Kalanchoes are wonderful perennial succulents that are a great addition to any household. They produce beautiful, long-lasting clusters of flowers that stand upright above the green leaves.
Although these plants are reasonably easy to grow, they can suffer from some issues, and some of these can result in droopy flowers. Luckily, you can employ some easy solutions to make your kalanchoe happy again in most cases.
Drooping kalanchoe flowers can result from several issues, including underwatering, overwatering, extreme temperatures, old flowers, and bacterial infections. The early implementation of rectifying solutions should enable you to return your plants’ flowers to their previous un-droopy stature.
Knowing what can cause your kalanchoe flowers to start drooping is the first step in understanding why this is happening to your plants’ flowers.
Next, you will need to uncover which of these issues is at play to implement a solution that will return your kalanchoe flowers to their usual upright and non-droopy appearance.
Why Are Your Kalanchoe Flowers Drooping?
Kalanchoe flowers come in various colors, and the flowering period is particularly long. There are several reasons why your kalanchoe plants’ flowers could be drooping.
Finding out what the cause is will help you fix the problem. Let’s look at some of the reasons kalanchoe flowers sag and some solutions to help get them back to their usual upright flowering positions.
1 – Old Age
One of the main reasons your kalanchoe flowers are drooping could be because they are getting old. When your flowers start to get old, they show signs of losing some of the vibrancy of the blooms’ color and beginning to droop.
One way to tell if this is the problem is by doing some quick maths. If your flowers have been present for around six weeks, they may have completed their flowering cycle and are starting to die back.
If this is the problem, you should consider cutting the flowers off. Cutting them back and removing the old flowers helps the overall health of your plant as it no longer needs to send energy into that region anymore.
2 – Overwatering
Kalanchoe plants are relatively straightforward to care for, but one of the main things they cannot stand is when you overwater them. You can often leave them for long periods without watering them, but you can expect your plant to start showing symptoms if they receive too much water.
The main symptoms are yellowing leaves, rotting or smelly stems, and wilting. The wilting can be present in both the flowers and the leaves.
If you notice that your plants’ soil remains damp between waterings and shows other overwatering symptoms, your drooping flower issue could result from overwatering. In this situation, the best way to rectify the problem is to refrain from watering your kalanchoe until the soil is dry and place it in an area that receives good sunlight.
Once dry, you can resume watering once a week, ensuring that the soil is mostly or completely dry before watering again. Also, ensure that your plant is not sitting in water as kalanchoe does not like ‘wet feet.’
If holding off on watering until the soil is dry does not solve the issue, you will need to check to ensure that your kalanchoe is not suffering from root rot. If you have overwatered your plant for an extended period, the roots can begin to deteriorate.
If this has started to happen, you will need to re-pot your kalanchoe, discard the old soil, remove all of the rotted roots, wash your pot with soapy water, and then re-pot your kalanchoe in a suitable cacti soil mixture.
When you uncover your plants’ roots, and they are all rotten, unfortunately, you will have to discard your plant as there is no coming back from a rot that is so far gone.
3 – Underwatering
Even though kalanchoe plants like a bit of neglect, they can sometimes go too far. In these cases, your kalanchoe will start to show signs that it requires watering and one of the primary symptoms of no water is drooping foliage and flowers.
If your kalanchoe is suffering from underwatering, proper watering should bring it to optimum health. You will need to try and remember to water your kalanchoe once every week, ensuring the soil is mainly dry before watering again.
This watering regime will ensure your kalanchoe remains happy and grows optimally.
4 – Extreme Temperatures
Kalanchoe plants are relatively temperature-sensitive. Extreme temperature changes will result in adverse side effects, including flowers that start to droop.
Kalanchoe prefers temperatures within a range of 60°F and 85°F. Anything above or below those temperatures will result in an unhappy plant. Temperatures above 85°F are often the cause of wilting flowers and leaves.
If you have noticed that your kalanchoe flowers are starting to droop and that the temperatures where you keep your plant are exceeding those of its preferred range, you should remove the plant and place it in a cooler area.
Although kalanchoe like bright and warm environments in some cases, it can become too much, and your plant will suffer as a result.
Temperatures that drop below 60°F are also problematic and, in some cases, can be far more concerning. If your plant experiences temperatures below 40°F, it can quickly succumb to the cold.
5 – Bacterial Infections
Another reason why your kalanchoe flowers could be drooping is if your plant has a bacterial infection. In these instances, there would be other symptoms you would be able to notice as well.
In the case of bacterial infection in the roots resulting in root rot, the other symptoms would include rotten or foul-smelling stems, yellowing leaves, and foul-smelling roots.
Systemic bacterial infections can also cause your kalanchoe to start wilting in the regions of both the plants’ flowers and leaves. This type of bacterial infection is often the result of overfertilization and overwatering. Other symptoms to look out for include yellowing of the leaves.
In the case of systemic bacterial infection, if your plant has developed this problem, it would be best to discard the plant before the infection spreads to your other plants.
Final Thoughts
If you notice that the flowers on your kalanchoe plant are starting to droop, it could be for several reasons. If flowering has been ongoing for an extended period, likely they have reached a certain point in their life cycle and are beginning to fade.
In other cases, the drooping flowers could be caused by over or underwatering, extreme temperatures, or bacterial infections. If the drooping leaves are due to one of these reasons, then employing some solutions should ensure your plant’s survival.
Growing up with a mom who filled her home (inside and out) with all sorts of plants, Lisa got her start in gardening at a young age. Living now on her own with a home and yard full of plants (including an indoor greenhouse), she shares all the gardening tips she’s gained over the years.
Before you go: Now is the perfect time to start tracking your gardening progress, and I created a garden journal to do exactly that. Click the image below to see it in action and to get your own copy.
