Whacked my Jade
tride26
13 years ago
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Ron1017
13 years agoparacelsus
13 years agoRelated Discussions
Whacked my Jade - hopefully correctly?
Comments (9)You can't just slap your jade out in the sun or it'll burn for sure. I usually start acclimating mine in spring, by putting them out when it's sunny, and the temps get into the mid 60's or higher. I start with an hour, then after a few times out, 2 hours, then 3, and so on. At this point, you can keep it out, but keep it in the shade to start. Even an hour or 2 of morning sun would be good. I don't know what your situation for outside placement is, so it's hard to say. Basically though, start with an hour of sun, and work your way up, with a few days for each exposure time. Jades can handle full sun after acclimation, although I find that mine perform best when in full sun from sun-up, until around 3 or 4PM, then shade the rest. You'll know it's happy when the edges of the leaves get a little reddish in color. As for temperatures, I like to bring mine in if the nightime lows are going to be less then 55. As for high temperatures, from what I have read, once you get above 90, they tend to go dormant, so a hot & humid attic isn't really ideal. I don't know how true this is, because I'm in Wisconsin, where we average about 2 days a year in the 90's. In fact, last year, we had none. The key is that jades like sun, which is why I get mine outside even on those odd warmups in early spring, then bring them in. I don't leave them out full time until nightime lows stay 55 and above. For the rest of the year, they sit in a south window in my kitchen, with typical home temperatures. Mine grow all year, although MUCH slower in winter. Provide lots of sun in summer, and you may get rewarded with flowers in late fall. Joe...See MoreJade Wacking Theory
Comments (11)Jeff, I'm also in your group "I just likes to cut 'em." My personal reason behind "whacking" my Jades is simple, I like them small and more bonsai style(short and wide if possible)more treelike form is my favorite. So it is a personal choice for me...if the trunk gets thicker well...that's even better! They grow so slow for me anyway, I might as well keep them in small pots, easier for me to move them around during the wet and very humid rainy season in summer and the occasional frost we get. Zachman, I can only comment from my own personal experience, but my Jades only grow and root best in late fall to early Spring, this is also the best time for me to do any "whacking". Once our temps starts to reach close to 80ð consistently my Jades pretty much goes dormant. For me that's between April through mid November...my growth comes to a grinding halt. So you can see why my Jades grows SO slow, I have a very short growing season. I do have to say that most of the time I've whacked my Jades, the trunk has gotten thicker. Coincidence?? I'm not sure, but I'm glad it does....See MoreHelp with my Jade
Comments (14)IG34 - Don't be afraid to go ahead and whack it back now if you want. I usually do a few of mine in the early/late fall and new leaves start to emerge almost immediately. By spring, they're usually starting to look pretty decent. After a few annual whackings, the trunk usually looks fabulously thick and the foliage "head" is thick and compact. Yours sounds HUGE - you must live where you can grow it outside or have a lot of room... I keep mine smallish because they have to come in every winter and I don't have a lot of space and DO have a LOT of other plants. The key with Jades is keeping them compact, giving them ALL the sun you can, and keeping them outside until a hard freeze. Here's one of mine less than a year after I whacked it right back to the trunk, not a leaf left on it... ...and about 2 years after the "whacking"... Jades don't need big root systems - it's just a matter of balancing the foliage above the rootball, so a pruning should help you with that. This one is in an 8x12" bonsai pot... This little 'Hobbit' got whacked back radically and looked like this 6 months later... It has a nice canopy of foliage on it now (though I haven't a recent photo of it...) and the trunk has thickened nicely. The thick trunk is attractive and very functional in balancing the weight of the foliage. And I agree - show us a photo of your huge Jade when you get a chance! Denise in Omaha...See MoreJade Plant -New Thread
Comments (35)Randy, I appreciate your apology. You have to understand that you use jades in a different way. You say you "have a little higher standard of material" and you also said "different strokes for different folks"...well I personally don't like bonsai'd jades, just like you don't like my tree, but we all have different opinions (and by the way I would never say that unless asked...but I'm saying it now to make a point, so I apologize if you took any offense to that). I have an adult tree that I nurtured back to health and that I love very much. When you say "ideal quality material", that sounds very foreign to me. I just have houseplants. I don't sell them or make them into bonsai. And if they are not "ideal", I learn to love them or I try and fix them. In this case, I was simply asking if the drooping branches are dangerous for the tree...I wasn't asking if you or anyone else liked it. I was too afraid of speaking up at the time, but your "compost" comment was hurtful and unneccessary. I've done nothing but the right thing for this jade, and I know how to take care of a jade...but I can't help it if the previous owners caused the branches to look so strangly, and I can't help it if I happen to like it! Yes, I know it's from not being in enough sun, but the damage was done. Anyway, my question was answered (with lack of aesthetic opinion, which is how it should be unless asked)...and it is not healthy to have those dangly branches, so I pruned my tree, and I'm happy I did so. Gnome, Thank you for your constructive advice. I agree...a nice heavy trunk is worth working with. I'm doing everything I can to keep it healthy, which is why I pruned it. It's growing on me, even though I did like the "craziness" of it! To each his own, right? But when I was told it could be harmful for the plant (the branches could break off in random places from being top heavy), I decided to do what's best for it. And my cuttings are rooting now, but you're advice about keeping them upright was helpful for my next pruning (I didn't realize that's why people keep them upright!). Anyway, thanks for your comments and advice. And I do plan on putting the plant outside after the last frost. Gabi...See Moregreenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
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