Succulent
Paddle Plant
Kalanchoe luciae · Crassulaceae
Also called: Flapjacks, Flapjack Kalanchoe, Paddle Plant, Desert Cabbage, Dog Tongue
Paddle Plant (Kalanchoe luciae) is a low-water succulent well suited to Tucson and the low desert. It's a slow to moderate-growing succulent.
Paddle Plant at a glance
- Water use
- Low (established)
- Sun
- Full sun to bright light brings out the red leaf-edge blush, but in Tucson give bright light with afternoon shade or filtered sun in summer to prevent scorch; very low light makes leaves stay flat green and floppy.
- Mature size
- Rosette to about 12-18 in tall; flower stalk can reach 2-3 ft
- Growth rate
- Slow to moderate
- Bloom
- Pale yellow (on a tall powdery stalk), Sends up a tall stalk of fragrant yellow tubular flowers in late winter to spring on mature rosettes, typically in its 2nd-3rd year.
- Cold hardiness
- Frost-tender; foliage damaged below about 40 F and killed by hard freeze. In Tucson protect or move containers under cover during freezing nights.
- Soil
- Gritty, fast-draining cactus/succulent mix; raised or container planting strongly preferred over heavy Tucson clay.
- Native range
- Southern Africa (South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Mozambique)
- Best used as
- Container and rock-garden accent, Patio color, Sculptural specimen succulent, Indoor bright-light houseplant
- Wildlife
- Spring flowers provide minor nectar for pollinators; not a key native wildlife plant.
- Toxicity
- Toxic to dogs, cats, and livestock; like other Kalanchoe it contains bufadienolide cardiac glycosides causing GI upset and possible cardiac effects. Keep from pets and children.
How to grow Paddle Plant in Tucson & the low desert
Watering
Drought-tolerant; soak deeply then let soil dry out completely between waterings (roughly every 1-2 weeks in heat, monthly in winter). Keep water off the powdery (farinose) leaf coating and never let it sit wet.
Fertilizer & nutrients
Very light feeder; a dilute balanced succulent fertilizer at half strength once or twice during spring-summer is plenty. Avoid heavy nitrogen.
Pruning & care
Often monocarpic-the main rosette dies after flowering, but it produces offsets (pups) that continue the colony; remove the spent flower stalk and old rosette and let pups take over.
Notes
Botanical name is K. luciae; the very similar K. thyrsiflora is often mislabeled in the trade but has duller flat leaves and a heavier white bloom. Grow in Tucson as a striking low-water container accent, shaded from harsh afternoon summer sun and protected from frost.
Sources: University of Arizona Cooperative Extension / Pima County Master Gardeners; Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum plant references; World of Succulents (worldofsucculents.com); ASPCA Toxic Plant database