| Description | Panda Plant (Kalanchoe tomentosa) is a velvety, silver-white succulent with brown spots on the edges of the leaves. It enjoys full maximum sunlight and growing on the dry side. |
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| Plant Type | Succulents, Perennial Tender, Site author's observations |
| Hardiness Zone | (9)10-11 |
| Sunlight | For this plant to grow in its true form, it needs to receive more sunlight. When it does not receive direct sunlight, it tends to lose its silvery color and instead turns into a gray-green color. In addition, the brown margins of the leaves will disappear and the plant will lose its shape. |
| Moisture | dry out between waterings |
| Growing Media | well drained |
| Temperature | average house, warm, hot |
| Leaves | Leaves are felt covered (tomentose), gray with brown edges |
| Dimensions | It can be be easily grown in a 4"-6" pot. Larger, older plants can fill out a gallon size pot. |
| Maintenance | After a while the plant will lose most of its botton leaves. At this time it can be cut back and it will regrow. |
| Propagation | The quickest way is by tip cuttings, a slower method is by whole leaf cuttings. Break off an entire leaf and lay it flat on a propagating media. It will form roots from where the leaf was attached to the stem. Eventually a small plant will form at this point. I can't over emphasize eventually! |
| Native Site | Central Madagascar |
| Author's Notes | I have managed to grow the Panda plant outdoors, even under extreme conditions. Despite the scorching sun and dry climate during summer, the plant thrived against a brick wall on a blacktop driveway. It maintained its compact shape and developed thick silver leaves with a brown edge. |
| Notes & Reference | #273-Gardenia (www.gardenia.net), #274-Site Authors' observations and growing experiences |
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