sorry, my phone never wants to let me upload photos properly.

The other side.

Works for me! Gives me time to research the matter a little better too. Thank you! Sorry for the newbie questions, but I really appreciate having a place to ask them and people to answer! Next spring it will find itself spaced out in a big squat pot, think I want to go for the jade forest look. I am so glad the poor thing stayed alive for me.

Kim
The plants look pretty good, but I think they could use more light? I see every set of leaves far apart on the stems - that indicates lack of light.
You could separate them all, or just a few or grow a 'forest'. Nothing wrong with the way they are, but remember that if planted close together, the leaves will grow more on sides with room around and possibly end up with lopsided plants - JMO of course.
Rina

Kim, not sure what you mean exactly by 'big' pot, I would suggest increasing pot size in stages. A higher soil-to-root ratio means the soil stays wet longer, the growth rate slows some, and there is more risk of too much water. Thanks for the reminder, though, how tough these plants are!

ez

Legginess first, it hated the brighter window I had it in. I was worried about it being leggy too, it might look that way because of all the leaves it lost and the number of stems? Here are some closer pictures.

Pot size- the pot I have in question is bigger in diameter but smaller in volume than the one it is in. Which is tall, and ridiculous for a jade but its what I had. And when it comes to the kind of crimes I am inclined to commit towards a houseplant, "overwatering" has never come close to making the list. And now I have gotten so hooked on my little jungle, I am a little obsessive about making sure everything is watered properly. It's survived this long. ;) But all the same makes a good argument for repotting this year.

Bad perspective with my hand on that one, and I have big hands. It's too big. What I am thinking of is long, rectangular, 2-3 inches deep, with more open surface area on top. Similar (or maybe exactly, not sure) to a bonsai planter. Good advice all the same! Oh, and its soil sucks too. I would like to replace it with something coarser, its in miracle grow potting soil or something like that. Even my Hoya mix of small orchid bark, perlite, and a bit of nice soil would be an improvement I am sure.

Good plan for the pot, I think. How exactly did it not like the brighter window? In nature they grow in hot, dry, very sunny conditions. Perhaps it needed some time to acclimate to the brighter window? Not sure w/o more information.

ez

The leaves started to turn slightly yellow. Oh, hmm. There was a time when I put too much water on it, I take back previous comment. That may have been the real culprit. I have learned so much recently on these forums and other websites, if it wasn't for folks like you guys it would be dead like disco by now. Your point makes a lot is sense, CAM photosynthetic pathway and all that. (I am two terms away from a botany degree, but they don't teach us how to grow them. ;) ) Anyways, I will move it to the bright window today. Anything I should watch out for?

Put my thin bamboo shade between it and the window, will gradually open it entirely over the next several days or so since it is particularly hot here right now.

"Dead like disco", I laughed hard at that! Though in all honesty, I still like disco(yes, I'm old enough that Saturday Night Fever was a coming-of-age movie for me).

I've never tested it myself, but I've read to keep plants several inches back from the glass, it being said that the glass magnifies the rays and can scorch leaves. The only other thing I can think of is that with brighter light and better substrate, the plant's watering needs will change and should be monitored closely. I like your plan with the bamboo!

ez

The Jades are fine....they just need a more porous mix and more light. They need as much light as possible if grown indoors. They come from the Great Karoo in South Africa, growing on dry and rocky hillsides in full sun.

Josh

Kim
Yellow leaves were most likely sign of different problem (perhaps as you suspect, temporary overwatering), not lack of sunlight. I don't think you need to acclimatize them to light coming thru the window - intensity of light is much less. If you have means of keeping them outdoors, they would benefit greatly.
Where are you located? (hot shouldn't be problem either, unless very hot&humid).

These are outdoors, full sun from about 10:00am until sundown:

Since they have to come inside for the winter, I keep them on shelves in large windows, with lots of supplementary lights on for 16hrs.

Rina

I could put them it on my porch for the summer here in Spokane, but it is right by my organic veggie garden and I fear an infestation. I need to find a decent pesticide that wont make me feel like an ecoterrorist. My stance on organic is much less rigid these days now that I have a more scientific understanding of things, but I still can't go drenching the earth in poison if I can avoid it. I will lift the shade. As for substrate, any recommendations? A new pot has to wait, college student budget and all that. Hoping my orchid bark perlite and soil mix is ok? It is mostly perlite and bark.

oh yeah, and Eastern Washington. Zone 6, hot and dry in the summer. And disco is kinda fun, I will admit. ;)

Kim
what type of infestation are you fearing?

I have many plants immediately next to succulents - olives, bay, brugmansias, figs, collocasias, ficus benjamina, palm, amorphophalluses, I can go on and on (these all have to go indoors for the winter); and many perennials. Also strawberries, herbs and some veggies.

Ooh the usual kind of aphids, mites, mealy bugs sort of thing. Mealy bugs not as much as I haven't seen them in my garden ever. Definitely have the others though, wretched things. I suppose, something like that would be easy to spot on a jade, not as many hiding spaces as some of the more leafy stuff. I just really, really, really want to avoid having to do battle with bugs in the 20+ plants in my house. (Also part of the reason why my home is spider friendly, they pay rent far as I am concerned)

Still, I aim to keep most of my plants inside. My veggies are getting thrashed enough as it is currently. Maybe I am over thinking it, I know a lot of people leave plants outside in the summer and they do fine. Still... Plant eating bugs in my house... Ick. I am far from squeamish, but that sounds like an ordeal I want to avoid as long as possible.

Also thrips, I had to repot my twit of a dumb cane because of those. Haven't seen them in others yet, I have been checking daily. Hurray for diatamaceous earth. I should also note I have tons of windows and a very tiny AC unit in my bedroom. My house is so hot a couple of hobbits ran in and threw a ring in it the other day. We have 90-108 degree weather for the foreseeable future I think.

Kim
That is funny...lol
I agree with ICK for bugs. I also leave all spiders alone (indoors and out).
I guess I have been lucky so far, didn't have to fight mealy bugs or spider mites.I believe I had some spider mites on couple of occasions, and immediately used the spray of water+rubbing alcohol - that got rid of them (maybe they weren't spider mites?) But I try to catch anything early.
Few plants seem to be attractors to scale (in my case it is ficus Benjamina also a bay, sometimes palm and few succulents), but I deal with it same way. It has never been a big problem. In many years of having tropicals (that I keep outdoors and bring in for winter), I don't remember loosing plant to them.
Most of the bugs you mentioned show up on plants grown indoors, seemingly out of nowhere.
One of the things that I believe plants benefit from is good air circulation. Outside, they get that much better than indoors. And the wind also strengthens the stems/trunks. Again, JMO.

Nothing wrong with growing plants indoors, many ppl do it very succesfully and much better than me, and many don't have outdoors to keep them. I just can't wait in spring for warm enough weather to put them out there, to get air, more light and even the rain water.

Rina

We don't get much summer rain, but I do open the front and back door every evening to help the air flow. I suppose, on that note probably doesn't help minimize the bugs. Maybe after a few days on my window sill I will move it to the porch... It would get sun nearly all day out there and probably enjoy it. Probably worth the risk, just to give it the chance at all that nice growth and maybe convince me to let my Hoya carnosa out for the summer too... I want that sucker to take over my living room.

Just make sure you don't put them in whole-day-full-sun immediately, even if by the window indoors, outdoor sunlight is so much more intensive it could cause burn.
Pls. post photos of plants progress...
ps: I would double check for hoyas full sun exposure (there is hoya forum here too).
Rina

I am very familiar with that forum, it is what got me hooked here! I will be sure to post updates too! Taking the advice to slowly adjust to full sun, my jade is in a western window where it will be baked this evening, after a few days or so I will transition it outside to my screened in porch. (where I will undoubtedly be inspecting it daily for pests like some kind of confused chimpanzee). I will keep an eye out for a suitable pot, any advice on soil?

Kim
You make me laugh...I don't have a chance in hell to see chimpanzee around here, but squrrels, chipmunks, ground hogs, wild turkeys, bunnies and deer are frequent visitors. Luckily, only chipmunks digs around plants, and I did see tiny mouse nibbling on a succulent leave last year.
I like really gritty mix and use grit, perlite and turface in various combinations. I have few pots that I had added small amount of coir to these ingredients. You could add some bark or cacti & succulent bagged soil - I will not advice about since I don't use them - hopefully others that do will post.
Rina

You can also pot up the plants separately, as you have several in that one pot. I personally prefer the one stem per pot, myself. But it is a matter of what you like. A good well draining potting medium and the brightest light you can give it will make them grow well. I keep most of mine inside, with squirrels and other pests eager to munch on the few I put outside for the summer. Mine thrive in a south facing window, like this one, one of my best. Good luck with yours, these grow well without putting too much thought into it, as long as you take care of the proper soil and proper lighting.

Christopher

Oh dear. In the light i noticed lots of tiny spider web fragments running between my stalks, and that there are small dark spots on the underside of some of the leaves. I let spiders live freely in my house, and couldn't find any mites... But are spider mites something that would be visible early on?? What should I do?

As for chipmunks and that, I have a murderous cat that takes care of that problem. Tried not to let her out, but she is having none of it.

Spiders are no problem. Just rinse off the plant to remove webbing.

Josh

Spider mites make white webs that usually look like a cotton ball - google the image. They are very tiny and move very fast if disturbed. You may not be able to see actual mite early enough.
Small dark spots on underside of leaves - are they moving? If so, they need to be get rid off.
Could you take close-up pic?

Christopher is suggesting single plant per pot as I did. He has some harder-to-find jades, the coloring on his plants is great. As I mentioned, make sure if you leave few together that they have enough space around.
Josh has some beauties and I think he is master of chopping:-)...
Rina

No, this doesn't look like cotton balls. Probably a regular spider, I don't have a good camera for the spots, I will just keep a sharp watch. I have pretty keen eyes, and saw no movement and shook sections of stalk over white paper to try to get anything to drop with no luck. I am probably being overly paranoid, just wasn't expecting to see webbing over it. The spots are likely from me messing with newly developing leaves, but like I said going to keep a sharp eye on things.

I love the Praying Mantis, spiders, lady bugs(she ain't no lady!), and whatever else feasts on the bugs that feast on my plants, makin' 'em dead like disco!

ez

Hahaha! I am pretty sure reading about all these potential houseplant pests gave me some kind of horticulturist version of medical students disease, diagnosing all the things. Clearly, it is cancer of the everything. Anyhoo, thanks for all the advice! My jade seems quite happy in its new spot, and I swear the leaves look like they are a brighter green already. Yay!

I wish I had more than one south facing window, the one I have is above my kitchen sink and mostly blocked by a maple tree. Western light will have to do I am afraid. I have a dozen baby Hoya that are going to get big and be competing for prime spots (going to have to get a grow light at some point, all there too it. Can't wait for the police to come asking about that one, ha!) Having 8 to experiment on with pruning techniques sounds like fun, but then I need more pots. :P

Another question, I have clear plastic cups roughly four inches wide and tall I use for rooting my Hoya cuttings in. Would these be alright for temporary planters to separate the stems into until i can afford proper pots?

Only if you put a whole in the bottoms of the cups for drainage...

It may have been recommended already - here is current thread about starting/growing a jade forest (by ez = breathnez)

jade forest-click here

I should have used the bamboo blinds sooner, that window is evil. Noticed one leaf got burned pretty bad, turned the plant and covered it with a sheer curtain but still getting burned. Time for the bamboo. Anyways, will those leaves recover or should I pick them off?

Kim

The burned leaves will not 'change' to unburned...what kind of light you get from that window that is burning the leaves?

I am repeating myself...jades grow very well in full sun. So unless you are bringing the plant from dark place, it should be able to take sunlight.

Full western exposure, its been right around 100 degrees. I transitioned it to that window from one 5 feet away over several days, and it is clearly getting cooked. The temps have dropped for the next few days, maybe the rest and heavier shading in that window will help. The leaves are clearly being cooked. How long does it typically take to transition them? I am a bit unclear on that. I am thinking about moving it outside to my screened porch, and then from there into full sun.

Oh, and for the leaves affected, should I remove them or just leave them?

This is a puzzler! How many inches from the glass are the leaves that are getting burned?

ez

Definitely the closest ones, maybe 4 or 6 inches? I can pull the shelf further away. Otherwise it is doing good, growing well for me. But the burnt leaves are annoying, some only got wrinkled and I think will recover but the cooked ones will either fall off or carry battle scars. The window is unobstructed for at least a half mile, doesn't help. I will vary the shades and keep an eye on it.

Could it possibly be the temps - 'around 100 degrees', indoors, possibly not so good air circulation - that's why I keep saying outdoor is better. I can't and won't try to convince you since it is really difficult to judge your conditions.

I have hard time thinking that jade, 4-6" from the window, would be 'cooking' - but I am not there.

To acclimatize plant shouldn't take generally too long, BUT: longer it is in less light, being much sunnier & warmer right now - longer it would take. I put all my jades (too many) outdoors beginning of May, they were in only morning sun for few days, ever since in full sun. Do not have any being burned. Some have darker leaves than others, but no burning.

I just took these photos - sun starts shining in the area where they are just after 10:00am, until sundown (it is 7:00am when pics taken) - they have been in same loc since May:

I added Echeveria's photos to see that they really are in full sun - otherwies this echie wouldn't have that dark color:

Outdoors I had several plants quarantined with a mealy bug infestation so couldn't the plant out to that space. Or rather didn't want to.

That leaf looks pretty cooked to me. And it is a 20 foot or so straight shot away from my AC unit, and there is a big oscillating fan in between them as well, and a ceiling fan in this room. I also open up the house every evening when the sun starts to set until morning. Strangely, I have a spider plant baby in this window, and a rooted ZZ plant cutting in the same window with no problems. This appeared too before I treated everything for bugs with Safer, and what I suspected as possible insect damage on this was minor and probably the result of me over thinking. Not sure if it makes a difference, this is about 4.5 feet up off the floor on a wire shelf.
I do not currently have the ability to take all of my houseplants outside each year, if I did I would. I have to be able to put it in an area that is protected from dogs, deer, and the occasional drunken crack head. If I take it outside, and I might now that the mealies have been dealt with, I am again going to have to go through the transition. Seems to be a lot of conflicting advice there, and I get the reasons. I will just go slow, and pay attention to my plant.

I have read 10-12 inches away from glass with direct exposure. I think I've violated that rule 'a time or two', but never 4-6 inches. It's something to consider.

ez

Thank you! It is on my back porch for now, the light is much less direct. I will also pull that shelf further away from the wall. I have three windows on that side of the house and for whatever reasons this one in particular just gets hammered. I will give it some time out here, then maybe move it over to my tomatoes growing in containers since my cattle dog already knows (sort of) to not stampede those. Poor pup, the yard is progressively getting taken over by plants he isn't supposed to trample. He does alright, but its much less sad when he shatters the occasional pot of annuals or mows down a bushy tomato plant than it would be for me if he offed a houseplant. Good thing he's cute. ;-)