Which should I buy - Brussel’ Jade or Eastern Leaf Fukien?

A (Brussel’s Jade) or B (Eastern Leaf Fukien Tea)?


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Slickrick773

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I’ve got the itch, debating on which tree to buy next.

Option A: Brussel’s Jade - $68, 8-12”.

Option B: Eastern Leaf’s Fukien Tea - $55, 10-14”.

I like them both, less concerned with the difference in price, more interested in which one is better quality.

I’m in Chicago, the tree will be on my deck in the summer with eastern exposure. In the winter (most of the year) it’ll be in a window facing west.

A or B? Thoughts?
 

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Anthony

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With those prices, [ about $350.00 TT ] try and get
a shape that is immediately satisfying.

Ask for images of what is available, if possible.
Good Luck.
Anthony
 

atlarsenal

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Cadillactaste

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If you give him a call...he will discuss wintering as well. He refused to sell me a tree with inadequate wintering on my part. Wishing for my journey to be successful. That spoke VOLUMNS in my mind on the nursery. So if you have questions on wintering...by all means pick the guy's brain.
 

GrimLore

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I’ve got the itch, debating on which tree to buy next.

Option A: Brussel’s Jade - $68, 8-12”.

Option B: Eastern Leaf’s Fukien Tea - $55, 10-14”.

I like them both, less concerned with the difference in price, more interested in which one is better quality.

I’m in Chicago, the tree will be on my deck in the summer with eastern exposure. In the winter (most of the year) it’ll be in a window facing west.

A or B? Thoughts?

If you must buy either one -

A - Never met a Jade that does good in full eastern exposure here, we grow them outdoors in dappled light and indoors under standard T8 lights as they don't need a lot.
The pot will last longer with it most likely 4 - 5 years as it won't be taking a beating.

B - The Tea tree will do ok in the conditions you describe but both are not a bargain by any means. Expect up 3 years out of the pot on that one.

A & B - Both will require pots, better substrate, and a lot of work to be worth the original price....

Do yourself a favor and look over the price lists here - https://www.evergreengardenworks.com/ and contact Brent or Susie, They will send you photos of the actually plant or plants in your range and you will be far more pleased. What you see in those pictures you posted will not "quite" be the same at your doorstep.

Grimmy
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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@Slickrick773 - you are in the Chicago area, head over to Hidden Gardens in Willowbrook. Look at their offering in person. Owners are helpful. Jade plant is a houseplant you can find just about anywhere, and cheap.

Fukien Tea is common, especially as mass production shopping mall type bonsai - mallsai for a. I am not fond of either.

Brussel's is reputable, I have purchased from them and was happy. Da Su in Iowa is good too, I have purchased from them. My favorite is Evergreen Gardenworks, Brent Walston. I purchase every year, Sometimes more than once a year from Evergreen.
 

WOOB

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A - none of the above. A its a jade and sorry it will never be a bonsai (yes I had one and I sold it)

B - Fukien Tea I agree with Leo ... mass-produced and does not like life insides messy and ... (yes I have 2 sold one and the other is for sale)

C - Ficus nearafolia Now we are talking easy, cool leaf, you can wire them defoliate and all!

I have found a shower a week on all my tropical keeps the bugs away!
 

Slickrick773

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A - none of the above. A its a jade and sorry it will never be a bonsai (yes I had one and I sold it)

B - Fukien Tea I agree with Leo ... mass-produced and does not like life insides messy and ... (yes I have 2 sold one and the other is for sale)

C - Ficus nearafolia Now we are talking easy, cool leaf, you can wire them defoliate and all!

I have found a shower a week on all my tropical keeps the bugs away!

Thanks, evergreen appears to be the fan favorite. Waiting on an email back.
 

sorce

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Big Second For THG...

They got a good tropical lot...

Sorce
 

Toshi

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If you're dead set on either, I've bought 3 jades from Brussel's on Amazon for 1/2 that price and was surprisingly pleased. Two I gave away as gifts and the 3rd I kept to mess around with. It was in a pretty decent pot for $30. Here it is after a little amateur trimming:

1528318134916.png
 

coltranem

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I picked up 5 plants slightly smaller than that for $5 at Lowes in the succulents section.
 

Tieball

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If you look at the tree and think about buying it...and you don’t know what you'd do with it once you have it.....don’t buy it.
 

Bearded_Jiggs

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I picked up 5 plants slightly smaller than that for $5 at Lowes in the succulents section.
Debate on "is it bonsai material?" or not, I was very interested in the dwarf jade. Being a beginner I had heard they're a lot more forgiving, but what I did not hear immediately was that they are succulents and propagate very easily and can be found in most nurseries and garden centers for fairly cheap at different sizes. So I shelled out $3.78 and now I too have 5 plants (albeit small) that I can grow and learn from. There's a guy on Instagram from Corpus Christi TX (Search Little Jade Bonsai) that has some impressive stuff if I do say so myself. Moral of the story, if going Jade, see if you can find something workable at a nursery not labeled "bonsai" for a fraction of the cost of "Jade Bonsai" from retailers.
 

Solaris

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Debate on "is it bonsai material?" or not, I was very interested in the dwarf jade. Being a beginner I had heard they're a lot more forgiving, but what I did not hear immediately was that they are succulents and propagate very easily and can be found in most nurseries and garden centers for fairly cheap at different sizes. So I shelled out $3.78 and now I too have 5 plants (albeit small) that I can grow and learn from. There's a guy on Instagram from Corpus Christi TX (Search Little Jade Bonsai) that has some impressive stuff if I do say so myself. Moral of the story, if going Jade, see if you can find something workable at a nursery not labeled "bonsai" for a fraction of the cost of "Jade Bonsai" from retailers.

I hope you've found Adam Lavigne's blog. He's a big part of why I have a couple-few P. afra in my plant collection.
Portulacaria afra is a bit finickier than Crassula ovata, in my experience. Nonetheless, I like spekboom better than standard jade (although the Gollum cultivar is pretty cool)... and not just because spekboom tastes good. Jade liked central Texas better than spekboom, especially during high summer. I find they both like a mix of about 1/2 gravel and 1/2 sand works pretty well for them - I picked out heavy stuff to counterbalance the tendency of both plants to topple their pots. It's free-draining enough that I can get away with watering them just about every day during summer, especially if you're using a terra cotta pot, but retentive enough that the spekboom is happy.

How does that compare with your notes? I have a bit of zone envy going; they're probably growing like crazy in your climate.

I’ve got the itch, debating on which tree to buy next.

Option A: Brussel’s Jade - $68, 8-12”.

...

I’m in Chicago, the tree will be on my deck in the summer with eastern exposure. In the winter (most of the year) it’ll be in a window facing west.

A or B? Thoughts?

I hate to be That Guy, but I picked up a couple of P. afra in a mallsai pot from Meijer that weren't too far off from that plant. Total cost for the pot of two - about twenty dollars.
 

Bearded_Jiggs

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I hope you've found Adam Lavigne's blog.
Precisely the research I was speaking of, very informative! I've read and re-read his posts on the p. afra and I'm fairly certain it has helped me with keeping my new plants alive. Yesterday was initial watering/fertilizing after dry potting them, hoping to see the leaves swell up a bit today when I check on them after work!

I figured they're something I like, that may thrive in my microclimate, so I figured I should start collecting as many as I can. Before I made the Lowe's trip I had actually planted a few cuttings that "fell on the floor" at my local Wal-Mart. :D I'm glad I went ahead and bought some living stuff though, because though they're still green, I'm not sure if the cuttings are going to survive.
 

Solaris

Shohin
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Before I made the Lowe's trip I had actually planted a few cuttings that "fell on the floor" at my local Wal-Mart. :D I'm glad I went ahead and bought some living stuff though, because though they're still green, I'm not sure if the cuttings are going to survive.

Don't feel bad if they don't make it. I've found that my success rate with little cuttings less than a couple of inches long is really, really low. It's even worse if I didn't take them off of a healthy plant.
Nothing at Wal-Mart is healthy.

Something I found to help survival rates, at least a little bit, was to cut the bottom off of a clear, colorless soda bottle, take the cap off, and put it over the cutting. It seems to hold just enough humidity in that the thing doesn't die, but permits enough ventilation that the thing doesn't die. You can also put them in more light that way (less worry about desiccation), which seems to encourage the cuttings rooting. They seem to like it when I lay them on a bed of sand, wound open to the air until it starts to grow roots. Once they start kicking out roots, I bury the roots in the sand.
Even as rootless cuttings, though, they'll hold on to life for a while. One of them went three months before it started wilting and finally kicked the bucket. Pretty impressive for a little piece only a couple of segments long.
 
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