Jade lovers delight

[leatherback]

Many of us have crassula ovate, a.k.a. Jade sitting around somewhere in a corner. And although we know it will never be a bonsai, still, they are fun plants. So I thought.. What not make a thread about jade. Your biggest, ugliest, oldest, youngest, techniques, experience, etcetc.

I'll kick of with a 2 year old cutting that I cam just have sit in a corner till winter. Then it will come inside. Maybe in a few years it wil start flowering. Would be nice.

 

[Silentrunning]

Here is my favorite. It is planted in nothing but stones and is growing like a weed.

 

[Clicio]

Young one in a cheap chinese pot...


Tiny one (Portucalaria Afra) in a signature pot (Shugo Izumi)

 

[Underdog]

 

[AlainK]

What Silentrunning posted looks more like a Portulacaria afra than a Crassula ovata.

Excellent in a proper climate, although the branches tend to be more at a 90° angle.

I've grown Crassula ovata for years, made dozens of cuttings, it's such an esay plant to reproduce.

But so far, i've given up the idea of making a Crassula a "bonsai". Just trying to keep it in a pleasant shape. I repotted this one, then after a few weeks put it outside, without trimming it after 1 or 2 internodes: I'd like to see it flower, so next year I'll repot it again in a much larger, deeper pot.







Here, "large" specimens flower around December when put back into the house, after being left outside until the night temperatures get down to 5°.

I also have several Crassula ovata "Hobbit" like the one Underdog posted. My sister has one which is 40 cm tall, from a 2-3 cm cutting I gave her a couple of years ago, maybe this one photographed in 2012:



Many varieties, hard to kill, nice to work with.

One that can be used as an accent plant, Crassula ovata 'compacta' (I think, it was not labeled):





The red tinge on the edge of the leaves appear when the plant is (gradually) exposed to the sun.

----

 

[MrWunderful]

I have a bunch I posted in another thread. I had to guy wire them down because there was no roots to secure to bottom of pot.

This one has.a 4” base, want to make it look like a baobab: this pic is old but it is pushing a ton of new growth


Here are some more cuttings I am slowly cutting back hard to force ramification:


I

 

[GSCarlson]

Here are my jade projects:

A forest


A root over rock


And a mame

 

[peh3]

Just acquired this beast.
It's about 125cm tall (~4 foot).



Don't really know what to do with it yet, don't necessarily want to "bonsai" it. I know these root easily but anyone know if I could root a big branch as cutting?

 

[leatherback]

know these root easily but anyone know if I could root a big branch as cutting?

Easily yes. Even the main trunk could root as a cutting.

Main trick is to let the cut dry out a lot. I leave cuttings for a week in the sun..
It will create a protective skin over the cut area. Then plant it in dry substrate. Leave the cutting for another few weeks like that. Then water with very little water (I think I only water by spraying these for the first weeks by misting the tree, allowing some drops to come down on the substrate). If it has rooted it will quickly start to fill up the leaves with water again. These things can go weeks, even months without watering / rooting. So be very patient. More jade cuttings die from water than from being dry. Effectively, once the cuts have dried, you pot them, place them in a corner of the garden and forget about them till fall

 

[peh3]

That's very helpful, thanks alot.
Do you think I could get away with taking cuttings now if I'm careful? I'd like to reduce the size of it a bit before it gets too cold for it to stay outside.

 

[leatherback]

Would not know why not.
Just make sure you do not let them sit in the rain while rooting. And I have the feeling these love to be in the sun when rooting. Maybe someone else has better kowledge. I have been taking cuttings as above, and not lost one yet. but with rainy weather I have a small greenhouse where I put them in a corner. The cuttings I took in April were just watered for the first time some 3 weeks ago and now get watered whenever the rest of the patio plants get watered.

They have rooted enough to be given away during student introduction days at work next week. They make ideal student plants, and we have about 30% international students who do not have the option to bring plants from mom's living room

 

[Clicio]

Every single cutting I have tried was successful.
Easy peasy.

 

[AlainK]

I finally found back this photo of Crassula flowers, taken in 2006:

 

[Carol 83]

I keep a couple jade in my office at work. Here's a little forest I started last winter, out of boredom and a cutting from a plant from the grocery store. I'll be cutting back all of the branches, to get some growth closer to the trunk.

 

[hemmy]

$8, 8 years ago

 

[Starfox]

Now look what you made me do. Lol

I can get some massive cuttings off one we have in the landscape.

 

[Nemoose]

 

[TN_Jim]

Can you ground layer a jade to get increased base??

 

[Nemoose]

View attachment 208243

P. Afra

 

[leatherback]

Can you ground layer a jade to get increased base??

As far as I know jade does not have a cambium and developed bark/phloem as trees do. As such I doubt layering would work