They should root without any soil.
I'd personally wait for the first tiny roots to erupt before potting the cuttings. And remember, they don't need any water until they have a good root-system.

If you leave them standing in an empty terracotta pot, they'll start rooting on their own. Give them a few more weeks.

Cactus soil with pumice, Perlite, gravel, grit is exactly what you want. When the roots are showing, and you're ready to pot the cuttings, put them into the soil and give them another week without watering, just to be sure that any damaged roots have calloused sufficiently.

Then water thoroughly, and allow to dry out between waterings. Every week to week and a half in summer, every ten to thirty days in winter (approximate schedule only, not taking into account specific regions).

Josh

hi. Are you serious? Really? Do nothing at all to them? Just put them into a clay pot...and let them devlope roots?

No misting or rooting hormone or soil? Just stand them up in a clay pot and wait for roots to show? This will happen?
Not that I dont trust you..but anyone else go this way and think that this will be the way to go?

This has worked for you Josh? On big cuttings? No just little tiny cuttings. I mean the 'Morgans Beauty' is like a small fat limb,and the 'Hot Lips' is like a small bushy cutting.

Just stand them up in a clay pot? When might roots show up? And when do I put them into soil? Won't roots that devlope just dry out and die? I have never heard of this.

They'll develop just fine.
One GardenWeb member got a cutting six-inches in diameter! I guess it took a few months to root, and a few more months before all of the leaves were characteristically green and turgid again.

Do a search on "HUGE jade cutting" - you'll see what I mean.

If you're in Florida, keep the cuttings out of hot sun.

Here, in northern California, I simply set my cuttings on top of some sandy soil in a cool but bright window-sill. I didn't mist the cuttings, I didn't use any hormone. After about a month, I had quarter-inch to half-inch roots - two to four root-nubs near the bottom of the cuttings. This was this winter, so spring weather should prove for even better rooting.

Share some picture if you can.

Josh

pls don't do what I did but my big
calloused jades would root in a week or two in warm water.

Just be patient, they'll root.
If the cuttings are top heavy, keep them supported.
The less worry, the better!

Josh

I have them standing in a pot together. I just dont see how they wont die. They are already cuttings. So the leaves will start to drop off...the stems will start to stretch,from lack of sunlight on them,since they are in shade standing in the pot. God knows how long these people cut them off the plants. I have no idea,and they dont answer emails,so I cant ask. I was shocked that I got that after 6 weeks of waiting! They are the worst sellers on Ebay I have ever encountered. Well..they are standing up in the pot and I guess I wait to see what happens. All I can see happening is them loosing leaves and stretching to get to the light and then I have to cut them back and ruin the look of them,they look great now. But cut back,they will look like uneven stumps,or get even more top heavy. but if you all say so, i'll do it.

I think you need to take a few deep breaths and ease off a little on the caffeine. :-)

I've rooted literally hundreds of ovata by taking small tip cuttings, laying them down in trays, and ignoring them for a month or so.

Shade is just fine. They have no roots, so why do they need sun? That would desicate them quickly and then no cuttings. They are not going to get leggy there because they have no roots, so they cant grow.

Once they have roots, pot them up and move them where they get morning sun for an hour or so. After a few weeks give them more sun.

You constant negative ranting has made me cut down on my caffeine this morning.

randy

Hi FB,

I am also one of the people who says that these Jades can be left upright, dry in empty clay pots, no mix, no nothing.

It works fine, takes abt a month or more, depending on the temps & the season. No rooting hormone, no water, no nothing!! This is how the plant naturally roots, either by dropped leaves taking root or by whole chunks of the plant falling off & taking root.

They have all the water & nutrients they need in their fat, fleshy stems (that's why they're fat & fleshy). After a month or two you'll see some roots & you can pot up in mix as suggested above.

You can even pot them up dry at that point & wait until you see new growth on top before you water.

Pls. be reminded that the nature of succulents is their ability to hold water in reserve in their stems & leaves. They are not fragile or delicate plants & will be just fine; the less you fret & fuss w/ them the better.

I've seen this technique of standing plants up in empty dry clay pots used w/ Aloes, which can survive months like this. I've also done same w/ Sans. (Snake) plants.

You really need to give it time, try & ignore the plant for a while (couple of wks at least) & have some faith in Nature.

Pirate Girl, rjj1, and Grennman are 100% correct. Jades are probably the EASIEST of succulents to grow and root. There one big enemy is too much water. I have some odd pieces that have been sitting outside in the cold for a couple months. Pirate Girl explains it the best. Cactus cuttings can also be rooted the same way.

I discovered this myself by accident. One year, I whacked back a big Jade that had gotten a little leggy and had dozens of cuttings. I potted a bunch up, but ran out of places to put them all, and left the rest sitting on my kitchen counter. I kept pushing them to the back of the counter, putting off potting them, but not having the heart to toss them out. Pretty soon, I noticed all these fat white roots sprouting! Piece of cake!

But do stand them up because if left sitting on their side, they will sometimes try to "right" themselves upright which gives them a bended look when you do pot them up. If it makes you more comfortable, you can stand them in a pot with just a bit of soil in the bottom that you can mist every few days. They'll probably root a bit faster that way. You'll still need to support a large cutting once you pot it up, until it develops a root system that will support it.

Denise in Omaha