Mother of Thousands

Native to Madagascar, the Mother of Thousands plant is an amazing foliage plant. Also known as Kalanchoe daigremontiana, this plant rarely blooms when kept indoors. However, small plantlets develop on the tips of leaves, which make this plant exceptionally mesmerizing.

Not to mention, the common name, ‘Mother of Thousands,’ comes from the exceptionally attractive baby plantlets that grow along the edge of its large leaves. This incredibly unusual plant is also known as Mexican Hat Plant, Alligator Plant, and Devil’s Backbone.

Furthermore, this might surprise you more that these plantlets make propagation easier. However, Kalanchoe is also an invasive species in the world. Due to this reason, gardeners consider using containers the best way to grow Mother of Thousands.

You will be amazed to know that the Mother of Thousands is one of the most drought-tolerant plants to grow. Therefore, if you’re a gardening novice, Mother of Thousands is a perfect beginner’s plant for you. Moreover, if you grow Kanachoe outdoors in 9b to 11b USDA plant hardiness zones, i.e. 25-50 degrees Fahrenheit, it will produce small yet grayish pink flowers in winters.

HOW THE MOTHER OF THOUSANDS GROW?

Well, this succulent can grow from just a single stem, especially the matured one. Identifying it is simple. Matured stems feature large and blue, green leaves with pointed tips.

Besides the beautiful flower of the Mother of Thousands, the real beauty of this succulent are the baby plantlets. Interestingly, these baby leaves fall from the succulent and root where they fall. When kept outdoors, you will see them bloom in the late winter. But when the mother plant dies after that, however, it leaves behind plenty of its offspring to grow later.

CARING FOR MOTHER OF THOUSANDS

When it comes to growing conditions, kalanchoe thrives in average room conditions, in moist yet not soggy soil. The succulent will grow best when potted in a terracotta pot with a good drainage system. Not to mention, the terracotta pot is similar to the pot in which you grow cacti.

Keep in mind that you should only transplant the point when it outgrows the current pot. Also, make sure to repot the plant in spring. Moreover, it’s important to remember that kalanchoe thrives in bright light. Therefore, keep your succulent in a place with exposure to sufficient sunlight.

Also, you will need to water the plant thoroughly. However, before you water the plant again, check if the top two inches of soil is dry.

HOW TO PROPAGATE MOTHER OF THOUSANDS

There is no doubt that despite its invasive nature, Mother of Thousands has a highly interesting reproductive system, which eventually makes it easy to propagate.

So, if you’re thinking to propagate your grown Kalanchoe, make sure it is mature enough. You will need to see if the plant started producing baby plantlets.

Pluck one or two plantlets and store them into a plastic bag, which will help keep them moist. Remember that if the stored plantlets dry up, they’ll die.

Next, prepare a pot for them and plant these plantlets gently on the soil. Do not push plantlets inside the soil and keep them 1 cm apart. Also, you need to plant them on the surface.

The next thing you need to do is cover your baby plantlets pot with plastic, use cling film. Moreover, keep the plant moist and place the pot in a sunny area.

Once done, wait for baby plantlets to grow taller. However, when you notice that plantlets are somewhat taller, remove the plastic cover so that your plant can bask in the sun.

Although chances are slim, you will see purple-pink flowers sprouting if you provide the right growing conditions. When your succulent grows too big, move it to a bigger pot.

Note that you will need to be careful when transplanting Mother of Thousands, as their roots are fragile and vulnerable to damage. To prevent this, dig deep around the base to avoid causing harm to the roots.

Now that you are aware of the ideal growing conditions of the plant, take good care of your lovely succulent. Considering that, you will agree that propagating Mother of Thousands is super easy.