Kalanchoe ‘Pink Butterflies’

Kalanchoe ‘Pink Butterflies’ is an incredibly colorful variegated form of an old hybrid that was hard to track down its heritage. The original hybrid Kalanchoe х houghtonii was a cross between Kalanchoe daigremontiana and Kalanchoe delagoensis. At some point a variegated sport of this hybrid appeared and ‘Pink Butterflies’ came to be. 

The difference between the parent plant and the ‘Pink Butterflies’ is that both parents of the original hybrid are “viviparous”, producing hundreds of tiny plantlets on their leaves that readily fall from the parents root with little to no effort. ‘Pink Butterflies’ while still producing copious quantities of tiny pink butterfly-like plantlets on its leaves have lost their ability to root from plantlets. 

Sometimes a couple might take, but in general, no. They are pink because they lack chlorophyll. Thus like any of a variegated plant that lacks chlorophyll, they simply die.


Scientific Name
Kalanchoe ‘Pink Butterflies’

Common Names
Pink Mother of Thousands

Synonyms
Bryophyllum ‘Pink Butterflies’

Scientific Classification
Family: Crassulaceae
Subfamily: Sedoideae
Tribe: Kalanchoeae
Genus: Kalanchoe

How to Grow and Care

Kalanchoes are not particularly hard to grow, and the flowering varieties are highly rewarding for their colorful and long-lasting flowers. They prefer bright, sunny locations, especially in the summer growing season. During the winter, consider a south-facing window.

 Water moderately throughout the summer and reduce watering in the winter. Let the soil surface dry out between waterings, and in the winter, the plant can almost dry out. Watch the fleshy leaves for signs of water distress.

 They prefer warmth. Do not let fall below 55ºF (12.7ºC). An ordinary potting soil mix is fine. Feed bi-weekly in the summer with a liquid fertilizer, or use slow-release pellets.

Many kinds of Kalanchoe will produce tiny plantlets along the leaf margins that can be individually potted up…