As long as it’s warm, kalanchoe may thrive in low light. You should put them in a somewhat shaded window as they require several hours of sunshine daily.
Despite its appearance, the kalanchoe is a hardy succulent plant. Its thick leaves retain water, allowing it to thrive even in dry conditions. Kalanchoes, like other plants, require a great deal of direct sunshine. Therefore, both full sun and moderate shade are suitable planting locations.
Does Full Sun Affect Kalanchoe’s Growth?
There is never a time in the kalanchoe life cycle when direct sunlight isn’t essential. Light from the sun is essential because chlorophyll requires it to perform photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert light energy into chemical energy that may be used to generate food. Therefore, plants will experience stress if they are unable to complete the regular photosynthetic process due to a shortage of sunshine.
The Kalanchoe plants you care for should be kept outdoors in full or partial sunlight. If you want to get your indoor kalanchoes some sun, you’ll need to put them near a bright, sunny window. Grow healthy and content succulents by giving them the light they need.
Kalanchoes can get sunburned, so make sure to keep them out of direct sunlight. Do not expose them to prolonged periods of direct sunshine since this might lead them to become emaciated. Kalanchoe thrives in bright, direct light. In that case, how would you define direct sunlight?
The Effects of Bright Indirect Light on Succulents
Many houseplants, including succulents, may trace their ancestry back to the shady understory of tropical forests. A shadow can be cast under indirect lighting, but it won’t be very deep or sharp. Use white, see-through curtains so plants may peek out between the panels, or use no curtains at all on south-facing windows.
Plants may struggle to thrive in areas of the house that do not have windows, such as corridors. Fluorescent or LED bulbs may be used to generate an indirect light source, perfect for certain settings.
Using windows and the sun’s angle, you may provide indirect light to your plants. Where your windows are located and how clear they are may greatly affect how much light your plants receive. Remember that white walls will reflect more light on your plants than any other color scheme.
Sunshine and Window Direction
Windows Facing South
For example, if your south-facing window receives a lot of sunlight throughout the day, you should position plants that like indirect light within a few feet of the window. Get it out of the way of the sun so that it never gets close. Place your plants near a window with sheer drapery or a sheer shade to soften the light. Hold the curtain back so that they can’t touch the window.
Windows Facing West
Sunlight streaming in via an unshaded west-facing window in the afternoon is often stronger and more intense than that streaming in from an east-facing window. Because of this, west-facing windows should have plants placed 3–5 feet back or a simple curtain installed to block the light.
Windows Facing East
In the morning, the sun is gentler and may be comfortably viewed via an unobscured east-facing window. Most plants that thrive in indirect light can thus be planted near or even on the edge of an eastward-facing window without the aid of a dispersion curtain.
Windows Facing North
Since a north-facing window doesn’t get as much direct sunlight, it’s ideal for sun-loving plants that need bright, indirect light. Then, to compensate for the low levels of light present during the winter, position a mirror in front of the window. Alternatively, you may look into getting a fluorescent or LED to grow light.
Kalanchoes Can Be Moved From The Indoors To The Outdoors. How Do I Do That?
Kalanchoe is typically planted in colorful pots indoors, although they may be placed outside in the correct conditions. Both indoor and outdoor Kalanchoe plants thrive in soil that is moist, light, and well-drained.
The succulent’s health can suffer if you just put it out in the sun right away. Sunburn, induced by rapid exposure to sunshine, can also affect the leaves of succulent plants. Thus, in order for plants to adjust to their new surroundings, they need to be placed in full sunlight.
Start by placing the succulent in a spot that receives filtered or partly bright sunshine. Once the succulent has acclimated to its new environment, it can be relocated to a spot in the full sun where it will be exposed to intense sunlight for a portion of each day and some afternoon shade.
Kalanchoe’s Outdoor Light Requirements
Slowly acclimating the plant to its new surroundings will help it thrive. For instance, the leaves of a kalanchoe, a type of succulent, might get burned if you place it directly into the sunlight.
First, make sure it’s situated in a spot where it may get some shade from nearby trees while still getting some sunlight. Then, carefully relocate the container to a spot where it will bask in direct sunlight until late afternoon.
Kalanchoe succulents thrive in a somewhat shaded area that gets direct sunshine from the harsh afternoon sun. To make use of the partial shade provided by the trees, succulents can be planted at ground level.
When the weather turns warmer in the late spring or early summer, transfer your indoor Kalanchoe to a spot outside.
Kalanchoe’s Indoor Light Requirements
Succulent Kalanchoe thrives in bright, year-round indoor environments. For this reason, a sunny window sill is ideal for providing the necessary sunshine. Your Kalanchoe will flourish in brighter light. Under poor lighting, flower buds sometimes fail to open, and the foliage becomes prickly.
If you cannot find a sunny spot in your house to store your Kalanchoes, you may supplement the natural light with artificial growth lights. Be wary, though; an incandescent bulb’s heat will scorch the leaves of your Kalanchoe succulent if you keep it too near to the light.
During the summer, set your Kalanchoe outside, but in a shaded area where it will only receive around two to four hours of sunshine every day. Plants benefit from time spent in the fresh air and sunshine for several months before the onset of shorter autumn days.
Can A Succulent Kalanchoe Suffer From Lack of Sunlight?
Kalanchoes, like many other plants, need bright light to thrive, and if they don’t receive enough of it, their stalks will stretch, and they’ll look lanky. The succulent gets so lanky because it is orienting its development toward the sun. In this state, the plant will actively seek out or relocate to the source of light.
Leggy or stretched Kalanchoes eventually grow brittle and lose their leaves. Excessively long stems, uneven development, pale or distorted foliage, leaf drop, and the absence of blooms are all symptoms of inadequate light exposure.
If the plant isn’t getting enough sunlight, you may either relocate it somewhere brighter or supplement the light with a lamp.
Does Kalanchoe Succulent Need Specific Sunlight to Bloom?
When succulent plants have completed flowering, many people discard them. However, before you give up on your plants entirely, there is a chance you may trick them into flowering once again. For the Kalanchoe succulents to bloom again next season, it is essential that they get the proper amount of light. Therefore, throughout the typical growing phase and the inductive blooming phase, succulents have different light needs.
This plant has a six-week flowering cycle that begins when it experiences at least 14 hours of darkness every day. At that point, the plant will begin to blossom around four months later. However, if the flowering cycle is reset by the winter’s darkness, continuous blooming throughout the year is feasible.
Indoor kalanchoe plants need a lot of light to flower, thus, they should be housed in a room with lots of windows. Avoid putting them in direct sunlight since this may cause the leaves to burn and the plant to produce fewer flowers. Sensitivity to light is a common trait among kalanchoe plants. In order to form flower buds and blossom the next season, a Kalanchoe plant needs both light and dark cycles.
Conclusion
Although kalanchoes perform best in indirect, bright sunshine, they typically cannot survive in direct sunlight. A home with lots of windows and natural light is ideal for growing kalanchoe. However, if you keep them out in the sun all day, they may not grow properly. Because the leaves will burn in the afternoon sun if exposed to it for too long.