Kalanchoe Marmorata New Growth Amidst the Damage

This year my little green patch took quite a beating following a succession of hail storms.  The majority of plants are succulents, with large fleshy leaves that got badly damaged where the hail stones hit.  The Kalanchoe Marmorata was no exception.  Although the leaves were less damaged than my other Kalanchoe, whose leaves are more tender and fragile.  

The flowers quickly withered away after the storm, and I had almost written it off completely, thinking it was an annual and was done for after flowering, but this month I got a pleasant surprise.  

Kalanchoe Marmorata New Growth for Spring

Kalanchoe Marmorata with lightly speckled new leaves

The first image features the withered flowers at the tips of the plant, I have now cut these off.  The new leaves are growing in the midst of the damaged leaves.  They are still young and only slightly speckled.  This is a very good sign however.  

My problem now is the way the plant is growing, completely bent over to one side.  I have tied the string further up along the stem, to provide more support for the plant, but I fear as the leaves grow bigger it will need more support on top.  The pot is more than big enough for the plant but I may have to repot it, and place it towards the far edge of the pot, if the roots permit.  Alternatively I may have to place it in a different container.

I have not yet watered this plant since last Autumn.  We got enough rain to supply it with nutrients all Winter, and the soil is still moist.  I will need to monitor the plant now, as it starts growing it will need some frequent watering, or so I think.  I haven't given it any fertiliser, and it may need some over the Summer as now I can only give it tap water, which is not the best choice of water.  It's going to be an exciting couple of months watching this plant grow and seeing how it handles its first Summer.

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Plumbago: A Plant's Life Cycle in Pictures

Following the success of my previous post Plumbago Pruning For Winter, I decided to post updates of the plant six months down the line.  It has not been an easy Winter this year, with record rain fall and hail storms.  It was a good test the show the incredible resilience of this plant.  So here is the plant following pruning last October:

Plumbago after pruning

As Autumn gave way to colder weather, the leaves started to drop rapidly.  The plant got a bit of a shock, and could not adjust to the new spot I chose for it.  We had a lot of wind, which is becoming a daily occurrence on this island.  As you can see in this next image, the plumbago looks very poorly:

Plumbago in late Autumn

I watered the plant whenever needed, however the flowers started to droop, the leaves became discoloured and started dropping.  I had to trim off some more dead twigs, and by the time I was finished, the plumbago was a far cry from its blooming glory in summer.

Plumbago in Winter

As you can see, in Winter the plant shed most of its leaves.  I left it pretty much alone to face the harsh Winter weather.  I never watered it, and during the coldest months there was nothing but a few bare twigs showing.  

We are now well into Spring and the plumbago is back in full force.  Last week I gave it some all purpose fertiliser, and I am now watering it once a week.  Today I saw the first blooms as two bunches of flowers are almost ready to open.  

Plumbago in April

First blooms

I have learnt now that the benefits of pruning are incredible.  The plant is fuller in the centre, and it has come back with more vigour this year when compared to previous years.  It's amazing how a couple of months ago there was nothing but a few twigs, and now it's already growing faster than I had anticipated.  

I will give it a heavier pruning this year, I want to get rid of that cross shaped twig at the top of the plant, and shape it a little better.  For now though, I will give it the occasional trim, and look forward to seeing those beautiful flowers again.

Plumbago June 2012

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The Effects of Hail on the Kalanchoe

Today I have decided to prune the Kalanchoe, if that is at all possible.  All the leaves that were hit by the hail stones started to go a sickly black and slimy, so it was time to remove them completely to avoid disease.  I'm afraid if I left them there I would have killed the plant sooner or later.  Here's a picture of the damaged leaves today:

Damaged leaves one week after the storm

Leaves started falling off on their own so it was time they were removed

As you can see, they were just hanging there lifeless, so I decided to remove all the leaves that were too far gone.  I left the leaves that had only a few spots, and will be monitoring those in the next few days.  If I see the spots getting larger I will remove those too.

The leaves removed from the plant

Leaf damage

As you can see from the image of the damaged leaf above, the leaf itself does not appear to be too damaged, but the rotten part prevents any source of nutrients to getting to the plant or the leaf.  This caused me to remove more foliage than I wanted to, but better be safe than sorry.

On a positive note, I have exposed the centre of the plant now, and this will get more sunlight.  I have also discovered some growth in the centre, which looks promising.  Weather permitting, there is still hope that the plant will survive.

New Growth at the Centre

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Succulents After a Hail Storm

Well, this has certainly been an unusual winter so far.  Not only has it been freezing cold by our standards, but last week we had three hail storms in a row.  Hail storms are not unusual in this part of the world, we are surrounded by water, so it can never really snow.  When the temperatures drop we get hail, and lots of it.

Hail can cause considerable damage to succulent leaves, and sadly this what greeted me, when I went in my yard this morning.

My Crassula got the least damage

The lovely Kalanchoe Leaves

The top leaves badly damaged

The Kalanchoe Marmorata

The problem with succulents is that the leaves are very persistent and can last a long time.  Hail damage is terrible for them because they do not recover.  My biggest worry is the big Kalanchoe because the top leaves are just about dropping off now.  The damage may cause fungal or bacterial infections and I need to remove the dead leaves as quickly as possible, or I run the risk of losing the plant.

On a better note, the Schefflera was not bothered by the hail at all.  The leaves are thinner and the plant was totally unaffected.  The Plumbago was also unaffected, it has lost all its foliage now for winter, and there are only a few twigs.  

It is still the middle of February, so I cannot rule out more bad weather.  I am hoping that the temperatures will go a bit higher though because I don't think the succulents can suffer another hail storm.  Fingers crossed.

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Too cold to write

I've realized I haven't written anything in quite a while but quite honestly it's just too cold to write.   Well actually it's not literally too cold to write but I have totally neglected my dear plants for the refuge of my sofa and cosy bed. 

For most of you, especially in Europe these past two weeks, our measly 9 degrees is nothing compared to you but for us, who normally enjoy temperatures of around 15 degrees around this time of year it has been a shock to our system.  The wind chill in particular, a sub-zero temerature in Malta, that's unheard of.  Should I start worrying about frost ??

I have no choice but to let this weather pass and wait and see how my plants are going to react.  My plants are almost all native African plants so they are not really used to the cold.  Hoping for the best I will certainly give you an update on those that make it and those that don't.

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