The Kalanchoe- Another Family Favorite

It's Hard to resist a Kalanchoe covered in clusters of red, pink, orange and yellow flowers.  The flowers last several weeks, and the plants are quite easy to grow. In order to get the Kalanchoe to flower there are key things you have to do, before the plant will make buds, it must be exposed to a series of long, sunny days (or direct sunlight) followed by about 2 weeks of short days, less than 12 hours long. The easiest way to do this is to put the plant outside during the summer  and then bring them indoors in late fall, just before nighttime temperatures drop below 40 degrees. Make sure to keep them in a room where no light is used at night. Kalanchoe usually flowers from January to February, you can force it to flower whenever you like though, as long as you follow the guidelines above.  Fertilize in late spring to midwinter. Keep the soil moist during the warmer months and cooler months withhold until soil dries out between waterings.