents in an area that receives 3-4 hours of light per day.
In the winter they will need less light than when they are growing during the summer. Remember that summer is their growing season.
This way they will survive in indirect light.
Keep the temperature between 10ºC and 13ºC (50ºF to 55ºF) in the winter.
Pour water into the top of the succulent container until the bottom drains.
During winter they should be watered more deeply, but less frequently.
Dormant plants do not need as much water as when they are actively growing.
Water every month or every two months.
Check the leaves each time, so that they are not harassed by aphids or scale insects, they look like small cotton balls.
Check well under the leaves. If the succulent is infected, apart from the other plants. Spray a 3-part mixture of alcohol and 1 part of water with a spray bottle into the succulent to kill pests.
You must repeat this process until the pests have been completely eliminated.
You must keep infected succulents away from healthy plants for a couple of weeks, to prevent other plants from getting these pests.
Homemade fungicides
Mushrooms are one of the main problems that succulents present because they are very susceptible to moisture.
So here are some ideas for you to create your own fungicides and thus prevent the plant from filling with fungus.
1.Chamomile tea
This infusion has very interesting elements, such as calcium, potassium, and sulfur (obviously in small proportions).
The most interesting ingredient as a fungicide turns out to be sulfur, since it is a component that will help us control fungi or, rather, it will favor that they do not come out.
Its application would be through a spray mist, once or twice a week.
If after a couple of weeks no difference is noticed, it would be recommended to change the method.
2.Cinnamon powder
This spice, as we already know, has a very particular smell. This is because it is made up of very special volatile chemical elements that have antimicrobial properties.
Precisely for this reason, if we dilute a teaspoon of cinnamon in half a liter of water, and then spread it through a sprayer, it is possible that we can prevent the appearance of fungi on our plants.
3.Sodium bicarbonate
This component is very alkaline, so it increases the pH of the plant surface and the fungus cannot be installed on it.
A tablespoon of baking soda will be added, along with a liter of water, and a splash of soap and another of oil will also be added so that the baking soda adheres better to the plant, and therefore, its effect also be older.
It should be applied approximately once a week or after each rain (depending on what happens before) and it is preferable to carry out this operation when the Sun has already set.
4.Garlic
Garlic has many beneficial properties for humans and is anti-fungal, too.
This is because it has a high sulfur content, so it will not only serve us as a fungicide but also as an insecticide.
We must take between 5 and 10 cloves of garlic (depending on the size) and crush them together with half a liter of water.
Later we must let it rest for about an hour, filter it, and from here we can already apply it by spraying it on the trunk and leaves of the plant in question.
Problems that Kalanchoe Delagoensis can present
Spots on the underside of the leaves: The spots on the underside of the leaves could mean cottony mealybug. To be sure, we suggest using a magnifying glass and observing.
They are characterized by having a kind of protective shield, white in color. Also, if you try to remove them with a fingernail, they come out easily.
Necrotic spots on the leaves and later appearance of gray mold: This is generally the symptom of the presence of a fungus, Botrytis spp. In high humidity, this fungus is easily recognizable because the attacked organs are covered in gray mold.
Presence of small round areas slightly enhanced in all green parts.
This symptomatology is caused by a fungus, called rust. If neglected in a matter of one to two months all the attacked parts would dry up.
How much water to use when watering my succulents?
Water it until the water runs out of the drain hole. Do not spray it as some recommend. Since the leaves of succulents are very susceptible to rot, for this reason, it is important not to water the leaves of the succulent.
In winter seasons, it is recommended to water once a week or biweekly to avoid rot.
It is important to leave the substrate completely dry for several days since the humidity remains in the substrate for much longer.
Which can cause damage to the plant.
To know if you are watering the plant properly, you only have to look at its leaves, when you over-irrigate the leaves of the plant wrinkle.
If you see these signs in your succulents, you should only stop watering it for a few days and leave the substrate completely dry and allow the plant to recover from excess water.
If you’re not watering the plant enough, its leaves often dry out and develop brown spots.
Its leaves will look and feel much more brittle and dry than normal as the plants begin to wilt.
Then you should shorten the time between watering and watering, that is, if you leave 5 days in between before watering it again, shorten it to 4 or 3 days for the plant to recover.