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How to Propagate Kalanchoe: Leaves, Cuttings or Plantlets

Most kalanchoes root from a leaf or a stem tip after a few days of callusing. One species does the work for you and drops ready-made plantlets.

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Kalanchoe flowering plant
Photo: dorishdzc, Pixabay Content License, via Pixabay
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Three methods, depending on which kalanchoe you have — and one species that propagates itself whether you want it to or not.

Three methods

Pick by what the plant offers
MethodTimeSuits
Stem cutting2–3 weeksAny branching kalanchoe. Fastest
Leaf cutting4–6 weeksWhen you cannot spare a stem
PlantletsImmediateK. daigremontiana and relatives only

Stem cuttings

The quickest route. Take a 7–10 cm tip with several leaves, strip the lowest pair, callus for two to four days, then push into dry gritty compost. No water for a week or two.

A useful side effect: taking cuttings from a leggy plant is also how you make it bushy, since the parent branches below each cut.

Leaf cuttings

Twist or cut a mature leaf cleanly off at the stem. Callus it, then lay it on dry gritty compost or set the cut end just into the surface.

Leave the parent leaf attached to the developing plantlet. It is feeding it, and will yellow and detach of its own accord when it has finished.

Plantlets — the species that does it for you

Kalanchoe daigremontiana (mother of thousands) and its relatives produce rows of tiny complete plantlets along their leaf margins. They drop, land, and root.

Propagating it consists of picking them up and putting them in compost, which is why nobody needs instructions for this one.

Mother of thousands is invasive, and toxic

In frost-free climates it has become a genuine problem weed in parts of Australia, southern Africa and the southern United States, spreading from gardens through dropped plantlets.

It also contains cardiac glycosides and is toxic to cats, dogs and livestock.

Grow it indoors in a pot by all means — but do not plant it out in a frost-free region, and do not compost the plantlets where they can establish.

The rot problem, and the two rules that prevent it

Nearly every failed kalanchoe cutting comes down to one of these:

  1. It was planted before the cut had calloused. A fresh wound in damp compost is an open door
  2. It was watered too soon. The cutting is a succulent and carries its own water supply

So: callus two to four days, pot into dry gritty compost, no water for one to two weeks. Then water lightly and let the compost dry out completely between waterings.

If a cutting goes soft and brown at the base, cut back into firm tissue with a sterile blade, callus the new wound for longer, and start again in fresh dry mix.

Why it stopped flowering

The flowering kalanchoe people buy at Christmas is K. blossfeldiana, a short-day plant. It sets buds in response to long nights, not to feeding or more light.

To make it flower again:

  1. From early autumn, give it roughly 14 hours of complete darkness every night
  2. A box over the plant from early evening until morning, or an unused dark room
  3. Complete darkness — a lamp switched on briefly interrupts the cycle
  4. Bright light during the day
  5. Six weeks of this
  6. Return it to normal light when buds appear

Without that treatment a healthy kalanchoe simply grows leaves indefinitely, which is why so many are discarded after their first season. It is not a dead plant; it is a plant waiting for a winter that never arrives indoors.

Step by step

Time
P45D
Cost
0
You need
A healthy kalanchoe, Gritty cactus or succulent compost
Tools
Clean sharp scissors or a knife, Small pots with drainage

  1. Choose a healthy stem tip or mature leaf

    Take a 7 to 10 cm tip with several leaves for the fastest result, or a firm mature leaf if you cannot spare a stem. Avoid soft new growth and tired old leaves.

  2. Cut cleanly with a sterile blade

    Strip the lowest pair of leaves from a stem cutting so nothing sits buried in compost, where it would rot.

  3. Callus the cut for two to four days

    Leave the cutting somewhere dry, shaded and airy until the cut end is dry and firm. This single step prevents most failures.

  4. Prepare dry gritty compost

    Cactus or succulent mix with added perlite or grit. Fill the pot and leave it dry rather than pre-watering it.

  5. Pot shallowly

    Push a stem cutting in just deep enough to stand upright, or lay a leaf on the surface with the cut end touching the compost.

  6. Give no water for one to two weeks

    The cutting carries its own water as a succulent. Damp compost against a fresh base is the usual cause of rot.

  7. Keep warm and in bright indirect light

    Warmth speeds rooting considerably. Avoid direct midday sun, which scorches an unrooted cutting.

  8. Leave the parent leaf attached

    On a leaf cutting, the original leaf is feeding the new plantlet and will yellow and detach by itself when it is no longer needed.

  9. Collect plantlets if you have mother of thousands

    Kalanchoe daigremontiana drops ready-rooted plantlets along its leaf margins. Pot them up directly — and do not let them escape outdoors in a frost-free climate.

Common questions

How do you propagate kalanchoe from a leaf?

Twist or cut a healthy mature leaf off cleanly at the stem, leave it somewhere dry and shaded for two to four days until the cut end has dried to a firm callus, then lay it on or just touch it into dry gritty compost. Do not water for a week or two. Roots and a tiny plantlet form at the cut end over the following weeks. It is slower than a stem cutting but reliable, and a single plant provides as many leaves as you care to use.

How long does a kalanchoe cutting take to root?

Stem cuttings usually root in two to three weeks, and leaf cuttings take four to six weeks before a visible plantlet appears. Warmth and bright indirect light speed both up considerably, and cool conditions can double the time. The original leaf stays attached while it feeds the new plantlet and will yellow and detach by itself when it is no longer needed, so leave it alone rather than tidying it away.

Why are my kalanchoe cuttings rotting?

Almost always because they were planted before the cut had calloused, or because they were watered too soon. A fresh wound sitting in damp compost is an open route for the fungi that cause basal rot, and kalanchoe is a succulent with plenty of stored water, so it does not need watering while it roots. Let cuttings callus for two to four days, pot into dry gritty compost, and give no water at all for the first week or two.

Why won't my kalanchoe flower again?

Because it is a short-day plant and needs long nights to initiate buds. Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, the common flowering one, requires around six weeks of roughly fourteen hours of complete darkness each night to set flowers, which a normally lit room does not provide. The usual method is to cover it with a box or put it in an unused dark room from early evening until morning for six weeks in autumn, then return it to bright light when buds appear.

Is mother of thousands the same as kalanchoe?

Yes, it is Kalanchoe daigremontiana, and it propagates itself without any help — rows of tiny plantlets form along the leaf margins, drop off, and root wherever they land. That makes it effortless to propagate and genuinely invasive in frost-free climates, where it has become a problem weed in parts of Australia, Africa and the southern United States. It is also toxic to pets and livestock, so it is worth knowing which kalanchoe you have before letting it spread.

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