Kalanchoe Luciae
Kalanchoe luciae
📖 About this plant
Kalanchoe luciae, commonly called Paddle Plant or Flapjack Plant, is a spectacular succulent that produces enormous, fleshy, paddle-shaped leaves arranged in a rosette pattern. The leaves are a powdery grey-green with contrasting red-pink edges that intensify to brilliant scarlet-red when grown in full sun or cool temperatures. Individual leaves can reach 15 cm long and 10 cm wide, making this one of the most visually impactful succulents. The stacked, overlapping leaf arrangement resembles stacked flapjacks, giving it its common name. It’s a structural showpiece plant that commands attention in any setting.
🧑🌾 Care requirements
Full Sun to Bright Indirect Light
When soil is completely dry (every 2-3 weeks)
30-50%
15-30°C (60-85°F)
Well-draining succulent/cactus mix with perlite and coarse sand
Diluted succulent fertilizer once in spring and once in summer
📋 Plant facts
- 🌍 Origin
- South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe
- 📏 Max height
- 30-60 cm (12-24 in) tall with flower spike
- 📐 Spread
- 30-45 cm (12-18 in) wide
- 🕰️ Bloom time
- Late winter to spring
- 🎨 Bloom color
- Greyish-white to pale green tubular flowers on tall, branching stalks
- 🍃 Foliage color
- Large, paddle-shaped leaves in stacking rosettes; grey-green with red-pink edges; brilliant red in full sun
- ⏳ Lifespan
- Perennial (3-7 years, biennial blooming cycle)
- 📈 Growth rate
- Moderate
- ☠️ Toxicity
- Toxic to cats and dogs — contains bufadienolides causing gastrointestinal distress and cardiac issues
- 🌱 Propagation
- Leaf cuttings or plantlets that form at leaf tips on flowering stems
🛡️ Health & Safety
Toxic to cats and dogs — contains bufadienolides causing gastrointestinal distress and cardiac issues
Common issues
- Greening out without enough sun (losing the red edges), root rot from overwatering, mealybugs in leaf bases, etiolation and tall, floppy growth in insufficient light, leaves flopping open in too much shade
💡 Care tips
- Full sun or at least 6 hours of bright light is essential for the stunning red coloration. Cool autumn temperatures below 10°C (50°F) also intensify the red. This plant is monocarpic — the main rosette dies after flowering, but it produces many offsets first. The large leaves can get heavy and flop — stake or provide compact growing conditions. Remove dead lower leaves to keep it looking tidy.
