Crazy Jade

Carol 83

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Last year I tossed some jade cuttings in a pot and put them by a window at work. I never pay any attention to it, except to throw some water on it occasionally. I was bored today, and took a look at it. Besides being crazy overgrown, it is sprouting roots all over. Guess I have a project for the winter. Anybody need any jade cuttings? Lol, I think I'm going to have a lot.jade today.jpg jade roots 2.jpg
 

music~maker

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Last year I tossed some jade cuttings in a pot and put them by a window at work. I never pay any attention to it, except to throw some water on it occasionally. I was bored today, and took a look at it. Besides being crazy overgrown, it is sprouting roots all over. Guess I have a project for the winter. Anybody need any jade cuttings? Lol, I think I'm going to have a lot.View attachment 165034 View attachment 165035

FYI - they start throwing roots out like that when their in-soil roots are having a problem. I'm guessing that you're soil is too organic - that often causes problems with them since it makes it easy to over water.

But it does look fairly healthy overall, aside from the air roots. You may want to upgrade to a more inorganic mix at some point. btw, if you have this growing strongly outdoors during the summer, you can cut the stalks back above pretty much any node and you'll get a strong response, even if you don't leave any foliage behind. Just fyi in case you'd like the branching to happen closer to the base of the trunk. Don't do anything that major over the winter though or you can get a lot of die back.

Going to have to split these guys up soon. Surprised by the growth and girth gained on the bathroom window sill.

View attachment 165037 View attachment 165038

You could split them up, or just prune them all back to create a small jade forest. If you prune each branch back to a healthy leaf pair, you'll very reliably get 1-2 new branches at the pruning location. If you keep doing this, and keep them pruned before anything gets too big, the overall leaf size will reduce over time.
 

Carol 83

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@music~maker I am sure you are spot on with your assessment. They are in plain old Miracle grow succulent soil. And the pot actually has no drainage holes. But before anyone jumps all over me for that... it was my grandma's pot, and it was just some leftover cuttings.... I was actually going to cut WAY back, so I appreciate the warning not to do it in the winter.
 

clevetromba

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FYI - they start throwing roots out like that when their in-soil roots are having a problem. I'm guessing that you're soil is too organic - that often causes problems with them since it makes it easy to over water.

But it does look fairly healthy overall, aside from the air roots. You may want to upgrade to a more inorganic mix at some point. btw, if you have this growing strongly outdoors during the summer, you can cut the stalks back above pretty much any node and you'll get a strong response, even if you don't leave any foliage behind. Just fyi in case you'd like the branching to happen closer to the base of the trunk. Don't do anything that major over the winter though or you can get a lot of die back.



You could split them up, or just prune them all back to create a small jade forest. If you prune each branch back to a healthy leaf pair, you'll very reliably get 1-2 new branches at the pruning location. If you keep doing this, and keep them pruned before anything gets too big, the overall leaf size will reduce over time.

I'm so glad you responded! I've been thinking of posting to ask about these very things. 1. will jade backbud on branches with no leaves and 2. what kind of soil do they like. You've answered both of those. Thanks!
My jade has become too leggy, is losing leaves, and is throwing out roots on the branches. I suppose I should repot with a more organic mix.

A third question occurs to me: Do jades respond well to wiring?
 

music~maker

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@music~maker I am sure you are spot on with your assessment. They are in plain old Miracle grow succulent soil. And the pot actually has no drainage holes. But before anyone jumps all over me for that... it was my grandma's pot, and it was just some leftover cuttings.... I was actually going to cut WAY back, so I appreciate the warning not to do it in the winter.
Just be sure to let it dry out a bit between waterings. If the leaves feel soft, you just went too far - water it thoroughly and let it dry out again. It's WAY easier to water jades when they're in proper soil imho. I won't grow them in regular soil ever again. But yeah, they'll grow in pretty much anything.
 

music~maker

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I'm so glad you responded! I've been thinking of posting to ask about these very things. 1. will jade backbud on branches with no leaves and 2. what kind of soil do they like. You've answered both of those. Thanks!
My jade has become too leggy, is losing leaves, and is throwing out roots on the branches. I suppose I should repot with a more organic mix.

A third question occurs to me: Do jades respond well to wiring?
1. Jades will backbud at the chop site when you prune them, but if you get them growing strongly and then regularly prune new growth back to leaf pairs, they will also push shoots from arbitrary locations on the trunk. You can develop decent ramification on them over time, but it takes a few seasons before you really get it heading in the right direction.

2. Mostly inorganic you mean. I use a 2:1:1 turface: pine bark: grit mix and it works great. But I've used all kinds of things for jades. It just needs to drain really well. Soak them when you water them, then let them completely dry out before watering again. They send out roots when they're dry, so you can leverage this knowledge to get them to develop roots quicker.

3. Yes, you can wire jades, and they will hold a bend nicely. You just have to be careful not to snap them when you wire them. Gentle bends. And watch the wire closely so you catch it before it ever really bites in.

Also, if your jade keeps getting leggy it's probably not getting enough sunlight. They do very well outdoors for the growing season, with the caveat that when you put them out, you need to acclimate them to outdoor sun before leaving them out in full sun all day (to avoid sunburn). If you can't do that, at least put it in the brightest window you have in your house.
 

Carol 83

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This is another part of the same original plant. It's leaves are much smaller.JADE 2.jpg
 

ohiogrown

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FYI - they start throwing roots out like that when their in-soil roots are having a problem. I'm guessing that you're soil is too organic - that often causes problems with them since it makes it easy to over water.

But it does look fairly healthy overall, aside from the air roots. You may want to upgrade to a more inorganic mix at some point. btw, if you have this growing strongly outdoors during the summer, you can cut the stalks back above pretty much any node and you'll get a strong response, even if you don't leave any foliage behind. Just fyi in case you'd like the branching to happen closer to the base of the trunk. Don't do anything that major over the winter though or you can get a lot of die back.



You could split them up, or just prune them all back to create a small jade forest. If you prune each branch back to a healthy leaf pair, you'll very reliably get 1-2 new branches at the pruning location. If you keep doing this, and keep them pruned before anything gets too big, the overall leaf size will reduce over time.
Are you sure that’s a root problem that makes it send the roots out? Mine seem to do it in high humidity situations.
 

music~maker

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Are you sure that’s a root problem that makes it send the roots out? Mine seem to do it in high humidity situations.

No, not 100% sure, but in my experience the ones I've worked on only seem to do this if it's a cutting that's desperately seeking water, or a potted jade where the roots in the soil aren't getting the plant what it needs, typically because of either over or under watering (and over watering is much, much more likely than under). There may be other situations that cause it to happen, but that's when I've seen it happen consistently.

In this particular case, given the very organic looking soil, my first guess is always over-watering since that's the #1 thing that people mess up when they start working with these - they treat them like other houseplants that actually want to sit in moist soil, and jades hate that. You really need to let them dry out in between waterings, which is why organic soil sucks for them - it becomes hydrophobic after every wet-dry cycle, so watering becomes more difficult than it needs to be.

Also, fwiw, OPs plant doesn't look like it's in a high humidity environment to me. Indoor environments are usually fairly dry unless it's a tropical greenhouse or something, but I'm guessing that's not the case here.
 

ohiogrown

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No, not 100% sure, but in my experience the ones I've worked on only seem to do this if it's a cutting that's desperately seeking water, or a potted jade where the roots in the soil aren't getting the plant what it needs, typically because of either over or under watering (and over watering is much, much more likely than under). There may be other situations that cause it to happen, but that's when I've seen it happen consistently.

In this particular case, given the very organic looking soil, my first guess is always over-watering since that's the #1 thing that people mess up when they start working with these - they treat them like other houseplants that actually want to sit in moist soil, and jades hate that. You really need to let them dry out in between waterings, which is why organic soil sucks for them - it becomes hydrophobic after every wet-dry cycle, so watering becomes more difficult than it needs to be.

Also, fwiw, OPs plant doesn't look like it's in a high humidity environment to me. Indoor environments are usually fairly dry unless it's a tropical greenhouse or something, but I'm guessing that's not the case here.
I was not talking about his I was actually talking about mine. Mine are in DE and I mist my plants twice a day. I’m not saying your right or wrong I’m just saying from me misting mine they seem to grow roots like that too. Also I know there are lots of different kinds of jades I don’t know if that has anything to with it.
 

music~maker

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I was not talking about his I was actually talking about mine. Mine are in DE and I mist my plants twice a day. I’m not saying your right or wrong I’m just saying from me misting mine they seem to grow roots like that too. Also I know there are lots of different kinds of jades I don’t know if that has anything to with it.

Oh, yeah, if you're misting them, that could probably do it. As I mentioned, I was just describing the reasons I've seen it happen, not ruling out other reasons why it could.

Not sure why you'd mist a jade though. If the leaves are plump, you can pretty much guarantee they have enough water to work with. The leaves on a jade are like little water storage tanks. And as far as I know, you won't ever get fully developed aerial roots like on a ficus, so not sure what the point of encouraging that would be.

I find jades seem to really thrive when neglected a bit, and left alone to bask in the warm, dry sun. They're probably about the lowest maintenance plant that I own. I've never misted one, and I hardly even bother with fertilizing them either. And they just keep thriving ...
 

ohiogrown

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Oh, yeah, if you're misting them, that could probably do it. As I mentioned, I was just describing the reasons I've seen it happen, not ruling out other reasons why it could.

Not sure why you'd mist a jade though. If the leaves are plump, you can pretty much guarantee they have enough water to work with. The leaves on a jade are like little water storage tanks. And as far as I know, you won't ever get fully developed aerial roots like on a ficus, so not sure what the point of encouraging that would be.

I find jades seem to really thrive when neglected a bit, and left alone to bask in the warm, dry sun. They're probably about the lowest maintenance plant that I own. I've never misted one, and I hardly even bother with fertilizing them either. And they just keep thriving ...
When I bring my stuff I for winter they all go to the same place. I have baseboard heat so I just mist everything to make sure the dry air is not causing problems. I know jades are from South Africa so they don’t actually need it but they get it anyways.
 

Carol 83

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I like the canopy of the larger planting @Carol 83 . I know nothing of Jade...but smaller pot smaller leaves? For the second tree.
I don't know, maybe. They are all parts of the same plant I picked up at the grocery store, just to play around with. The smaller one does get more direct sun, as shown by the red cast to the leaves.
 

Carol 83

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OPs plant doesn't look like it's in a high humidity environment to me.
Nope, sitting in my office. Even though I only water it once a week, the soil is probably staying too wet. I actually didn't think there was a problem, just thought I'd show those weird roots, lol.
 

music~maker

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Nope, sitting in my office. Even though I only water it once a week, the soil is probably staying too wet. I actually didn't think there was a problem, just thought I'd show those weird roots, lol.

You have to be really careful about over-watering with these, especially when they're indoors. They'll look fine until one day an entire trunk will just drop off. Then another. When they fail, they fail suddenly and spectacularly. Seeing aerial roots is one of my red flags that I always look for now.

If you're ever not sure about the watering, try letting it dry all the way out, and wait until just as the leaves start to feel soft before watering again. Then you'll have a good sense for just how often it needs water. Don't let the leaves completely deflate or anything, but these can sit dry for a lot longer than you'd think before they become unhappy. Too dry is almost always better than too wet with these.

One nice thing about them is that they start to self-correct almost immediately after they start getting the right conditions.
 
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