Viewing post #3053216 by 1337n3ss

NMoasis said: Of all the Kalachoes I've had, that was the least satisfying and most problematic. It also flopped and dropped leaves at the mildest nudge. I gave it away.

That said, I think your soil mix sounds water-retentive. I'd go with a cactus mix with your granite or pumice added, but wouldn't change it until warm weather arrives. Agree with aiming for as much light as possible.

Thanks for the suggestion. If the plant is still alive in a few months, I will definitely re-pot it in a more gritty soil mix.

purpleinopp said: Happy to reply. So many of my plant pics were also taken right after watering. Something about watering seems to make people want to take some pics.

About half of the plants I've gotten in the mail were damaged in transit at the point where the plant emerges from the soil. They were packed well, but it still couldn't prevent that kind of damage. I haven't ordered many times that way, but it happened to too many of the plants in each shipment, both times I did it.

There are other Kalanchoes that I love that are more appreciative of being watered and a little less light. Like K. blossfeldiana, for its' blooms
Florist Kalanchoe (Kalanchoe blossfeldiana)
and K. hild. for its' cool silvery, almost-fuzzy foliage and slow growing nature
Silver Teaspoons (Kalanchoe hildebrandtii)

I agree, shipping live plants is not ideal. It is possible that the plant was damaged during the shipping process. Unfortunately, I could not find the Kalanchoe Tomentosa varieties that I wanted ('Hairy Harry' and 'Nigra') locally, so I had to resort to buying them online.

Thank you for those links. Kalanchoe hildebrandtii looks very unique.