Plant in full coastal sun to shade and is cold hardy into the mid-20°s F without damage. It is particularly water thrifty in shade and for this reason this plant is often found in shady neglected corners of older gardens where it survives without irrigation but seems to look better and will flower more regularly when grown in full sun with infrequent irrigation.

The name Kalanchoe as described by the French botanist Michel Adanson in 1763 was an adaption of a name for a plant in the genus in a Chinese dialect, most likely a dialect of Hokkien, spoken by overseas Chinese in the Philippines in the late 1600s. The name came to Adason's attention through Georg Joseph Kamel (Camellus or Cameli), a Czechian botanist and Jesuit missionary in the Philippines. Kamel referred to this plant as "kalanchauhuy" in his writings with 'ka-lan' being a Buddhist term for the physical grounds, gardens, or groves of a temple combined with 'huy' meaning a "flower". The name for the genus Camellia also honors Kamel. Though it seems that the correct pronunciation of the genus should be kal-an-KOH-ee, there are some who pronounce it "kal-an-choe" with some claiming the former is the American pronunciation and the latter the British, while others point to the Chinese origin of the word and suggest it might be pronounced "ka-lan-choi". The specific epithet from the root word 'caro' means "of flesh" or "fleshy" in reference to the thick fleshy leaves of this plant.

Kalanchoe carnea 'Modoc' has been in cultivation in Southern California for many years as Kalanchoe 'Modoc' with the name 'Modoc' that is believed to be in reference to Modoc Road in Santa Barbara. John Bleck, aloe breeder and Santa Barbara's senior plantsman extraordinaire, thought the plant collected from the Harvey estate on Modoc Road during a visit there by a 1962 Hortus West Tour to Santa Barbara that was organized by Elizabeth (Betty) Marshall and it was then that this plant was noted the plant growing there and this was when UCLA botanic garden manager (later the UCLA Mathias Botanic Garden) Dave Verity got a cutting circulated the plant in Southern California as Kalanchoe 'Modoc'. The botanical name remained unknown to us until 2002 when Mr. Stephen Jankalski alerted us that this plant is a selection of Kalanchoe carnea and that the plant was popular in Europe from the late 1800s and early 1900s. Nicholas Edward Brown first described Kalanchoe carnea in The Gardeners' Chronicle in 1886 but did so from garden collected material received from a Mr. H. Laver, the Mayor of Colchester, northeast of London and the plant was thought to have come from either from the Cape Region of South Africa or from Nepal. The World Checklist of Vascular Plants however currently synonymizes this species as Kalanchoe laciniata, a plant that ranges from the Arabian Peninsula west to Eritrea on the Horn of Africa (the Somali Peninsula) so to northwest Namibia.

We grew this plant from 1998 on after getting a cutting from a Santa Barbara garden. 

The information about Kalanchoe carnea 'Modoc' that is displayed on this web page is based on research conducted in our nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We will also include observations made about this plant as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens that we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We also incorporate comments that we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they share cultural information that aids others growing this plant.

Please note that after 46 years in business, San Marcos Growers will be discontinuing nursery operations by the end of 2025 and the property will be developed for affordable housing.