Chocolate Soldier Plant Profile

Chocolate Soldier Plant, scientific name Kalanchoe tomentosa, from the dry regions of Central America and Madagascar. Chocolate Soldier Plant leaves are tomentose, like rabbit's ears, grayish white with brown spots between, easily branching, late autumn to early spring vigorous growth. Chocolate Soldier Plant is pleasant to sunny environments, not cold, drought, water and moisture resistance. Brown markings may appear at the tip in full sunlight. In summer, shade should be appropriate.

Chocolate Soldier Plant Picture

Chocolate Soldier Plant Characteristics

Chocolate Soldier Plant (Kalanchoe tomentosa) is a perennial fleshy herb or small shrub, well branched, easily tree-shaped or shrubby. The whole plant of chocolate soldier plant is gray and white, covered with white fuzz. Leaf blade is long ovate, upper part with dentate leaf margin, leaf margin there are brown spots; Leaf inflorescences of Chocolate soldier plant are opposite or closely arranged in sub whorls. The flowering period is spring and summer, when flowering, the top branches will be upward pumping high, inflorescences covered with fine hairs, florets for tubular flowers or bell-shaped flowers, with 4 cracked; The flowers of Chocolate Soldier Plant are light brown to brown, with brown fuzz on the petals.

Chocolate Soldier Plant Growth Habits

Chocolate Soldier Plant likes a cool and dry environment with sufficient light. Chocolate Soldier Plant can withstand drought and semi-shade, and is afraid of water. When it is grown indoors, Chocolate Soldier Plant should be kept in a sunny place, shaded in summer and kept warm in winter. As for cultural soil, it is best to use a sandy soil with good drainage and ventilation.

Chocolate Soldier Plant Care

Temperature

Make sure Chocolate Soldier Plant (Kalanchoe tomentosa) is in a warm area, which will help Chocolate Soldier Plant grow. Specifically, it can be adjusted between 15 and 25 degrees. Chocolate Soldier Plant is not hardy to cold. Therefore, it is better to keep Chocolate Soldier Plant indoors in winter, and keep it at about ten degrees. Of course, summer is not too hot, not higher than 30 degrees.

Light Requirements

The plant likes light but should not be exposed to the sun. Therefore, it is best to have sufficient scattered light, in order to ensure good growth of Chocolate Soldier Plant. In the summer, it is best to give Chocolate Soldier Plant shade and avoid exposure to the sun, otherwise its leaves will become dry, or the color will become ugly.

Watering

Chocolate Soldier Plant is afraid of both drought and water. So, watering too much, or too little is not good, to a certain extent will hinder its growth, and may lead to falling leaves.

Fertilization

Chocolate Soldier Plant (Kalanchoe tomentosa) needs fat when it's growing up. However, the frequency of application need not be too many, usually once a month is enough. Better use liquid fertilizer.

Chocolate Soldier Plant Propagation

Chocolate Soldier Plant propagation can use beheadings cutting, points strains, leaf cutting, Chocolate as soldier because long relatively fast has branch, chocolate soldier plant propagation is often the beheading cutting and points, branch cutting is also very simple, healthy old branches off to dry cutting in moist sand, a cool, ventilated 20 days or more basic of root, cutting is not often feed, otherwise easy to rotten stem cuttings should choose the spring and autumn.

For cutting propagation of Chocolate Soldier Plant, we should pay attention to the kind of summer cuttage that is extremely decaying. If it is summer propagation to dry incision at least 2-3 days.

Leaf cutting of Chocolate Soldier Plant: this method can be used when a large number of breeding, growth of shearing blades in the growing season can turn blade split into 2-3 pieces, then put the blade flat out on the loam or peat soil, the leaf blade slightly downward pressure, curing into half the shade, can produce roots after twenty days, and then in the root part of adventitious bud, long stay out 4 to 5 leaf can colonize.

Diseases & Pests of Chocolate Soldier Plant

Disease: Chocolate Soldier Plant has wilting disease and leaf spot disease, can use 50% gram fungus Dan 800 times liquid spray control. 

Insect pests: Chocolate Soldier Plant has scale insects and whitefly harm, can be used 40% oxidized diefruit milk oil 1000 times the liquid spray kill. 

Chocolate Soldier Plant Uses

Chocolate Soldier Plant (Kalanchoe tomentosa) is covered with white fume. Chocolate Soldier Plant has thick fleshy leaves that look like rabbit ears. The leaves have dark brown markings on the edges, which also look like a panda. Chocolate Soldier Plant is often made as small potted, at adornment sitting room, bedroom, balcony and window sill wait for place extremely rich interest. Chocolate Soldier Plant can also be combined with other succulent plants to make combined bonsai.

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