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Species library › Kalanchoe › Kalanchoe luciae
Succulents Well documented

Kalanchoe luciae

The paddle plant or flapjacks, a rosette succulent with broad, round, grey-green leaves that turn red in strong light and cool weather. It comes from summer-rainfall northeastern South Africa, Eswatini, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, and wants bright sun, a dry winter and protection from frost.

Kalanchoe luciae
Photo: Frank Vincentz, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
At home, aim for
Day IntermediateTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Dry airBand in Plantistry
Light Full sunDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows in the ground

Where it grows wild

It grows on rocky slopes, outcrops and grassy bushveld in summer-rainfall country, usually in full sun or light shade between rocks. The rosette is monocarpic: it dies after its tall white flower spike, leaving offsets.

Records span coastal KwaZulu-Natal and Mozambique near sea level up to about 1,300 m in Mpumalanga and Eswatini.

South AfricaEswatiniMozambiqueZimbabwe

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, used under its CC BY-SA 3.0 licence, unmodified.