Florist KalanchoeKalanchoe blossfeldiana
(kal-un-KOH-ee) (bloss-fel-dee-AY-nuh)
Synonyms: Flaming Katy, Christmas Kalanchoe
This is a plant that I see almost everywhere. Its ease of cultivation, compact size and great flower color must be some of the reasons for that. I had some other photographs of it somewhere but went with these two I took in Manhattan on Saturday.
Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, which I have now learned how to pronounce correctly, is a native of the southern end of Madagascar. It was brought to Europe in the 1920’s and has been the subject of breeding programs ever since. It is hardy in Zone 10 (maybe 9) so most of us (not you, Misti) will have to grow it in pots. It doesn’t require much water and I give it even less in the winter. Try not to get the water on the leaves. I keep mine outdoors in the summer in bright light but not full sun. In the winter they live in the greenhouse and I take them inside the house when they start to flower. They could also live on a bright windowsill. Propagation is easy from stem cuttings if you want more. If your cleaver about managing the photoperiodism , you can get it to bloom in any season. Kalanchoe is a short day period plant.For Christmas I got a Bamboo graphic tablet it is a pretty cool piece of hardware. I am getting used to using the pen but decided I liked my old trackball mouse better. It came with some demo software including Color Efex Pro 2.0, which is 4 Photoshop filters (plugins) including Graduated Blue which I applied to this Black and White photo of an old Florist sign in Chelsea Market. I am going to play around a bit more before deciding to purchase the ‘real’ set of 52 filters for $99. Also included in the bundle was Photoshop Elements (which I don’t need since I have its big brother CS2) and Corel Painter which I haven’t had time to even open up.
This sign is also from Chelsea Market which was a fun and interesting place. I got a few nice photos inside even though the light was very dim.
6 comments:
Actually I do grow mine in pots because I've found the kalanchloe tends to spread really well. Mine are starting to bloom too!
I especially like the last two photos!
Wow, I really like the wine vault shot with the little girl.
The flowers are pretty too.
~Oswegan
my computer is neon 0- I have such a love affair with it
I like the neon signs. Specifically, you left the blue glow on the neon sign even though the rest of the photos is black & white. The 2nd neon photo looks like it was taken in an alley way. What's that gal doing in the corner?
Hi misti, you are so lucky to garden in Zone 10. I will have to try that someday.
av, that the photo was taken inside the Chelsea Market. The little girl was kind of dancing around which I took a picture of but I promised her father I wouldn't show her face.
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