Small Kalanchoe species attract attention because of their pretty toothed leaves and bright flowers. If you love this plant art form and are a fan of Kalanchoes at the same time, you might also want to grow these plants as a bonsai. But can it work?
Can you create a Kalanchoe as a bonsai?
Kalanchoe species are not suitable as bonsai because they do not produce woody stems and branches. Instead, they can be used as attractive elements in other plant art forms such as Penjing and Saikei.
What is a bonsai?
A bonsai is not a naturally small plant. Rather, in this art of Chinese gardening, a tree is grown in such a way that a small but very realistic image of nature is created. For this purpose, among other things, the branches are wired so that they grow in the desired direction. Any plant species that produces woody stems and branches is suitable for this.
The Kalanchoe is not suitable as a bonsai
Unfortunately, this means that only a few succulents can be trained to become bonsai. The Kalanchoe is not one of these because it does not produce enough woody plant parts.
And what about the larger species like the elephant ear?
The Beharensis, which grows up to three meters high in the open field, does not develop plant parts that are so hard that they can be permanently trained into a specific shape using wire. Unfortunately, the elephant ear cannot be used as a bonsai either.
Small Kalanchoes as part of similar plant art shapes
Although the Kalanchoe cannot be cultivated as a bonsai, it still makes an extremely attractive element of similar art forms. Penjing and Saikei, for example, are about creating true-to-original landscapes using plants, stones, water and few artificially formed trees.
The small Kalanchoe species in particular fit wonderfully into these garden landscapes for the windowsill. Since the Kalanchoe tolerates pruning well, the leaf size can be kept small permanently.
Tip
If you want to design a succulent as a bonsai, you can choose a money or penny tree. These plants form a woody trunk and can therefore be wonderfully shaped into a wide variety of shapes.
