Kalanchoe marnieriana - updated 6-29-09

[CelticRose]

I repotted my K. marnieriana yesterday.

Here it is when I first got it around New Year's. It's in a 4" pot. Keep a close eye on the tall plant on the left -- it's a troublemaker.


And here it is yesterday in the same pot(I cleaned the window this morning ).


See what I mean? I've named the large plant Audrey -- I keep expecting it to rear up and say "Feed me!" It was out-competing the other plants so I've repotted them into three separate pots.

In a 6" pot: Papa Bear, a.k.a. Audrey


In a 4" pot: Mama Bear


In a 3" pot: Baby Bear


And Audrey's babies.


Any information anyone has on this plant would be greatly appreciated -- I can't seem to find out much about it. Although, I do seem to have figured out how to grow it! I check to see if it needs watering every two days and water it whenever its soil is dry. It's in the off-the-shelf cactus soil and gets the Schultz 2-7-7 in its water. It's in a south-facing window, but not in direct sun. I don't let it get colder than 40F.

[Saguaro123]

I'm glad their look good. I love the aerial roots.

[CelticRose]

Thanks, Byron.

The aerial roots are weird. They start out hot pink and plump, dry up and turn brownish, and then plump up and turn hot pink again -- from either end of the root!

I know aerial roots are supposed to pull moisture out of the air, but I can't figure out why this plant puts them out when it does. It seems to put them out at random, regardless of the humidity or whether its soil is wet or dry.

[Ocotillo]

Looking good!

It took me a few seconds to understand the significance of "Audrey."

[CelticRose]

Looking good!

Thanks!

It took me a few seconds to understand the significance of "Audrey."

My mind does work in mysterious ways sometimes.

[ihc6480]

CelticRose wrote:

My mind does work in mysterious ways sometimes.

I thought that was with all women

Been a while since I heard of the "Audrey" your referring to. The movie was "Little Shop of Horrors" wasn't it.

If I'm not mistaken if those aerial roots hit dirt they will take root and basically start a new plant.

Make sure you stay your distance when feeding Audrey.

[CelticRose]

Been a while since I heard of the "Audrey" your referring to. The movie was "Little Shop of Horrors" wasn't it.

Yes.

Make sure you stay your distance when feeding Audrey.

[kevin63129]

Someone asked almost the same question about the roots on Village Garden Web on mar 17th,07 and this is the answer they got,hope it helps Some kalanchoe species are epiphytic, they grow on other plants and gather moisture and nutrients from the surrounding humid environment, aerial roots are a way for them to get additional water...unless the humidity stays high or you spray frequently, those roots won't grow much.
The plants are responding to the longer days and higher light intensities by starting to show signs of growth

[CelticRose]

Time for some updates on these plants.

I found a little more information. According to this site, http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Can ... nchoe.html, Kalanchoes in general bloom when days are short and grow when days are long. It's definitely true that my K. marnieriana are growing like mad right now.

Again, if you know anything about these plants, please share! There's not much information about them online. This thread now shows up on the first page of a search on http://www.dogpile.com.

Here's Audrey and her babies -- she now has six. As you can see, she and her babies have grown a lot since my last update. She's grown out of her pot, is resting on the windowsill propped up by her aerial roots, and is doing her best to climb up the window. She and the other plants are showing a tendancy to lose their lower leaves from time to time, and the lower stems get woody.


A closeup of Audrey's babies, including the newest one to the left, on the stem.


Here's the medium-sized plant, which seems to be about to do the same thing Audrey's doing.


It's got some loooong aerial roots.


And last and least , the smallest plant. For some reason, even though I'm using the exact same soil as for the other plants, this one's soil stays wet forever -- even longer than the largest plant's soil. I suspect it's because the pot is a different brand. The plant is healthy, so I'm not worried about it, but I do water it only just enough that water starts to drip out of the bottom of the pot.

[CelticRose]

It's been a while since I updated this one. These plants have really grown.

Audrey is branching out all over and rapidly growing up the window. I think she'd climb if I gave her something to cling to.




And she's still offsetting:


Looks like mama bear's going to be another Audrey.



Even baby bear has an offset and aerial roots now.


Again folks, if anyone has any information on these plants, please share!