This is written at the Winter Solstice, and as much as I enjoy all of the winter holidays and celebrations, I can’t help but think ahead to January and February and part of March, when we will face days, or even weeks, of weather too cold to work outside in the garden.
After the lights and decorations are packed away and the tree is put outside as shelter for small animals, what can we do to make the house cheerful and bright again? How about a trip to a nursery to pick out a couple of houseplants with showy, winter-blooming flowers to provide color, texture, and interest during the drab post-holiday season?
Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, commonly called chandelier plant or florist’s kalanchoe, is an herbaceous perennial succulent that is native to Africa and Asia and winter-hardy in USDA Zones 10-12, where it can be grown outdoors in full sun to part shade in sandy, well-drained soils. On the Middle Peninsula, kalanchoe will make an attractive addition to a sunroom that receives full sun or...