A succulent that behaves like a foliage plant, Kalanchoe 'Variegata Multicolor' earns its name honestly. The leaves are rounded and scalloped along the edge, thick and slightly powdery to the touch, and splashed irregularly with cream and soft grey green. Every margin is outlined in pink, and whole leaves will flush a dusky rose purple where the light hits them hardest, so a single plant carries green, cream, pink and plum all at once.

It grows into a low, generous mound rather than a single stem, which makes it lovely spilling slightly over the rim of a pot on a sunny windowsill, a desk or a bright kitchen shelf. Like most succulents it is undemanding, and the more light you give it the stronger the pinks and purples become.

Care at a glance

Light: Bright, with a few hours of direct sun. This is what drives the colour. In a shadier spot the variegation stays but the pink and plum tones fade away.

Water: Sparingly. Let the compost dry out fully, then water thoroughly and let it drain. Through winter, water barely at all. Soft, mushy leaves mean too much water.

Humidity: Average and dry rooms suit it perfectly. Avoid damp, still corners.

Compost: Free draining, a cactus or succulent mix in a pot with a drainage hole.

Feed: A dilute succulent feed once or twice through spring and summer is plenty.

Note: Kalanchoes are toxic to cats and dogs if eaten, so this one is best kept well out of reach of pets.

As a living plant, size and leaf colouring vary from one to the next, so yours will be one of a kind.