Question

kalanchoe   Hello Will,

My Kalachoe turns very bad in 2or3 days.
It was quite nice with a couple of white flowers before.
But suddenly, the stem went badly. You can see the bottom stem turned brown. The remaining stems turned much softer and bent a lot. The leaves were brown as well that I cut off a lot.

I only water when the soil get dried. What happened to it actually?

Please help me, Will.

Thanks Mucccch

Answer
Hi there,

The pot is too large, the soil is too heavy and the roots have rotted. Kalanchoes are succulents and must be kept potbound in small pots filled with a porous potting mix. When properly potted, it is best to allow the top inch of soil to dry before adding any water. In the pot yours is in, you would have to allow the top half of the soil to dry before watering. Unfortunately, that would take so long to occur that the roots would rot in the interim.

This is a classic example of the damage done by unnecessary or incorrect repotting.

Once the stems turn soft and brown, the roots are already rotted beyond recovery, so there is no practical way for you to save this plant. Sorry.

I have written an article on repotting that I will email for free to you (or anyone else) who sends a request to me at [email protected].

Please let me know if any of this is unclear or if you have any additional questions.

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Regards,
Will Creed, Interior Landscaper
Horticultural Help, NYC

Visit my website at: A link to HorticulturalHelp.com