Have I just killed my plant?

[Shimy]

Complete novice at gardening here. I bought a potted perennial 2 weeks ago. It’s beautiful tiny yellow flowers and ice large sturdy green leaves. I was told transplanting to soil is ideal in autumn. However the leaves were turning brown at the chap at the store said its struggling because its outgrown the pot.

I left it in its pot, until today. It really looked bad, so I transplanted it into soil.

How bad is this? Is it really going to die now?

Post a pic and we can see better what you mean

How often have you been watering it?

I was told it doesn’t need much watering, hardy plant, so I’ve been watering it about twice a week.

It’s a Kalanchoe, really an indoor plant. Id put it back in a pot and take it indoors.

I was told it was specifically ‘outdoors’ and it was displayed amongst the outdoors plants.

Definitely NOT hardy, it's an indoor ornamental plant, and slugs and snails will just love the succulent leaves.

I saw some kalanchoes on sale in Homebase advertised as for inside and out, but I assumed the 'out' would only be for the summer, like with eg Busy Lizzies.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalanchoe_blossfeldiana

'With a minimum temperature of 10 °C (50 °F) K. blossfeldiana requires the protection of glass during the winter months in temperate locations. It needs to be in a cool, partially shaded spot. However it may be placed outside in summer. '

So, assuming a hardy cultivar hasn't been developed and you're in the U.K., you've been misinformed.

They're a sort of succulent, not sure if the browning is under watering or overwatering - I rather suspect the latter. Also, it may not like direct sun.
There's some more info here, American so temperatures are in Fahrenheit.
homeguides.sfgate.com/can-kalanchoe-plants-planted-outdoors-60679.html

the chap at the store
... curious, OP, what sort of 'store' was it?

Anyway - I think I'd snip off all the damaged leaves and deadhead it a bit (looks like there's a stem or two that's finished) - that will make it look better and then repot it, probably in a well draining compost - maybe even cactus compost - bring it in and don't overwater it. If you find it a not-too sunny windowsill, a bit of benign neglect may suit it quite well.

Homebase .

Can’t believe I was completely misled. Right! digging it up tomorrow and bringing in indoors.

Homebase has some nice plants, but I guess the lesson is that their staff aren't necessarily experts, and the labels may or may not be entirely accurate (I can't remember if the one I saw mentioned it wasn't hardy). I'm a bit gobsmacked it sounds like someone confidently told you something plain wrong though!

Probably a good idea to google or look at a book to check growing conditions of plants you're unfamiliar with.

Never mind, I think it'll recover and at least you've got a houseplant.

IMO, Homebase's staff know nothing about plants. Plants are delivered ( and most of their house plants will have been grown in Holland or Belgium) and then are lucky if they get watered. Same goes for any High Street stores which sell plants. You only have to see some the sad, wilted specimens in Wilkos, they rely on a quick turnover, but the wastage must be considerable.

Can’t believe I was completely misled. Right! digging it up tomorrow and bringing in indoors. You weren't misled, they meant it was outdoor in the same sense as a runner beans - OK in the summer (but susceptible to slugs), but will die if they're left outside over winter.

It's a succulent plant, so it will want to be in a well drained soil so that its roots are not sitting in wet soil. It stores water in its leaves, so won't mind being dried out (although the leaves will shrink and wrinkle as the water stores are used), so water when the soil has dried from the previous watering.

You are fine to have it outside in the summer - it will enjoy the light levels (even if it doesn't want full sun) - but if you want to keep it for next year, bring it in from September, and keep it fairly dry over the winter.

The op was misled : ' I was told transplanting to soil is ideal in autumn. '.

And if she was told it was 'hardy' - that usually means frost hardy.

The op was misled : ' I was told transplanting to soil is ideal in autumn. Oops - I missed that bit. She said she was told it was "outdoor" rather than "hardy". Most bedding plants are not hardy. Although kalanchoe is a stalwart of indoor plant displays, I've also seen it sold as a bedding plant in the same way as livingstone daisies, and it wouldn't be wrong to advise someone to that effect if you knew that's what they were wanting it for. But if they were implying it could be left outside all year, they were wrong.

Homebase are useless at looking after plants, but great at selling off cheaply the ones they’ve almost killed. I’ve had some great bargains.
Our local store has all the indoor plants at the back as far away from natural light as possible.

Just to be clear, I asked where perennials where and was pointed in the direction of two rows of plants. I saw the Kalanchoe picked one and went over to ask the gardening chap about it. He said it depends what You are looking for? So I listed:
Perennial
Low maintenance
Can be transplanted outside in the garden
Must not have deep roots because the garden plot is shallow.

His reply, ‘Perfect!’ What you’ve got there fits all of that.
I asked about the leaves that were turning brown and his reply to that was, ‘it’s basically outgrown the pot and its roots have no where to go’ (fantastic I thought!), asked if I could transplant it to garden soil straightaway and he said it’s usually best done in autumn when it’s not flowering. I thanked him for his advice and left.

I’m actually quite stunned. I could’ve bought another Lavender or something but wanted more colour.

Well he was talking a load of bollocks, really. But he made a sale...

I know it isn't possible for everyone, but if you can it's a good idea to find a nursery or decent garden centre where they have people who can give proper advice.

Nan (love the name) yes indeed
Errol - there is actually a very good garden centre not far from me but went to Homebase for something else and decided to check their plants section. Big mistake!