“What is this plant?” asked Shirley. “And why am I keeping it?”

She was brandishing a hanging pot containing several stems, some upright, others, drooping stiffly over the edge. Small clusters of glossy, green leaves decorated the stems.

Those succulent leaves were strange, yet familiar. I suggested that she take the pot to the greenhouse to identify it.

It’s a kalanchoe. This group of succulent-leaved plants is like a bunch of human siblings: certain traits are alike, yet there are distinct individual differences. Shirley has a Kalanchoe blossfeldiana, a rugged little thing which can stand a wide range of temperature. It doesn’t take kindly to overwatering, so can take a certain amount of neglect.

This Kalanchoe blossfeldiana blooms on the short days of winter, covering itself with tiny, starry flowers, usually red at that time of year. It was doubtless a Christmas present, because that’s when they’re available. When that show of blossoms has finished, it shucks its spent flowers and is just a pot-full of greenery until the following late autumn. That’s how Shirley forgot what the plant was; sometimes, the label falls out, making the kalanchoe anonymous.

What sort of a name is kalanchoe?

Some say it’s from the Chinese “kalen chau huy,” which is not my language. Try “kal-an-KOH-ee” or even “kalANkoh-ee,” or try “kal-AN-choh-ee.” Just aim to make yourself understood. The plants will be for sale in a matter of months.

Anyone who has such a plant left over from last winter may bring it into blossom again. Give it good sunlight and water it every week or 10 days. If it needs any reshaping, nip back some of those small branches.

Just before Thanksgiving, add a little fertilizer to its water. Then arrange to give the plant 12-14 hours of darkness each night. Perhaps stand a paper bag upside down over the pot at supper time. Remove it at breakfast so the kalanchoe can have a day of light. Continue this treatment until just before Christmas.

Cousins of this little plant include Panda Plant, Air Plant and Mother of Thousands (or Millions), which grows plantlets between the scallops of their leaf edges.

Now you have two kinds of plants to experiment with for Christmas: poinsettia and kalanchoe.