Flapjacks, Flipping Pancakes, Northern White Lady, Paddle Plant, ETC.

Kalanchoe luciae

kal-un-KOH-ee LOO-see-ay

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY AWARD OF GARDEN MERIT

Synonyms of Kalanchoe luciae (1) (Updated on 12-15-23 from Plants of the World Online): Kalanchoe albiflora H.M.L.Forbes (1941)

Kalanchoe luciae Raym.-Hamet is the accepted scientific name for this species of Kalanchoe. It was named and described by Raymond-Hamet in Bulletin de l’Herbier Boissier in 1908.

The genus, Kalanchoe Adans., was named and described as such by Michel Adanson in Familles des Plantes in 1763.

As of 12-15-23 when this page was last updated, Plants of the World Online lists 169 species in the Kalanchoe genus. It is a member of the plant family Crassulaceae with 36 genera. Those numbers could change as updates are made on POWO.

THERE ARE SEVERAL LINKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE FOR FURTHER READING.

I brought this Kalanchoe luciae home from Walmart on February 1, 2016. I liked its large, roundish, flat leaves. Upon a little research, I found it has many common names such as Flap Jack, Red Pancakes, Paddle Kalanchoe, Northern White Lady, Pancake Kalanchoe, Flipping flapjacks, White Lady, Flapjacks, Dog Tongue Plant, Paddle Plant, Paddle Leaf, Desert Cabbage, and maybe more…

There is another similar Kalanchoe called Kalanchoe thyrsiflora but there are some differences that will show you which is which. Apparently, there are those selling K. thyrsiflora which is really K. luciae. They have similar leaves and have many of the same common names. In more sun, the leaves of K. luciae will turn a reddish color as in the above photo and apparently, K. thyrsiflora doesn’t. Some websites say this happens during the winter when temps are cooler, but it can also occur in bright light during the summer months. Their flowers are somewhat different and the flowers of K. thyrsiflora have a stronger, sweet smell compared to the faint smell of K. luciae. Anyway, there are links at the bottom you can go to for further reading. The link to San Marcos Growers has some very interesting and useful information. One more thing about the flowers… Both of these species of Kalanchoe are monocarpic which means the parent plant will die after they flower. It will send up an offset to take its place and usually, more plantlets will sprout from the main stem. These plants usually don’t flower until the plant is 3-4 years old.

My Kalanchoe luciae became somewhat weird. The stem grew longer and it sent out this offset. Of course, that’s normal…  As the plants grow, scars are left behind where old leaves were.

USEFUL INFORMATION:
Family: Crassulaceae.
Origin: Various locations in southwest Africa.
Zones: USDA Zones 9a-11 (20 to 40° F).
Size: 12-18” tall.
Light: Sun to light shade.
Soil: Fast-draining quality potting soil amended with pumice (50/50) or additional perlite and chicken grit (2-1-1).
Water: Regular water during the growing season, barely in winter.
Flowers: Pale yellow, tubular flowers on 2-3’ stems in late winter-early spring.
Propagation: Leaf or stem cuttings

I water my cactus and succulents regularly during the summer when they are outside. Normally, the cactus on the back porch get enough rain, but the succulents on the front porch are under a roof. Sometimes I get busy during the summer and they get neglected, but they always do fine. During the winter, I hardly ever water the Kalanchoe unless their leaves start to shrivel or get wrinkly…

<<<<2018>>>>

I took the above photo on February 11 in 2018 as I was working on this page.  The Kalanchoe luciae was on the kitchen windowsill with a few cacti for the winter. Kalanchoe are considered winter dormant but they “may” grow a little during this time. I don’t water any of the cacti and succulents over the winter unless they show signs they need “a little”. In the above photo, you can see the leaves of the Kalanchoe luciae are a little shriveled and somewhat wrinkly which means it would like a little water… You just want to give them a little over the winter months as too much can cause them to rot.

Once warmer temperatures came, I moved all the potted plants back outside for the summer.

I decided to remove the offsets from the original pot on June 30. Even though the stem of the original plant is crooked and looks a little strange, I just put its stem deeper in the pot for now. It does have roots growing under the rosette, but because of the shape of the stem under the rosette, it would be very difficult to regrow it from there. So, I will just leave it alone for now.

After a month the Kalanchoe luciae were still doing well. The original plant now has another offset.

I had to move the potted plants inside for the winter on October 10 because an”F” was in the forecast. I always photograph the plants as I move them inside. The offset in the original pot had grown A LOT!

<<<<2019>>>>

Once nighttime temperatures were warm enough I moved the potted plants back outside for the summer. They made it through the winter inside with flying colors.

The biggest offset from the original plant is showing some good color on the front porch. It is the biggest plant now. I also put one of the offsets on the back porch with the cactus where it will be in full sun to see how it would do there.

The original plant was still growing weird and had several nice offsets in its pot.

When I took this photo on June 16, the color of the biggest offset had changed again as it became more adapted to the outside light. They are on the front porch and do not get full sun, more in the afternoon.

The original plant with its offsets again on July 15.

Once again, I had to move the potted plants inside for the winter on October 11 because an “F” was in the forecast. I always take photos of the plants as I move them inside and measure the cactus and some of the succulents. It’s kind of hard to measure some of the succulents, like this one, because of the way they grow.

The Kalanchoe luciae that has been on the back porch for the summer has done very well. Its growth seemed to stay more compact and it took on this brilliant color.

I took the plants for one of the cactus and succulent updates outside for a photoshoot on November 24. It was a nice spring-like day. As you can see, the Kalanchoe luciae that had been on the back porch at the bottom of the photo is beginning to change color from being inside.

<<<<2020>>>>

I had to move the potted plants inside for the winter on October 15 because an “F” was in the forecast. As always, I took photographs and measurements. The Kalanchoe luciae have all done very well over the summer on the front porch, now it is time for them to go to the back bedroom in front of a south-facing window.

Last year I kept one in full sun on the back porch, but in 2020 they were all on the front porch.

Typical stems are chalky white with lots of “bloom” (tomentum).

I forgot about this one when I took the group photo. It was in more sun so its leaves have a nice glow. I think this is the one that was on the back porch in 2019.

Inside for the winter once again and anxiously waiting for spring.

<<<<2021>>>>

I took the above photo of the Kalanchoe luciae on the front porch on July 20. There are five pots and 16 plants (including offsets).

I took another photo on August 17 for a post…

<<<<2022>>>>

I had to move the potted plants inside for the winter on 110-16-22 because a “you know what” was in the forecast. I neglected the plants on the porch because I was fairly busy in 2022 but they still did very well. I didn’t take a photo of the Kalanchoe luciae but they are all alive and well. I will do better in 2023.

<<<<2023>>>>

Hmmm… I intended to repot all the Kalanchoe luciae in 2023, but I only did three… The plant with the long stem in the back is a long story. I was at Mast’s greenhouse in May of 2022 and found a few plants I was interested in. One, I thought, could have been a Kalanchoe thyrsiflora… OK, sometimes when I am plant shopping I forget what I have learned. For one, I forgot what my original K. luciae looked like when I brought it home and the plant in question was growing in bright light in a greenhouse, while mine are growing on a partly shaded porch. Out of my excitement  I brought home a wanna-be Kalanchoe thyrsiflora. Well, it didn’t want to be one, I wanted it to be one… The plant grew and grew and produced a spike of flowers… Ummmmm……. It turned out to be a Kalanchoe luciae. I wrote posts about it, even its page as K. thyrsiflora. Now I have to change the page which you can view HERE and somehow combine the two…

Kalanchoe luciae is monocarpic and is supposed to die after it blooms. Well, it didn’t die… At least not yet…

Much information says after Kalanchoe luciae blooms it will grow offsets… Actually, they produce offsets whether they bloom or not…

I really like the Kalanchoe luciae as companions and have found them very easy to grow. I will continue adding more photos and information as time goes by.

I hope you found this page and the links below somewhat useful. If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, I would like to hear from you. Please leave a “Like” below if you have visited this page. It helps us bloggers stay motivated. 🙂

FOR FURTHER READING:
PLANTS OF THE WORLD ONLINE (GENUS/SPECIES)
LLIFLE (ENCYCLOPEDIA OF LIVING FORMS)
DAVE’S GARDEN
SUCCULENTGUIDE.COM
INTERNATIONAL CRASSULACEAE NETWORK
WIKIPEDIA (GENUS/SPECIES)
SAN MARCOS GROWERS:
SMG-Kalanchoe luciae
SMG-K. luciae & K. thyrsiflora
JOY US GARDEN
EDEN MAKERS BLOG
DEBRA LEE BALDWIN
THE PALM ROOM
PLANTZAFRICA