CALLING ALL JADE LOVERS
Comments (55)
bunnygurl
8 years agoNeil
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Roll Call to all SoCal lychee lover!
Comments (10)I am completely obsessed with lychees and personally feel they can thrive here in SoCal. I believe that many people don't know the intricacies of growing lychees. Many people like myself go to a nursery and purchase a tree due to an impulse buy and slowly watch the tree decline and tell all their friends that Lychees are difficult. Yes, our soil pH is a little high, our water is hard, the humidity is lower than Florida and the wind can severely damage the new leaves but there are easy ways around all of this. I live in San Diego and got into tropical fruit trees only several years but my family comes from a Lychee growing district in China and when I went back to China about 10 years ago and ate some fresh lychees, I was hooked. I am currently growing Sweetheart, Kwa Luk(Famous Hanging Green), two Kaimana trees, Ohia pink and Groff. My Sweetheart is the tree I've had the longest, I think its about 3-4 years old now and I got it as a toothpick. I've had it in a container the entire time and only planted it into the ground about 2 months ago. It is now about 4 feet tall and 6 feet wide. You can do a search for Sweetheart Lychee and I have pics of my tree from a couple years ago. It is about the same size because I had it in a pot the entire time and wanted it to stay small until I owned my own house. After planting my Sweetheart into the ground, it seemed much happier and has lots of new growth buds popping out. To counter our alkaline soil, I incorporated lots of organic matter into the soil including lots of peat moss to make the soil more acidic. At first, I was watering my Lychee trees with Reverse Osmosis water but later switched to normal tap water because I got lazy and did't notice any difference in the health of my tree. I don't feel humidity is much of an issue because my trees are healthy and my friend Phase001 whom also has a Sweetheart also has a healthy large tree that has fruited without any special added humidity. Wind damage is the major factor contributing to the slow growth of my trees. The smaller the tree, the more dangerous the wind is. Think of each leaf as a solar cell that collects energy from the sun and converts it into carbohydrates it can use for growth of new leaves and branches or fruits. The smaller the tree, the fewer leaves it has. When a trees leaves gets too old, it will shed the old leaves and sprout new growth from the internodes. If the weather is extremely windy during new growth periods, the new leaves will be wrinkly, tattered, dried and may fall off. Because the tree is small, it has little stored energy for another flush. If you don't protect the next flush, the tree can die or become extremely stunted because the few older leaves it has is not efficient at photosynthesis and it just spent a lot of energy on new growth that got wind damaged and fell off. Some important considerations when planting Lychees in SoCal are to incorporate lots of organic matter into your soil, innoculate the roots and rhizosphere with Mycorrhizal fungi/beneficial bacteria, innoculate with red/earthworms, use organic fertilizers and time the use of your fertilizers so you don't push too much vegetative growth late in the season. You want the tree to essentially run out of nitrogen well before the dormant period before winter. You also want to withhold water during the winter to depress vegetative growth and stimulate flowering. If you want to see a nice looking Sweetheart Lychee tree that has fruited in San Diego, do a search for Home Grown Lychees. There, you will find pics of the extremely large, absolutely delicious Sweetheart that Phase001 grew in his backyard. We did have to hand pollinate the flowers although I'm sure the bees did a lot of pollinating too. If growing in pots, I highly recommend using Smartpots or similar type air pruning containers although you will have to keep an eye for drying out of the soil. Simon...See MoreCalling all white cabinet lovers- what colors did you paint your
Comments (19)We used BM Revere Pewter as well. I tried 6 different gray/blue colors and it was the winner. What I LOVE about it is that it seems to change colors during the day depending on the lighting. I am now going to continue it into my living room. It's a great neutral color and that goes well with so many other colors. From STILL not finished kitchen From STILL not finished kitchen From STILL not finished kitchen...See MoreCalling all lithop lovers
Comments (2)Riley let me start off by saying I love your nails:). Now you may want to check the roots of that little Lithops to see if everything is ok. I don't want to be a Debbie downer, but it looks like one of the older leaves may have rotted away. If not sure take a pic and somebody will be able to tell what's going on:)....See MoreFor all you Jade plant lovers!
Comments (9)Rina, I would say the tree is a Portulacaria afra. The small leaf jade. Its been there for years. The other photos are of the larger leaf one. Thanks to all for the lovely comments. I will tell her as she is in her 90's now....See Moremarguerite_gw Zone 9a
8 years ago
breathnez
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agomarguerite_gw Zone 9a
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agomarguerite_gw Zone 9a
8 years agomarguerite_gw Zone 9a
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoNeil
8 years agorina_Ontario,Canada 5a
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoNeil
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoNeil
8 years agoBreathnez- I know what you mean. here is my crassula ovata. I know it's plain but, I rescued it from certain doom. i'm a little sort of..ok I am very proud of it! lol.
breathnez
8 years agoNeil
8 years ago
Crenda 10A SW FL
8 years agoAh, I'm with Richard. All of my babies are my favorite! LOL
In general, I really like Crosby's Compact. That's probably because I have done so well with them. They are really colorful in the winter, too!
But today's favorite Jade is this tricolor. It was looking horrible! The branches were bending and almost flat in the pot. The leaves were shriveling, too. I had thought all my plants were in gritty mix, but this one was still in 50/50 soil and perlite. And I am in my rainy season. I was surprised that the roots were still good. A careful repot in good gritty mix led to an astounding recovery. I let the plant sit out for a day, potted up and this picture is literally 3 days later!So for rebounding so quickly, this is my favorite plant of the day!
The end.
LOLNeil
8 years ago
ehuns27 7a PA
8 years agoYou will certainly get a lot of people's attention with a title like that here, Neil.
It is very hard to choose just one jade to call favorite because of how unique each type is. There is even always variation between the same plant.
If I had to choose a favorite I think I would choose... seriously just one?
Crassula ovata 'Denethor'. I have to go back to my original favorite even though right now I am digging my new 'Break Dancer' for similar reasons.
Here is my 'Denethor' today with some new growth coming in.
For comparison, the new growth is just smaller than a typical C. ovata leaf. These leaves get huge. I like it because it is very monstrose and you never know what you are going to get with new leaves. Ben had one pop out a 'Gollum' leaf once...
I am very interested in anything (you guessed it) monstrose, unique, or rare.
I couldn't help but add a couple extra pictures...
'Red Horn Tree' and 'Break Dancer' with the variegated C. ovata in the background.
Crassula arborescens 'Silver Dollar' forest. I like how chunky these plants get. It took me forever to find some. Nancy was very kind to send me my first one and I found these a short time after.
Just a few of my jades, to include a short and stocky C. ovata 'Gollum' with some very monstrose leaves :).
Richard, beautiful jades, as always. That 'Hobbit' is certainly different.
Great discussion! I'm looking forward to see what others post as well.
-Erica
marguerite_gw Zone 9a
8 years agorina_Ontario,Canada 5a
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoI am getting on the bandwagon :) My favorite is the NOID gift - received today, just potted up - from a super generous person...on a Monday the 13th-what a great day!...now I need ID please:
Rinaedited to correct the day...confused in Canada.
Neil
8 years agoehuns27 7a PA
8 years agoNeil
8 years agoNeil
8 years agorina_Ontario,Canada 5a
8 years ago
kaktuskris
8 years agoNeil, I think you are cheating with a title like that. You know you will get plenty of responses here.
Hard to chose a favourite. I might say C. arborescens, which you just don't really see much any more, with C. ovata everywhere.
My Denethor is one of my favourites as well,
But the variegated ones are nice also, as are the Gollum and Hobbits and their variations...
So I guess I would have to just say, I love ALL of them.
Christopher
Neil
8 years ago
deva33 Z8 Atlanta
8 years agoWell... Historically my tricolor has been my favorite. It's going through a few growing pains right now though...
I did a significant prune on it a few months back and I'm regretting it a little. Here is the before pic...
I know it was too heavy but it was purty!
But. I thinky new favorite is a little baby plant I received in the mail just today from a generous friend! I just got it potted up and the sun has already set so the lighting is poor but it's a beauty!
DevaNeil
8 years agodeva33 Z8 Atlanta
8 years ago
Litmuspaper (Andrew)
8 years agobunnygurl
8 years ago
I only have 2 Jades right now. I lost a whole bunch over the past 3.5 years when I was super focused on work and starting my fledgling home business. My favorite that I know of is Hummels Sunset but I don't have that one anymore so the one on top would have to be my favorite I own right now considering the state of my arborescens, however the first one is a new purchase of only a couple weeks ago while the arborescens has survived and stayed with me through all the good years before the work distractions and through the years of neglect during so I have a fonder attachment to it. The arborescens was much bigger but I chopped it right down. It was looking a little sad. Hoping it comes back real nice.
These are all the cuttings I got from it. Got about 10. Anyone want some? I've never had cuttings to share before but I'm willing to learn if anyone is looking for this plant and can't find it. I am looking at only keeping 2. My space for plants has been severely diminished due to the home business so I can't keep them all and it seems like a waste to toss them.
I'm absolutely loving everyone elses plants. Been a member on this forum for many a years but haven't posted in so long. This thread gave me the itch to come back.
Neil thanked bunnygurl
sowngrow (8a)
8 years agoI never had much interest in jades, but then I didn't realize there were so many varieties. Now I can't choose a favorite!
Neil thanked sowngrow (8a)
nanzjade z5 MA
8 years agoSo many beauties above! Richard it's precious & unique. Erica I'm in awe, all look fantastic....great monstrosities. Stonetreehouse amazing jade there. Christoper I love those albino leaves. Deva it's starting to fill in, I like the strong white on left, it'll be better in the end not being leggy. I have to find my courage and do something similar.
Goodness, many favorites... but these following stand out.
My oldest tricolors delights me with dark purples and pink highlights
This is the variegated sport my brother found. It is still struggling... it recently took a drink but then it rained twice last week and then saw a brown spot on a leaf. Further investigation shows the stem has some brown spots. Now indoors for a closer eye on it.
Ovata variegata (sold as Akai), I remember how ecstatic I was to find them, smiled entire ride home. I look forward to it growing... at times there's a reddish-purple hue on the edges.
I LOVE VARIEGATION....but still enjoy viewing the Silver Dollars for HUGE round leaves and the Arborescens undulatifolia Bluebird(?) for rarity and uniqueness. Also, I get a kick out of my trumpet shaped leaves from a hobbit/gollum monstrose form.Neil thanked nanzjade z5 MAmarguerite_gw Zone 9a
8 years ago
Tavar
8 years agosowngrow (8a)
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoehuns27 7a PA
8 years agosowngrow (8a)
8 years agoUser
8 years agoProbably Crassula ovata "Hummel's Sunset" or C. ovata "Crosby's Compact" (a small-leaved form). I think, I have the latter:
Guilherme Silva (Zone 9b/10a) Portugal
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoHi, this is my favorite jade. It's a Crosby's Compact isn't it?
This was when I bought it at the end of January. The second one was taken today.
bernardyjh
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoJust repotted all of Howard's cuttings (Gollum and Hobbit) had sent me the last time. Almost all of them have rooted, so I thought it was time to pot them into their new home and allow them to slowly establish themselves.
Last one's here is for you Neil, thanks for the cutting again!! It's a really beautiful tri-color jade.
Is it a hummel sunset?
Neil thanked bernardyjhNeil
8 years ago
bernardyjh
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoehuns27 7a PA
8 years agoehuns27 7a PA
8 years agoCrenda 10A SW FL
8 years ago
Tavar