Mother of Thousands Care Guide
Family: Crassulaceae
Genus: Kalanchoeae
Botanical Name: Kalanchoe laetivirens
Difficulty: Hard to kill
Light
These guys can be particular about the intensity of light they’re receiving. They love to live in areas that receive bright indirect sunlight, so they thrive in east facing windows!
Flowering varieties do better in brighter lighting conditions. During hotter months, keep your plant in indirect light to keep them from getting sunburned.
Water
Like most members of the Kalanchoe genus, mother of thousands do not have a lot of watering demands. Their growing season is between fall and winter, and they’ll need to be watered moderately. They go dormant in the hottest months of summer, and their growth slows down a ton in the winter and will not need to be watered as often. Allow the soil to become mostly dry before watering.
Climate
To keep your plant happy, place them in an area that stays at around 65°-75°F. They can tolerate temperatures as low as 35°-50°F.
Soil
For a happy mother of thousands, use a regular cactus and succulent potting mix that has good drainage like you would with any other succulent. If you are going to use a liquid fertilizer to feed your mother of thousands, do so biweekly during the growing season.
Pests and Diseases
They are susceptible to stem rot, mealybug, mites, and scale. Many of these are often results of over watering.
Tips
If the tips of the leaves are bright green outlined in red, they’re getting the right amount of sunlight!
Keep them in a terracotta pot with a hole in the bottom and a tray underneath to help keep their delicate roots from getting too wet.
Mother of thousands like to be kept in smaller pots!
Unlike most succulents, these guys don’t play well with others, so avoid putting them in terrariums with other succulents.
Use room temperature water when watering them to avoid shocking their roots, and don’t let it get on the leaves!
Signs your mother is mad at you
Curling leaves: too much water or not enough sunlight
Slowed growth: its roots are undernourished
Quickly drying soil: needs to be repotted!
Droopy leaves: needs more vitamin D!
Root rot: she’s drowning!
How to propagate
Take some plantlets from your plant, place them in cactus and succulent potting mix. They will need to stay in a very humid environment, and the soil will need to be kept damp until they begin to take root and grow leaves. Keep them in bright sunlight until they get to be bigger plants!
Fun Facts
Mother of thousands are considered an invasive plant because their plantlets will root wherever they fall.
They are used in traditional medicine for illnesses in other countries.
They aren’t typically prone to diseases and pests unless severely over or under watered.
They flower in the late winter if kept outdoors.
They rely on plantlets to reproduce.
Hardiness Zones
Before you move your plant outside, be sure to check the hardiness zone to save yourself some grief and the loss of a beloved plant.
The hardiness zone for mother of thousands is : 9b-11b
If you live in Tennessee, here’s a hardiness map to help you decide if your plant can survive outside!
