Flapjacks in your Garden?
Posted on April 1, 2014 by bob in Yard 'N Garden
On vacation three years ago in Florida, I discovered a plant at a garden center that would later become my favorite. I liked the shape and color and brought it home, with 
instructions not to leave it outside in the winter.
In September I brought it in the house and it continued to thrive. It went outside again in March, but it got cold one night and I had to remove the flaps. I just peeled them off and hoped for the best. It seemed to help, because it grew better than ever that summer.
There was lots of new growth when I dug it up in October and friends started asking for a “piece” of it. I made several pots and brought them in the house, giving a few away while continuing to enjoy the plants over the winter.
Denise Nyland, contributor to the eHow website (www.ehow.com), identifies the plant as Kalanchoe thyrsiflora, also called “flapjack.”
“The name ‘flapjack’,” writes Nyland, “was whimsically bestowed because of the plant’s paddle-like, large leaves that are stacked on top of the another much like a stack of flapjacks. The tropical grows in clusters close to the stalk. The leaves grow upward to minimize sun damage and, if exposed to enough sunlight, form red and pinkish rings around the edges.”
She goes on to identify the plant as a succulent, “…prized for its round, broad foliage ad clusters of unusual tubular flowers.”
The plant is a native of the South African Desert, which, according to research, can grow to a height of two feet with yellow spike-like flowers. My plants are only six-to-eight inches tall, and I haven’t seen any flowers. Maybe this year.
I can’t wait for spring to put them all out and see how many there will be to dig up in the fall.
Georgia Young is an intern with the Capital City Master Gardener Association. For information on becoming a master gardener, visit the website, www.capcitymga.org or e-mail capcitymga@gmail.com.
