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Hi

About 18 months ago I bought an absolutely gorgeous Kalanchoe Beharensis, already fairly mature (about a metre in height). I have cultivated some lovely offspring from it but sadly recently she has lost a lot of her lower leaves (I think I overwatered and didn't put her in a light enough place) and she's looking in a pretty sorry state. There are still good new leaves growing at the top but the main stem is very bare.

Will these lower leaves eventually grow back if I take care of her or am I best to cut the stem right back below any growth and start again?(obviously propagating any offcuts from this) Or is this just the way this species tends to grow when mature?

Really appreciate any advice on this as don't want to lose this beautiful plant

Thanks

Beth

Hello again Beth,

I think the first thing to do here is to get those young plants established, you will then have an insurance policy should your prized parent plant not survive.

With regards trying to save the parent plant, first of all you could go through some basic checks to make sure that all the cultivation requirements are OK.

Is the room temperature OK, does it fall below 50oF?

How much sunlight does the plant get? Bright, but not direct sunlight is ideal, except in winter when a south-facing windowsill is fine because the sun is not as strong.

When was the plant last re-potted? Could it be starved of food?

If you are satisfied that all of the above are OK, once those youngsters are established I would go ahead and cut the plant hard back, that could well rejuvenate it and give it a new lease of life.

I'm not sure if this is the right place but I hope that you can help me.

Every once in awhile I get some flowers. Either by my boyfriend or my parents (they just love to send me flowers). The only problem I have is how to keep them fresh and last longer.

I received a new bouquet yesterday and thought that you might come up with an idea how to keep them a little bit longer.



Thank you in advance for the advice.

Hello Samantha,

Try this experiment and let me know the results:

Buy three identical bunches of flowers with the same 'use by' date.

The first bunch should be kept just in plain tap water.

Do the same with the second bunch, but feed with the cut flower food provided.

With the third bunch, use plain water, do not feed, but re-cut the stems every two days, making new, fresh wounds.

Which bunch keeps best and for longest?