Being that I lost the fukien tea I've posted about here over the past few years, I still have the pot (about 4 inches deep and probably 7-8 long) so was wondering if maybe mini jade (portulacaria) would be a good choice? I have a large jade (crassula) but assume that cuttings of that will not work well as bonsai, especially in so small a pot. I've seen jades with real small leaves but am assuming this is probably portulacaria. Advice or suggestions? I don't think I want to try another fukien, nor am I looking for something that requires water every few days like the fukien seemed to.
Any thoughts on growing mini jade as bonsai?
- Thread starter three4rd
- Start date
Firstflush
Chumono
No issue at all growing a portulacaria or a crassula in a pot that size. Small leaves immediately with the port and will take a while with crass.
Forsoothe!
Imperial Masterpiece
Both make good houseplants and pretty good bonsai in that they can be clip & grow shaped and defoliated periodically. Forget wiring because what passes for wood (I don't even know what its proper term is), it can be bent with wire, but compound bends is asking for trouble and wire marks are forever.
This Jade forest is a recombobulation of several houseplants of a snowbird that had them for 20+ years and spent winters in FL (them, not the plants). You can butcher the roots and drive nails sideways into the stumps for anchor leverage. These plants went from 8" deep terracotta to this pot ~2 3/4" deep.
This Jade forest is a recombobulation of several houseplants of a snowbird that had them for 20+ years and spent winters in FL (them, not the plants). You can butcher the roots and drive nails sideways into the stumps for anchor leverage. These plants went from 8" deep terracotta to this pot ~2 3/4" deep.
Which would you recommend? The crassula is the simpler option cause I already have a large supply of it- figured I could cut off some of the smaller pieces, let them form a callous then put in the pot I had the fukien in. My usual potting soil mix or bonsai soil?
Wow! They're both lovely. Driving nails into the stumps??? Above or below ground level?
Forsoothe!
Imperial Masterpiece
As out of sight as possible.
canadianlights
Yamadori
If you have the crassula available, then go for it! However, you'd probably need a fairly large tree to pull it off in proportion. Portulacaria works great as well, they are lovely and grow vigorously. I feel like portulacaria afra is more tree-like, but each to their own.
lol....I just have a hard time imagining putting a nail through a jade stem. So you do this to hold stems together and prevent them from falling over? I'm a bit confused on exactly what you do there.
canadianlights
Yamadori
They're actually pretty easy to find as a common house plant if you check the succulent section of garden nurseries.
If not, then you can buy one, they can last in the mail as long as it is shipped properly. Just be careful not to buy from those e-bay sellers from Israel/anywhere outside of your country. The feds will come knocking on your door and ask you to destroy it ahahahaha (no joke tho for real).
JoeR
Masterpiece
Wigerts bonsai, schley bonsai, and Facebook auction pages often have nice ports. You would be safe getting one from any of them
I've always found jade to be relatively shallow rooted anyway, so I can see where you would have been able to move it from the 8" pot to this smaller one. I'm sad to have had to get rid of the dead fukien, but I'm encouraged to try jade in there. I've already taken several cuttings from my jade and potted them to sell at our church flea market - usually just one stem to a small plastic pot. 50-cent sticker goes on each and people snap 'em up.
Thanks...I see I already have Wigerts bookmarked - probably someone on a different thread recommended it.
Eckhoffw
Masterpiece
IKEA keeps them in stock. Good size bunch for like 20 dolla. If yer close to one.
Firstflush
Chumono
The jade would be a fun little project.
Maybe folks can chime in on how long sufficient leaf reduction takes place.
In the yard for many many years, zero care and it only gets rain for irrigation here in Southern California.
Maybe folks can chime in on how long sufficient leaf reduction takes place.
In the yard for many many years, zero care and it only gets rain for irrigation here in Southern California.
Attachments
I use cactus/succulent soil for mine.
just.wing.it
Deadwood Head
I like them!
And wiring is possible.....they will bounce back a bit, but if you stay in top of it it will hold eventually.
Here is mine.
www.bonsainut.com
And wiring is possible.....they will bounce back a bit, but if you stay in top of it it will hold eventually.
Here is mine.
Little Spekboom... then and now.
Little Spekboom 2015: Little Spekboom 2016: Little Spekboom Today:
Fantastic idea! I have a bag that I only used a small portion of for a project a few years ago.
Firstflush...pretty cool!
Justwingit....where do all those wires attach - just on the bottom of the pot somewhere? By the way - that pot looks EXACTLY like the one I have that the fukien came in!
What I'm seeing in the pics...are these crassula or portulacaria? What I'd hope to avoid here is to have this coming out looking like simply another jade plant only in a bonsai pot. Plus I really like the small leaves - not sure there is any way to do that with crassula (?) I'd like to also be able to try some training / shaping, etc. but I have NO experience with any sort of wiring, root pruning, and so forth. The fukien, of course, came with wiring - which I really never touched other than when I had to cut it (at the bottom where it was all connected) to take it out and transplant (hoping it would come back - not successful though). I did rewire it back in the best I could.
Must all wiring go through the pot and out the bottom holes like was the case with mine? There are two small screens in the pot - one above each hole. I think I had one wire running through both of them and out the bottom so the screens stayed in position above the drainage holes. Other than that, I've always just been a houseplant guy so much of this is new to me.
From what I see here, looks like, if using crassula, you pretty much cut the leaves back to the stem, thus encouraging smaller growth.
Justwingit....where do all those wires attach - just on the bottom of the pot somewhere? By the way - that pot looks EXACTLY like the one I have that the fukien came in!
What I'm seeing in the pics...are these crassula or portulacaria? What I'd hope to avoid here is to have this coming out looking like simply another jade plant only in a bonsai pot. Plus I really like the small leaves - not sure there is any way to do that with crassula (?) I'd like to also be able to try some training / shaping, etc. but I have NO experience with any sort of wiring, root pruning, and so forth. The fukien, of course, came with wiring - which I really never touched other than when I had to cut it (at the bottom where it was all connected) to take it out and transplant (hoping it would come back - not successful though). I did rewire it back in the best I could.
Must all wiring go through the pot and out the bottom holes like was the case with mine? There are two small screens in the pot - one above each hole. I think I had one wire running through both of them and out the bottom so the screens stayed in position above the drainage holes. Other than that, I've always just been a houseplant guy so much of this is new to me.
From what I see here, looks like, if using crassula, you pretty much cut the leaves back to the stem, thus encouraging smaller growth.
Last edited:
Similar threads
