How to Propagate Kalanchoes

I was given a little bowl of about 8 rooted cuttings in a small bowl of water. I was told it’s been in that bowl for months and sitting in a very sunny window. I was surprised to hear this as its a succulent not requiring much water. It seems to have been surviving more or less ok. That is leaves are still on them, but evidently they have been dropping leaves here and there. The roots aren’t mushy but they don’t look white and mostly in tack. How should I proceed with planting them in dirt? Should I let the roots dry out some before planting? Help me rescue this plant.

Hi,

Here’s the problem. Usually when you want to root a Kalanchoe you cut off about a 3″-4″ piece of stem that has no flowers on it. Then you leave the stem sitting out for a few days until a callus forms over the cut end. The callous is important because it prevents the end of the cutting from rotting once you plant it in the soil. Once the callus has formed you plant the cutting in a soil that is about 1/3 sand, 1/3 perlite and 1/3 peat moss. You can plant one cutting in a 4″ pot and 3 cuttings in a 6″ pot. Be sure the containers have holes in the bottom. Since you do have 8 cuttings, I would plant 4 of them directly from the jar of water. I would cut off the top 3″-4″ of the other stems (removing the roots) and let them dry out for a few days before planting them. It will be interesting to see which ones grow better. If you do use rooting hormone, be sure to shake off any excess powder. Too much is worse than too little.