Family: Crassulaceae
Common name: Donkey ears, Chandelier plant, Palm beachbells, Donkey ear plants, Sprouting leaf, Tree of Life, Good luck leaf, Sprout Leaf Plant, Miracle Leaf, Leaf of Life, Giant Kalanchoe
Donkey ear plant is a beautiful succulent plant that is very easy to grow and propagate, a popular choice for both indoor and outdoor gardens. They are native to Madagascar and they can thrive in arid, dry climate, as well as warm, humid climate.
Plant Characteristics
Roots of the Donkey ears plant are relatively shallow and fibrous spreading horizontally to maximize water intake from anywhere around the plant.
Stem is light green in color, thick and succulent, allowing it to store water for periods when there is no water in the soil. These plants are quite short, growing 40-50 cm in height with an erect stem and long, fleshy leaves.
The most striking feature of the Kalanchoe are the leaves, thick, fleshy, lance-shaped like donkey ears, giving the plant its name. Leaves are arranged in a rosette pattern around the stem, multiple rosettes growing close to each other when the plants are allowed to self-propagate.
Leaves are bright green in color with a waxy coating that helps prevent water loss. Margins have small serrations or teeth adding to the beauty of the plant.
When a leaf falls in the soil, small plantlets are produced from these margins, which later become individual plants when the leaves decay and die.
Donkey ear plants produce small, bell-shaped flowers that are held aloft on slender flower stalks standing tall above the foliage. Flowers are yellow or orange in color, held in pale orange or red calyx cups. Each flower is 3-4 cm in diameter with five pointed petals arranged symmetrically.
Flowering is not frequent, but when the plant produces flowers, they steal the show with a large chandelier-like structure having multiple flowers. These flowers attract pollinators like bees, butterflies, and insects that help pollinate them.
Donkey ear plants can produce fruits, which are quite small and inconspicuous, and they are rarely seen in garden plants. Since these plants can reproduce very quickly in a vegetative manner from their leaves, seeds do not hold any great significance in propagation.
Gardening tips
Donkey ear plants need good sunlight and well-drained soil to grow well. Though they can tolerate partial shade or filtered sunlight, the soil cannot be clayey or water-logged.
Like most succulent plants, these plants can have root and stem rot with overwatering or water-logging. They only need to be watered when the soil is dry to touch, allowing it to completely dry out between watering.
These plants can be grown indoors near sunny windows since they are sensitive to frost and should be brought indoors in very cold weather. In warm, tropical weather, this plant continues to grow and thrive even in the mild winter season.
Pruning is not usually necessary unless you need to remove yellowing or diseased leaves. Fallen leaves can produce numerous plantlets which can lead to over-crowding. Though these plants like to grow in clusters, it is necessary to remove some of the plantlets and replant them.
Donkey ear plants are closely related to Kalanchoe pinnata or Cathedral bells and Kalanchoe thyrsiflora or Paddle plant, all of them beautiful succulents.
Uses of Donkey ear plants
Donkey ear plants were used in traditional herbal medicine in the treatment of ovarian cysts, fibroids, and urinary tract infections. They are mostly grown as ornamental in flower beds, containers, or in hanging baskets.
They are a novice gardener’s dream plant since they need very little care and attention, growing and reproducing with almost no watering or fertilization. They are light feeders, and need to be fertilized only once in 3-4 months.
The leaves have some toxicity and should be handled with care. Keep children and pets away from the plant since accidental consumption can lead to vomiting and stomach pain.
Propagation
Propagation is very easily done through offsets, leaf, and stem cuttings.
Mature plants self-propagate to produce numerous small plantlets under them, which can be carefully removed and replanted.
A healthy leaf detached from the soil can be placed in well-drained soil after allowing it to callous over one or two days. This leaf can produce numerous plantlets from the serrated margins along the edges. A healthy piece of stem can be cut from the parent plant and placed in soil to grow roots.
Photographed at: Thrissur, Kerala; Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden, Howrah
