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How to Save an Overwatered Kalanchoe

How to Save an Overwatered Kalanchoe

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The Kalanchoe belongs to the succulent family of plants and can be found all over the world. They are easy to take care of and have a wide range of beautiful colors.

Most Kalanchoes are slow-growing plants that can take up to two or three years to achieve full maturity. They have a unique feature where they store water in their leaves and stems rather than in their roots.

As a general rule, in a perfect environment, Kalanchoes should be watered once a week as they’re sensitive to overwatering.

An overwatered Kalanchoe will seem droopy and feel squishy. If not addressed, rot will begin to spread throughout the plant.

How Can You Tell if Your Kalanchoe is Overwatered?

In most cases, there are obvious signs you can look for to see if your Kalanchoe is being overwatered or underwatered. The leaves of Overwatered Kalanchoes turn mushy and feel soft and squishy to the touch.

  • The leaves of your Kalanchoe may have a lighter color than usual, and in some cases, they can turn almost translucent.
  • Overwatered Kalanchoes are typically more frail than healthy plants and are prone to dropping leaves when touched.
  • The plant will have an overall sick appearance. If this happens, the type of soil you’re using might not be drying out fast enough for the plant, or it is being overwatered, or both.
  • Kalanchoes don’t require frequent watering. If you keep over-watering your plant, its leaves will swell from all the excess water and eventually burst open.

If you’ve been watering your plant on a regular basis and sticking to a strict watering schedule no matter how the plant looks, but you still see the signs described above, we’re afraid to say that your Kalanchoe might be overwatered.

An underwatered Kalanchoe, however, will have dried up and withered leaves that seem lifeless. The leaves will feel flat and thin to the touch.

Your Kalanchoe will have an overall wilted, dry look. A healthy Kalanchoe should have plump, firm leaves that are not mushy or dehydrated.

It can be hard to tell apart an overwatered Kalanchoe from an underwatered one sometimes. This can make it very easy to confuse the two, causing you to mistreat your plant and hurt it even more.

Things That Can Affect Your Watering Schedule

Plants can be very fragile and need lots of care. Here are some things that can negatively affect your plants.

Temperature

Kalanchoes thrive in areas with moderate to warm temperatures and high humidity. They’re sensitive to cold winters. So, it’s best to put them indoors during cold seasons so as to not affect their growth.

Light

Kalanchoes need bright sunlight, but it’s best not to put them in direct sunlight at noon, as it can be extremely harsh on the leaves. A few hours in the morning sun is best.

If you’re not sure whether your Kalanchoe gets enough light exposure or not, examine your plant. If it appears thin and stretching out to the nearest source of light, then it’s light-starved.

Pots and soil

Kalanchoes need help in regulating their moisture levels, so plastic pots are not recommended. If you insist on using a plastic pot, then make sure there are enough drainage holes to avoid overwatering.

Terracotta, clay, and ceramic pots are suitable as they allow the air and water in the soil to pass through the sides, which helps to prevent overwatering.

To get a good water-draining soil mix, you can add a cactus mix to better aerate the soil. An alternative to that would be a soil mix that consists of 60% peat moss and 40% perlite.

Can You Save an Overwatered Kalanchoe?

An overgrown Kalanchoe can usually be saved with careful care and treatment. Even if a plant has rotted, it is possible to restore some of it. To create a new plant, use some leaves or a piece of the stem that survived to propagate the new one.

How much damage a Kalanchoe suffers determines how much of it can be saved. The rot that has spread out throughout the roots greatly decreases the chance of saving the plant.

How to Bring an Overwatered Kalanchoe Back to Life

  1. Remove the Kalanchoe from its pot
  2. Take out all the wet soil
  3. Put the plant in a dry and well-shaded area away from direct sunlight
  4. Let it dry for three to eight days and be sure to check on it regularly
  5. Get a well-draining pot
  6. Repot the Kalanchoe in the new pot
  7. Don’t water it! Leave it dry for a couple more days so it can dry completely.

If after following these steps you find new tiny leaves growing along the stems, that’s a good sign that your plant is recovering well.

How Can You Tell if Your Kalanchoe Is Rotting?

First off, the stems and leaves will change from their normal green color to a blackened, scorched color.

If the rot has progressed far enough, your Kalanchoe will appear as a ruined gooey mush.

How to Save a Rotting Kalanchoe

  1. If the rot hasn’t taken over the entire plant yet, find the unaffected parts
  2. Cut off any good leaves you can find to help propagate the new plant
  3. As for the stems, cut off any green ones, and if they’re still green on the inside rather than black, then they can be used for the new plant
  4. Put the leaves and stems in a dry place away from direct sunlight for a few days
  5. Prepare the potting mix and pot you’re going to usel
  6. Plant the stems and leaf tips in the soil.
  7. Mist the new Kalanchoe whenever the soil feels dry and keep it away from direct sunlight until new plants start growing

Final Thoughts

Too much and too little water can be bad for a Kalanchoe plant’s health. Pay attention to your plants so as to avoid unnecessary damage.

If you want your plant to bloom year-round, you should provide the best care you can. Maintain a proper watering schedule and repot every year to give the plant new life.

If the soil is moist, the environment is too humid, and the temperature is too low, these are the indicators of an overwatered plant. Take immediate action to save your Kalanchoe.

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