About Kalanchoe luciae (succulent flapjacks) Amazing tips

Kalanchoe luciae, commonly called paddle plant or flapjack plant, is a highly popular succulent due to its bright coloration and flat, rounded, pancake-like leaves. These are green near the stem and red on the edges.

Kalanchoe luciae, perfectly colored 

Shades of red in paddle plants vary from rose and magenta to burgundy; greens go from lime to teal blue.

Here's how to select and grow pancake kalanchoes and keep their colors vibrant.

Those red leaves!

It’s true of Kalanchoe luciae---and many crassulas and aloes---the more light, the redder the leaves and the tighter the growth.

Kalanchoe luciae, too little light

Less light, the looser the structure, so more sun hits the surface of the leaves. Too little sun makes plants lose their red hues and stretch toward light.

Kalanchoe luciae, showing some sun stress

Too much sun turns leaves orange and eventually yellow, and plants become compact to protect their vital inner core.

Sun, not enough water, or being nipped by frost can make leaf edges dry and brittle.

Kalanchoe luciae, dry & brittle leaves

The key to making leaves stay or turn vivid shades of red and orange is to give them lots of sun short of burning. Just as the pigment melanin protects pale skin by turning it brown, red pigments protect leaves from excess sun.

Paddle plant varieties

The most common variety of Kalanchoe luciae, shown above, has oval leaves that form fans. Over time a single specimen will form a colony.

This dramatic and intriguing variation of Kalanchoe luciae has larger, wavier leaves, and grows taller.

Kalanchoe luciae ‘Fantastic’

The cultivar Kalanchoe luciae ‘Fantastic’ is variegated, meaning its blue-green leaves are streaked with cream, pink, rose-red and buttery yellow.

I first saw Kalanchoe luciae 'Fantastic' in February 2011, at a nursery near Santa Barbara. They’re now fairly common.

Like most variegates, ‘Fantastic’ is easily damaged by harsh sun and temperature extremes.

I don’t grow Kalanchoe luciae ‘Fantastic’ in the open garden, but rather in pots or window boxes.

In my Zone 9b inland climate, it does best with sun in the early morning or late afternoon and the rest of the day in bright or dappled shade.

There’s also a crested form of ‘Fantastic’ with compact, clustered leaves.

Kalanchoe luciae ‘Dragonfire’

In 2019 Altman Plants, a huge wholesale grower of succulents located in Vista, California near San Diego, patented the cultivar Kalanchoe luciae ‘Dragonfire’.

In early 2022, I obtained 'Dragonfire' from Altman’s retail nursery in Escondido, Oasis Water Efficient Gardens. In my garden northeast of San Diego, ‘Dragonfire’ has proved to be robust, fast growing, tough and colorful. Truly a showstopper. It starts readily from cuttings, looks good wherever I put it, and is a plant everyone notices.

I was afraid to give 'Dragonfire' a lot of sun, but when I did, it went from lime green to bright red.

It takes time for newly introduced plants to become widely available, but I anticipate that ‘Dragonfire’ will eventually become even more popular than Fantastic.

About the white powder

Did you notice how glossy the leaves of 'Dragonfire' are compared to those of 'Fantastic' and the species? It’s because they lack a powdery coating.

This fine white powder has lots of names: pulverulence, farina, bloom, film, and botanically, epicuticular wax.

What appears to be chalk dust are microscopic crystals that repel water.

Don’t touch a plant's pulverulence, unless an irreversible mark on a leaf doesn’t bother you.

Farina---and by the way farina is Latin for flour---comes off when you touch the leaves.

Care of Kalanchoe luciae

Kalanchoes, which are from Madagascar and South Africa, do well along the California coast, from the Bay Area south; and in drier areas of Florida and Hawaii.

Although some species of Kalanchoe are fine as house plants, don’t expect paddle plants to look their best indoors unless you have a greenhouse or sunroom.

If you live in a mild, maritime climate, you can grow more than 40 beautiful and collectible kalanchoes.

Frost

If frost or scorching sun are concerns, grow kalanchoes in sheltered microclimates, such as patio pots under eaves, and cover in-ground specimens during temperature extremes.

This paddle plant collapsed into a limp mess after January temperatures dropped into the 20s. The main stem died, but the roots survived and produced plantlets.

Don’t wait until bloom stalks are tall to cut them. Get them as soon as they start to form.

Spurred by seasonal reproductive hormones, buds may continue to grow where you cut the flower stalks. Snip or pinch them out. They’ll give up eventually.

Flower stalks may produce plantlets at leaf axils. A stem like this one can be cut apart and the pieces planted. Insert the stem as an anchor so that the base of each baby plant or cluster of plantlets touch the soil.

Soil and water

Kalanchoe luciae needs regular water. Keep soil about as moist as a wrung-out sponge.

Any commercial bagged potting soil labeled for succulents is fine. I generally amend it with pumice (about 30%) to enhance aeration and drainage. Also optional is to add timed release all-purpose fertilizer granules, about ¼ cup per gallon of soil. Or not. Fertilizer promotes leafy growth and flower formation, and you may not want either.

Flowering and Propagation

A caution to pet owners: Kalanchoe luciae flowers contain cardiac glycosides that are toxic to animals.

True, Kalanchoe luciae flowers are dramatic and intriguing. Entire plants elongate into spires worthy of ancient Buddhist monasteries. Blossoms attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds, but they also drain plants of energy, causing them to be weak, spindly and eventually unsightly.

When blooming plants are spent, remove the elongated part, and hopefully offsets at the base will fill in.

Or do what I do: As soon as you see flowers form, pinch or cut them out.  This keeps plants compact and forces the formation of offsets.

Planting a Kalanchoe luciae cutting

These small plants add volume and lushness, and can be wiggled loose and planted as cuttings.

Pests

Kalanchoe luciae is not vulnerable to pest damage other than snails, which can ruin smooth, oval leaves by chewing holes in them. Spread snail bait around the base of the plants. I prefer Sluggo, which is safe for pets, birds, and other beneficials.

Snail damage

Idea Gallery

Kalachoe luciae is great in containers, pots and garden beds, either solo or in combination with other succulents. In the gallery below are design ideas from my own garden and others I’ve visited. May it inspire you!

Kalanchoe luciae 'Fantastic', variegated Agave attenuata and aeoniums

Crassula 'Campfire', Kalanchoe luciae 'Fantastic', Crassula falcata, bromeliads

Kalanchoe luciae (paddle plant)

Reflective silver ball and Kalanchoe luciae

Kalanchoe luciae in garden bed

Kalanchoe luciae in garden with barrel cacti, echeverias and sedum

Kalanchoe luciae in pot

Kalanchoe luciae with Aeonium 'Kiwi' and trailing senecio

Kalanchoe luciae 'Fantastic' in garden

Kalanchoe luciae with agaves and sedums in large pot

Kalanchoe luciae in garden bed with aeoniums and sedums

Kalanchoe luciae 'Fantastic' in blue pot with agave and sedum

Kalanchoe luciae in bright blue pot

Kalanchoe luciae with rocks and pebbles

Kalanchoe luciae in striped cobalt pot

Kalanchoe luciae in face pot

Kalanchoe luciae in pool pot

Kalanchoe pot with sempervivums

Kalanchoe luciae in windowbox

Kalanchoe luciae with Crassula 'Campfire' and blue echeveria

Kalanchoe luciae with yellow and green sedums

Kalanchoe luciae in burgundy pot

Kalanchoe luciae in pot with Senecio rowleyanus (string of pearls)

Kalanchoe luciae in red pot with trailing sedum

Kalanchoe luciae with sedums and Crassula falcata

Kalanchoe luciae with crassulas, sedums, Aeonium 'Irish Bouquet'

Kalanchoe luciae with crassulas and sedums

Kalanchoe luciae 'Dragonfire' in pedestal pot with shells

Kalanchoe 'Dragonfire' with aeoniums in windowbox

Kalanchoe luciae with sedums, echeverias, ornamental grass

Kalanchoe luciae with sedums and echeverias

Kalanchoe luciae in ceramic seashell

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Kalanchoe Details, Photos and Varieties

Kalanchoe: Details, Photos and Varieties Native to Madagascar, kalanchoes thrive outdoors in zone 9 (and higher if in dappled shade). Protect from frost. See All Succulent Types Aeonium Agaves Aloes Cactus Crassula Echeveria Euphorbias Ice Plants Kalanchoe Portulacaria Senecio >> Jump Down to the Gallery All the kalanchoes in the video are also in the…

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Succulent Plant Hacks Amazing tips

I love a good succulent plant hack---a clever solution to a common problem---especially if the hack utilizes something unexpected. I offer a dozen here.

 And if you have a hack, tip, or workaround that has to do with succulents, would you kindly share it in the Comments? Thanks!

Carry cacti with firewood tongs

Eileen Haag of Lakeside, CA notes that a friend who donated "some sections of fence post cactus" to a charity plant sale she was in charge of, transported them with "fireplace log tongs. They make handling the large pieces so much easier and safer than my bailing twine method," Eileen says.

Tongs shown here hold firewood, but also might transport a segment of cylindrical cactus (Amazon photo)

My fool-the-eye aeonium

Like me, you've probably had aeoniums that lean toward the sun, their rosettes nearly vertical atop horizontal stems.

My Aeonium 'Sunburst' rosette pretends to be a cut flower

This hack fooled visitors for nearly two years: I placed a vase under the neck of a 'Sunburst' rosette. It looked like it had been cut and put in the vase, but from the side (see photo at top), it became obvious it was rooted in the ground more than a foot away. Ha-ha!

Watering hacks

How do you water a succulent that has engulfed its pot? If it's a spherical cactus, dribble water on the top. Ribs will channel water to the soil. Leaves of agaves and other rosette succulents also efficiently funnel water downward.

This barrel's ribs and spines saw to it water reached its roots. A little flowed out of the pot's drain hole, but none dripped off the plant.

Alternatively, set the pot in a pan with an inch or two of water. Via osmosis, it will go up through the drain hole and moisten the soil.

Topdressing tips

Another reason to water pots from below is to avoid disturbing fine topdressings like colored sand or criva (tiny pebbles).

Assorted topdressings for pots at Succulent Gardens nursery in Castroville, CA

Before adding a glass topdressing, first spread a layer of white sand or pumice. It'll keep the color of the glass true, and you won't have to use as much of the glass to get the desired effect.

White sand can serve as a topdressing or an under-layer for crushed glass.

Avoid breaking a nice urn

When planting a pot that has shoulders, keep in mind that roots will expand into the wide area below the neck. This hack shows how to avoid having to damage the plant and/or pot later on.

Terracotta pot with nursery pot as liner

I used a liner (cache-pot), a smaller second pot that fits into the larger. You don't want the liner to slip down into the pot, yet it also should be easy to remove. So the inner rim should be below the outer to conceal the liner, and the neck of the larger pot needs to hold the smaller snugly. How'd I plant it? See below.

Plant-label hack

Naturally we all want to remember the names of our garden plants (guests will ask), but plastic plant tags crack and fade, and metal ones are pricey and hard to read.

Every year during the Laguna Beach garden tour, I look for rounded stones that that marvelous garden club uses to ID noteworthy plants.

Rock used as a plant label

What pen to use? Sharpie permanent markers or specialized garden markers won't fade and will work on any smooth surface.

This is what I planted in the "pot with shoulders" above. Senecio macroglossus (wax ivy) is a name I can never remember, hence the labeled stone on the rim. The plant cascades like ivy over time.

Senecio macroglossus (wax ivy) in tall pot 

Alternatively, coat one side of flat oval rocks with acrylic paint. Let dry and add the plant's name in a contrasting color.

Disguise white objects

Nothing stands out in a garden as much as white. (Red is next; black is last.) Notice how, in photos of your garden, white commands attention.

Which pot in this grouping stands out the most? Purr.

Use white wisely: either feature it or make it disappear. If you can't remove a small but offending object like an irrigation riser, spray it with camouflage paint.

Before (left) and after (right): white riser painted brown

Don't like corking? Paint it!

Tall cacti and euphorbias are prone to corking---brown patches that suggest rot but actually are woody tissue.

Jim Bishop, whose famed San Diego garden often is on the annual Mission Hills Garden tour, painted areas of corking on an Euphorbia ammak 'Variegata' near his front door 

If you find corking unsightly, paint over it to match the plant's skin. Waterproof acrylic won't harm the succulent. And, for that matter, neither does corking. 

Tumble-safe pots

Decide where you want pots to go on a shelf or wooden step, then mark where their drain holes will be. Pound large galvanized nails, one per pot, into each spot. Nails need to be secure and have several inches sticking up. Anchor a pot on the elevated part of each nail through its drain hole.

Flower pots at risk of falling? Use finishing nails to hold them in place through their drain holes. 

A fix for floppy shrubs

This works for shrub aeoniums, cotyledons, ice plants and senecios. It's an alternative to the conventional way to tidy floppy, untidy succulents (which is to pull the plants out and use their top growth for cuttings).

Think of it as planting cuttings while they're still on the succulent: dump a bag of potting soil onto the plant to cover its naked, branching stems. Nodes on stems will send roots into the soil and ensuing new growth will fill gaps.

For a quick aesthetic fix, also tuck cuttings into the mound of soil. Water to settle it and to rinse off accidentally buried rosettes.

Speed up slow plants

When you want a super-slow potted succulent like Agave victoria-reginae to grow faster, here's a tip from members of the CSSA (Cactus & Succulent Society of America): Plant it in the garden.

Agave victoria-reginae (and most succulents for that matter) grow faster in the ground

Roots with room to spread fuel top growth. When the succulent attains show-quality size, transplant it into a worthy pot.

Use lizard ladders

I keep critters from getting trapped inside empty nursery pots with "lizard ladders."

If you, like me, have empty nursery pots, you risk trapping lizards. They get in but can't get out because of the slick plastic. I place a small branch or wood stick in each pot so the critters can climb out...and so I don't find desiccated remains.

My echeveria-hummer hack

Blooming robs echeverias of energy and can make rosettes lopsided. Nurseries routinely remove echeveria flower stalks to preserve the plants' vitality and symmetry.

Hummers visit echeveria flowers in vase as readily as those on the plant.

Because hummingbirds love them, I place echeveria bloom stalks in a large vase or bucket near the plants. Buds continue to open into lantern-like flowers, and---because stems are succulent---they'll last as long as those on the plants.

YOUR turn!

Got a favorite succulent-specific hack? I'll bet I'm not alone in wanting to hear about it. Do share it in the Comments below. Thanks!

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