The Colorful Full-Sun Succulent That Thrives When You Deadhead It

If you want to keep plants at home but feel like your green thumb is lacking, it's hard to go wrong with some succulents. Succulents make for good houseplants because they require little care and can survive harsh conditions, owing to the fact that many come from the cactus (Cactaceae) and stonecrop (Crassulaceae) families, among other varieties of flora that thrive in regions like deserts. On average, succulents need a lot of light and grow in well-drained, sandy soils, but they only need a little bit of water — in fact, they thrive in areas with low humidity, so best to keep them out of places like the bathroom. If you want a colorful succulent to try growing at home, it's hard to go wrong with a flapjack (Kalanchoe luciae), or paddle plant.

The Kalanchoe genus is part of the Crassulaceae family, native to tropical regions in Africa and Asia, and paddle plants are incredibly hardy; they thrive best in USDA Hardiness Zones 9 through 12, best suited to grow outdoors in the southern and western U.S. However, indoors they can grow anywhere with at least six daily hours of strong, indirect sunlight and soil that's allowed to dry between waterings. They don't require much pruning, but will thrive when you deadhead any flowers running their course. Deadheading is the process by which you remove faded or dying flowers so new ones have more energy to grow, and while it is possible to deadhead your flowers too much, with enough attention and care, you can really help your flapjack succulents bloom beautifully.

The process of deadheading isn't just about refocusing your plants' energy use. A plant will aim to set its seeds so it can reproduce after it's finished flowering, and (literally) cutting off this step by deadheading spent flowers will convince the plant it needs more flowers to reproduce. In some cases, plants might bloom multiple times a season if deadheaded. Flapjacks are known for the flat, rounded, and thick leaves that give them their name, but they also bloom flower spikes that can grow as tall as 6 feet in late winter or early spring. You'll want to look for pale white or yellow flowers that appear from a waxy bulb at the end of this stalk.

Pruning and deadheading apply to succulents similarly to other flowering plants. When you're looking at blooms like flapjacks that have thicker stems, pinching off flowers between your fingers won't work akin to softer plants; instead, use a hand pruner for your succulent deadheading, as getting clean cuts will prevent injuries that might lead to disease. You only need to deadhead spent flowers, unopened buds can be left alone. However, if all buds have opened up, you can simply remove the entire stalk at the base. Any offsets, stem cuttings, or leaf cuttings you take can be used to propagate new succulents fairly easily, so deadheading your flapjacks is also a decent way to grow your indoor garden if you so desire.

One important thing to note when it comes to deadheading (and potentially propagating) succulents like paddle plants is you probably won't have to worry about this step for a long time. Kalanchoe plants like flapjacks take several years to start blooming. They are also monocarpic, which means your paddle plant will set seeds exactly once before withering away. Deadheading Kalanchoe luciae is thus one effective means of extending the plant's limited flowering cycle, allowing it to bloom several times before eventually setting seeds. There are several common flowers that you'd be mistaken to deadhead in your garden, including asters and hydrangeas, but succulents are low-maintenance plants that will be easy to practice on.

On top of extending your flapjack's blooming cycle, deadheading is a maintenance practice that will help plants stay healthier for longer. Otherwise, succulents don't need much care to keep running at maximum capacity. Waterings should be kept sparse but thorough, enough to saturate the soil, and you can apply phosphorus-heavy fertilizer at half the recommended rate some three or four times over the course of peak growing season. However, you should not fertilize your flapjacks during the winter months. Growing healthy succulents also means looking out for pests such as aphids and mealybugs, which can be tackled with a light spritz of rubbing alcohol or water mixed with neem oil.