Mexican Hat Plants

Question:

I have 2  Mexican hat plants.  I don’t know how to prune them to prevent them from getting to high. They are house plants sitting in the southern part of the apt. Getting proper light.  I have them less than a year and only about 10 babies have grown and fallen off the mother plant.  One plant has not made babies yet. Please advise.  Thank you

Answer:

Your Mexican Hat (Kalanchoe daigremontiana) can be pruned quite easily. Simply cut the main stem at any point just above where a leaf stem attaches to the main stem. New growth will emerge from the main stem just below where you make the pruning cut. This allows you to control the location of new growth. However, this is a plant that does not send out branches as a result of pruning. Rather, a single new shoot will grow upward in place of the old top stem portion that you cut off.

The best way to get your plant to produce lots of baby plants on the leaves is to keep it very potbound and provide lots of direct sunlight. As long as the plant can go a couple of days after a through watering without needing more water, then it should not be put into a larger pot.

You don’t have to wait for the baby plants to fall off; you can remove them manually and plant them wherever you like.