How to Transplant Kalanchoe

Failure to flower is a sign that kalanchoe requires repotting.

Kalanchoe, a succulent plant, usually grows as an indoor house plant because it cannot tolerate too much moisture or cold. This low-maintenance plant produces red, pink, white or yellow flowers and has attractive scallop-edged foliage. It blooms in late winter and early spring but the foliage remains green year-round. It may fail to bloom if it becomes too large for the pot, which you can remedy by transplanting to a larger pot. If the roots are so dense you can insert a pencil into the soil through the pot's drainage holes, it's time to repot the kalanchoe.

Things You'll Need

• Pot
• Potting mixture

Instructions

1. Fill a pot one-third full with a quick-draining potting medium, such as a peat and perlite mixture. Use a pot one size larger than the one the kalanchoe is currently growing in and ensure it has at least one drainage hole in the bottom.

2. Place your hand over the top of the current pot so that the kalanchoe emerges from between your fingers. Turn the pot upside down and slide the kalanchoe out into your hand.

3. Set the kalanchoe's root ball into the new pot. Adjust the soil depth under it until the top of the root ball sits 1 to 1 ½ inches beneath the pot rim.

4. Fill in around the root ball with additional potting mixture until the kalanchoe is planted at the same depth it was at previously.

5. Water the soil from the top of the pot until the excess moisture just begins to drain out the bottom. Immediate watering not only moistens the soil, but it also collapses any air pockets around the roots.

Tips & Warnings

• Begin fertilizing the kalanchoe with a soluble fertilizer three to four weeks after transplanting.

• Transplant kalanchoe to a new pot in late spring or early summer after the plant finishes its flowering cycle.

• Do not repot a kalanchoe that is suffering from disease, insects or other stress as the plant may not survive the process. Wait until the kalanchoe is healthy again before transplanting.

References

• Auburn University Extension: Kalanchoe
• Michigan State University: Transplanting House Plants