You may not know its name, but kalanchoe is everywhere right now.  Last week I went to the grocery store, the Home Depot and the local garden center and I saw kalanchoe plants in each place.  Now that the holidays are over and the decorations are stowed away, most of us are searching desperately for something colorful to carry us through the next few weeks.  Kalanchoe, often overlooked when flashier plants are available, comes to the rescue.

Kalanchoe is easy to spot.  The common grocery store type is actually a hybrid or selection of Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, which is native to Madagascar. The plants are about twelve inches high and have big succulent leaves and clusters of small four-petaled flowers that are somewhat trumpet-shaped.  The big selling point is the colorful blooms, which come in vivid shades of orange, magenta, white, yellow, pink and red.  The blooms on the newer double-flowered forms look almost like small roses. Kalanchoe is always sold in bloom, and the flowers last for a long time. 

As a member of the Crassulaceae family, kalanchoe is related to the well-known jade plant.  Like the jade, it is relatively undemanding and prefers to be on the dry side.  Water the plant when the top of the soil is dry.  You can also determine the plant's relative thirst level by feeling the leaves.  If the leaves feel plump and fleshy, the plant has had enough water.  If the leaves feel somewhat less meaty or even limp, water the plant right away. 

Most people buy kalanchoe in mid-winter, enjoy them while the blooms last and then throw them away.  If you want to keep your plant, cut off the dead stalks, and pinch back the branches when the plant grows leggy.  Like the vast majority of other houseplants, it thrives best in a sunny location.

Every plant should have its moment in the sun--so to speak--and each of us should surround ourselves with flowers as much as possible.  Kalanchoe has its moment in January, boosting morale after the poinsettias and amaryllis are just a memory.