Well, that's because it's shot from a distance, LOL.

It has marks, all from the sun, I believe. Aside from putting it in entire shade, I don't know how to get around it but when in shade, the colors seem to fade and become overall quite a muted green.

But I wish I had your weather, Rina! The only thing that my sun is good for without care is peppers and on some days, even they come to a screeching halt! In this weather, container gardening is the big kahuna. When a plant screams -- you pick up and move it into the shade. :)

Here's a closer shot. Witness the brown. :)

Very little brown Grace...nice compact plant. I guess we all would like more - or less - of what we don't have :) I wouldn't mind more sunshine and longer summer...In the meantime, I see a bit of coloration on my small kiwi; it's only 7days but I see more yellow and red edges, better visible in the comparison photos on smaller rosettes:

They should grow in really nicely there with full sun but milder temps. Aeonium Kiwi is almost the first to toasted here in full sun; while they really seem to like the sun, the sun + heat just marks them all up into something ugly.

Very cute, aren't they?

Wanted to share one of my jade cuttings that I potted up one month ago - right now it's a lovely reddish burgundy colour!

ew

One month makes a difference - they are looking good. Nice color.

Five weeks - what a difference in color:

Looking good, what are the avg high temps and avg lows ?

Nomen

Thank you. We had few weeks of very hot (for here) temps, with very clear skies and strong sun. Average highs are about 25C (around 77F) and 13C at night (around 55F) - that's for July and August. But we get quite a few days in 30C (85F+), today is 31C.

None of mine are outdoors, but I do have many in full sun. Since most of them are cuttings from two original plants, I always find it interesting how lighting, soil, and watering can make genetically identical plants grow in very different ways. The only things these guys don't get indoors is a wide temperature swing, though it can be up to 15 degrees daily, so it's not completely without a seasonal temperature cycle.

This one gets a full day of sun, and watered every 8-10 days. It looks the most like Rina's herd with their bright green outdoor complexions.

This guy is one of my faves, he gets a full day of sun, and watered when he's fully dried. In the summer, that's every 4 days or so; in the winter, maybe once a week. I like how compact and colorful he is, and I would like for him to have a nice trunk like Rina's one day. In comparison, its sibling behind it, also with the blasted critters, is sitting next to the other infected jade in the indirect light. It's much greener.

At Bernard's suggestion, I went to the Union Square green market this weekend, and though I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for, I did find a small $3 variegated jade, which I've been wanting for some time, and could never find around this area. We'll see how that grows for me (Grace, your compact variegated is lovely! Should you ever have some cuttings, I'll be over here waving some postage at you).

Dannie

You are right, they sometimes look very different.

What I find interesting is 2 (or more) plants, originally cuttings from the same plant, growing in exactly the same soil, and side-by-side still growing very differently. Here is an example, 2 jades always side-by-side, exactly same soil and same sunlight and watering - they are considerably different and one has burned leaves. One thing I am not sure about is the age of cuttings, but they are similar in size (there are few cuttings in the pot on right). Not only one has few scorched leaves, but the color of the leaves is different:

Edited to add:

I measured the largest leaf on the all green jade in above photo; it is 2.2/16" long. Leaves on the plant with yellow leaves are all smaller.

Are you referring to the finger jade in your last photo? (..."to have a nice trunk like Rina's"...) - it looks very nice! Could you post photo of it from different angle? It is def. bigger than one I posted.

Rina, yes, your skinny fingers, I didn't clarify. This one really hasn't progressed to having a defined tree-like trunk, and I'm hesitant to start pulling leaves off to make it so ... but I do plant to prune the upper growth in a few places to encourage some branching.

I don't know how tall your skinny fingers is, but this gollum is actually not so large. Here's a better picture of it from two sides:

dannie

That is very nice plant, my is only about 3.5" (longest leave -only one- is at just about 4" mark) - it is small branch that I broke from original plant (about 10" from the soil line). Here are photos of both right now:

Original plant is now 13" wide and has branched on it's own, I didn't prune it. I probably should, but I like it as is - for now :)

Yes, that original is the beauty I hope my plant grows to emulate! It's very bonsai-like ... though it takes a bit less effort. Some of these plants really are difficult to distinguish between all the different names, because some of them have the different types of leaves on the same plant! Clearly, the leaves on yours are mostly long and thin, with the tubular shape at the tip of the leaf. And yet, there's a few gollum types in there. Still, it's obviously different from the variation I have. Gollum, hobbit, skinny fingers, legolas ... who knows?! In my own head, all I keep thinking about my plant is: "those leaves look like Shrek's ears!" :)

Dannie, I'm happy to send you a cutting. Might even be able to pull up a rooted one, since this whole lot other than the middle are all cuttings. Or I'll snip something off the top.

Let me know in PM. :)

Rina - Which months do you keep your jades and succulents outside in full sun for? May until October? I know you're zone 5a instead of 6a like me, but we're not too far from each other!

In preparation for the fall, today I picked up some T5H0 lights and am planning on doing some testing / light measurements.

Here are two of my (non-jade) succulents in full sun. Echeveria elegans and Aloe 'Black Gem'. If I can turn this aloe a deep dark green this summer, I will be very happy:

ew

You are right about months in and out. I leave them outside as soon as night temps stay constantly around 10C (couple deg less is not a problem), and same with bringing them in. Many will take temps even less, but it would be too much work to start sorting them out, and is easier to just take all in more or less same time.

Your Aloe 'Black Gem' is very nice, is it new plants for you or how long do you have it? What about watering? Here is my little plant (ID-ed as either 'Walmsley's Bronze' or 'Black Jem').

Just purchased 1/2013:

Much darker in Jan. 2015, after spending whole winter in the basement, under ordinary old shop lights with just regular tubes (so
old, they are ready for metal and ballast recycle). I have to get some
new lights this winter. As I mentioned often before, I use CFL
lightbulbs too and they seem to help a lot. temps were no higher than 15C during winter (less overnight); and light on for about 14hrs:

It is in partial sun now, not in full sun.

Rina

Perfect, thanks!

I've had mine for a bit over a month now, so not terribly long. I was worried about watering it, since I'm only able to water around the edges of the pot. So far, that hasn't caused any problems. The mix is probably 40% grit, 20% turface, 20% bark?

I water it every 2 days like my other succulents outside. It has grown nicely, although it loses its dark colouration quite fast. Just a week indoors and it turned back to a light green all over. I found this species won't really darken unless given full sun.

Yours has done well in two years - over double the size! The stripes are very cool.

Great collection! Thanks for sharing Rina!

Rina, here are my perpetually wrinkly jade cuttings that I received from Howard.

I took Chris and your advice to practice some neglect on them for a week/two, only watering about twice a week when the mix got really dry, but the leaves continue to sulk in appearance.

I got fed up and I started watering them daily. A few plants seem to plump up (see last photo), but most of them remain scaly and wrinkly. I don't know what's going on and how else to trouble shoot this problem. All these plants are potted with GM and sit in a windowsill with shaded sun, with an oscillating fan blowing them all day. I'm starting to think it might be an soil issue that my plants aren't seem too good at adapting to.

Root health wise - all cuttings had sizable amount of roots grown before I transplanted them from the nursery tray..

This pot is the most peculiar, seeing one cutting plump up and the other shriveled to bits..

This cutting was given to me by Neil, and it too doesn't seem to be as plump as I would like it to be. I altered and experimented the mix for this guy with 1 part tuface and 1 part grit. I know it's supposed to be more water retentive but shouldn't it help the plant to absorb moisture better?

So far, only a handful of cuttings plumped up the way I really want them to (had already given away a few), these were also cuttings from Howard.

Lastly, my gollum that I bought during the summer; doesn't seem to be doing a lot of growing here and this guy tends to wrinkle after 2-3 days if I don't water it frequent enough. It's giving me this "pale" green color, not as rich as I'm expecting it to. He gets south facing window sun, about 3-4 hours direct sun behind the windows each day.

Any thoughts? I can't possibly water them everyday, it's very taxing for me. I know I should not be so OCD, but I really hate this output on their foilage health and might consider altering the mix/repotting this weekend.

Bernard

I think they are thirsty...I had been skimpy with watering my Skinny fingers (?) all winter long, and it looked worse and worse. Thinking I am watering too much, I decreased watering even more. It got to this point (April 20,2015):

The color is, in my opinion, not enough sunlight - intensity of it is much more then indoors. You can see the difference in post on Aug. 16 @3:43 - same cutting, 6 weeks apart (same mix, any rain we got except couple of times when it rained for 3 day, in full sun outdoors).

I have same (?) cutting from Neil as yours, believe it to be Hummel's sunset. My plant is in same mix, and actually lost few bottom leaves and looked somehow limpy. I put it outside recently, and finally it is 'standing' up and looking better than it was indoors - the center leaves were there but they finally started growing. Here is a snapshot - it just drizzled again:

I never grew this one before, so can't offer any advice just as I go and see. Maybe Neil will, or anyone growing it. I am hoping it just needs patience...

I have luxury of keeping them outdoors and believe that helps a lot. Last year, all my jades were in partial shade and grew very well and looked great. This year, I decided to keep them in full sun, and the leaves have beautiful colors. Just took some photos (wet, it just drizzled a bit):

They may have received little fertilizer once since I was fertilizing other plants I have with a hose. I don't make point of fertilizing succulents even if I thought I would this year.
Colors are quite variable - I don't know why since they are in same location and 98% of them are from cuttings from one plant. The leaf size is great too.

I know you have to grow them indoors. So maybe the colors will be more green - no problem. As for watering, I would take few of the wrinkly ones and add some coir or whatever soil mix you like, maybe 20%. Water them same for few weeks-month, you may see the difference.

I used to hover over the succulents with not much success. Since I am 'neglecting' them, they all seem to be doing better. I am sure you get what I mean by the neglecting....

Bernard - I also agree with Rina that they look thirsty. When I repotted my Gollums into gritty mix they were like that for almost two months. Shading them a bit more was helpful in my case, so they wouldn't lose as much water during the day.

For one week (when it was very hot outside), I brought them inside where it was cool and did not water at all. I think that helped spur the plants and enable the roots to catch up. After that I've had no issues with dehydration at all in nearly full sun.

Thanks guys! I think it's time for me to add some moist content into the mix. I believe the GM is too dry for the baby roots to catch on and take in sufficient water. I currently only grow a selection of my plants up in the roof that can withstand a lot of sun. I haven't got a chance to bring any of the jades up, because of the stress signs in the leaves, so unless they can show they have established roots, I'll grow them out in full sun.

update you guys again when there is improvement on the thrist situation.

Saturate the mix, fully. Then don't water for three days.

Gritty mix is what I've used for several years now, with never a problem. Simply water properly.

Josh

Bernard- yours should perk up. Just like Rina's. I have mine in full sun all day. Here's a pic I just snapped to show you both.

flew all the way from the Emerald Isles right to my doorstep

thanks to my fairy JadeMother Margaret : )

My advice? None that would make much sense. I really don't do much for my plants. I give them what they require and they give me so much more. I don't have a regimen really. I just know when to water them. I have not lost one yet from underwatering or overwatering. When I neglect them they seem to thrive. It's not that I have any magic touch or anything like that, far from it. It has to be the climate they're in. I was more vigilant with them when I was in NYC. That was a nightmare. That's why I applaud all your efforts. Just don't overwater! lol.

Bernard

Josh and Neil grow them in much more heat than what we get and their plants are great. I have followed Josh ever since joining GW (just few years) on this and other forums, and pay attention to his mixes and watering not only for succulents, but other plants.

It takes little time to 'get' watering with GM. Not just a little drizzle, but saturating as Josh said works much better. I started leaving out bark, and it is again little adjustment. Potting in mix of turface and grit (or turface and perlite) only in 50/50 ratio, which I used on quite a few plants, is little different again - I have over- and under-watered a lot.

Over all, I really like GM (in my case mostly bark-less). I have planted some hot peppers in it too, and they are growing pretty good for a first-timer. I bought just one plant year ago (hot pepper) and it grew very little and no pods at all. This spring I received seeds of few different peppers, grew them and potted into GM, including the hot one I bought last year and managed to overwinter (looked on it's last leg, but survived). For peppers, I used 'real' GM with bark, except for couple of experimental pots with grit, perlite and turface. They are all thriving.

It is a learning curve, and there will be some failures. You have lots of knowledge - I believe you study it more than most of us.

Rina

I can't speak to the gritty mix, as mine are all in a perlite/cactus soil mix, but those plants look incredibly thirsty. If you're going to blow a fan on them all day, they're going to dry out pretty fast. They really don't need that much air circulation.

Josh - I know your jades experience far more successes than mine, but mine can't seem to work out well in my climate. I initailly watered them weekly - then 3x a week, then daily (for a week) by soaking the whole pot into water for about 5 minutes until the mix is saturated. They sit in front of a fan all day, and I repeat the next day.
Like I mentioned, it's weird that some perked up, but some still (like in these photos) didn't! Perhaps its because the pot is quite shallow, or the roots are't established yet. Either way, I'm going to alter the mix a little to give it more water retention.

Neil - I see your plant sits in a more organic mix than the 1-1-1 GM, I remember you mentioning your soil contains some secret ingredient component from Hawaii - either way, yours look beautiful given that they must have happy roots.

Rina - Thanks for sharing your experience, I'm following your path to alter my mix now to see what works best for me and my jades. Thus far, the true 1-1-1 GM with bark hasn't respond well to my jades (can't figure out why and maybe it's time to experiment), but it has done my other plants extremely well. I accidentally knocked over a whole table of plants from the roof last week when I was moving them out from the freak storm to seek some shelter. I was completely DEVASTATED! I think I stood there and watch my broken pots and soil all over the floor for a good 30 mins and broke down a little. BUT, all was not lost, it turns out, almost 90% of them had TONNES of white roots, so even with the earth shattering accident most held on pretty well in their pots, I had only broke 1 stem of a plant. I was surprise to find many baby offsets coming from the lower stems when the soil was uncovered.

I'm definitely going to keep at it, and it will help my plants too in the long run.

Dannie - I remember all your jades looked really plump and succulent! And we are in the same zoning, so perhaps I might get better results switching up my mix a little. So far, have you gotten any chance to see how does the roots of your jades fair in the 50-50 peat/perlite mix? I would be curious to make a comparison with mine in the GM.

I know fanning them all day was a bit too excessive, but that was when I watered them daily, and I was worried if the mix stay wet for too long, didn't want to induce rot, and it was hot a couple weeks ago then.

Bernard, I have found that I do not prefer bark in my mix either. For me it retains too much unnecessary moisture. I water my plants about once every week, even in the hottest part of summer.

A week ago a stray cat knocked over one of my entire plants stands and I had to clean up the mess, to include a lot of broken pots, and repot many plants, including several jades. I found that the pots with bark in the mix were still really wet at the bottom even though I hadn't watered it for a week. I felt the same way you did when I found out about the disaster. My wife sent me a text to let me know and it was all I could think about all day at work. I came home finally and just stared at it.

Anyhow, I have mostly converted over to using equal parts sifted turface and granite with however much perlite I think makes it look nice. I don't know that the perlite serves much purpose other than maybe some additional aeration and aesthetic pleasure. I think I remember Rina mentioning that she uses a similar mix.

-Erica

Yes, perlite really doesn't have much function as it is just cheap filler. It holds very little water or nutrients, whereas grit holds some water and some nutrients. Of course, Turface holds quite a bit of water and quite a bit of nutrients.

Lately, I wonder even if perlite is necessary vs. grit! Perhaps I need to think about that for a bit though. =)

Toppling pots and attack cats sound really frustrating. I tipped one of my pots over the other night, but luckily it didn't break and only 1/3 the soil fell out. It is a very good excuse to check out root health and how your mix is performing, I agree.

Erica, are the pots that were still really wet nearly filled with roots? If there is much more soil than root ball, then the soil will stay wet longer. I'm just grasping at straws to understand what is happening there. I potted a jade, p. afra, and o. decaryi in 1/4" granite and 1/4" pine bark (1:1 mix) this year, and those I was watering every three days when the weather was a sunny 90 degrees. My soil is 4" deep and 6" wide, and it would get dry clear to the bottom in that three day period.

ez

One thing perlite is good for is to reduce weight of pot - if desired. May not matter much in small pots, but large ones get really heavy if using lots of grit. I use grit-perlite-turface in equal amounts since I have them on shelves during winters and there is lots of weight. And perlite will help to reduce water-retention.

ez, actually quite the opposite. The ones that fell over had quite established root systems. When we had 90 degree days here I still only watered them once a week and none of them dehydrated. None of them had any rotting issues either. I find that I don't really care about bark either way. It's annoying to sift and you lose a lot of the bag so it has been a waste of money for me. Then I just have a ton of left over bark. Humidity may have come into play here? It was pretty humid during the period of time we had weeks of 90 degree weather.

Rina, I think perlite can reduce the weight a bit but that hasn't been an issue for me. While granite can get pretty heavy the turface is really light. I don't have a lot of really large pots though so I don't know how it affects larger ones. I think the only time perlite would reduce water retention is when you have a lot of other gritty materials that hold too much moisture to begin with. It does help keep areas free of perched water when all materials are a consistent size.

-Erica

Erica - did the stray cat leap onto your table and did its dastardly deed? How annoying, I would literally skin that cat alive if I catch it. I'm planning to invest in those steel wire baskets so they can provide more anchorage and stability. It is also going to make my life easier when I water and move the plants around. I went by to Ikea last week, can't seem to find any that is sturdy enough. Any suggestions?

What type of pots do you use? And how were the root health of your plants?

I find all my plants that are in terra cotta pots have really good ventilation, to the extend they stick themselves on the pot and I need to take a stick to gently pry them away.

I'm in agreement with bark, it always soaks too much water or doesn't soak at all, and poses water retainability issues for me.

I really quite like using perlite in my mix now, it really does prevent the grits and turface from compacting the roots and gives really good aeration. I know other that they are very light and porousity properties, not quite sure what other functions they serve. I was introduced to them by Grace/Sugi when I started experiencing watering issues with some of my plants.

Mayo, lately I bought some growstones from my local hydroponics store, they are advertised to combat gnats and have fungus combating properties. Personally they are like a smaller version of perlite that gives more water retentiveness but also porosity.

I mix and play around with perlite, growstones, turface, (sometimes) volcanic rocks + peat/vermiculite. For the remaining grits that I have now, I add more perlite + growstones to balance out the mix.

So far, my newer plants are establishing themselves well.

Bernard - I have no clue what happened. It was a really heavy stand, I could barely move it when I had to get it out of rain storms. The only thing I can think of is I repositioned some of the plants and it may have been a bit heavier at the top. If one of them jumped up there in a weird way it could have toppled over. I can't stay mad at them long, I am a total cat lady. I ended up using a bungee cord to tie it to the porch.

I use a variety of pots. I have a lot of clay pots but also use some glazed and some plastic. I really think I prefer clay pots for their aeration and soaking abilities, though. The roots were fantastic. I have been fertilizing regularly and it showed in the root system.

Be careful with vermicullite - it holds more moisture than it lets on. That's actually what it is designed to do. We used to use it when packing munition in the Army. If anything leaked out during transport the vermiculite would just absorb it all like cat litter.

-Erica

Erica, sorry about the stand falling, but maybe a positive in the end if it revealed a soil problem.

Bernard, I was just looking at growstone the other day! If we're talking about the same thing, it's made from recycled glass, is light like pumice, and the store had it in sizes from 1/2" down to maybe 3/16"(smaller than 1/4" anyway). I'm intrigued by the recycling aspect, but want to look into it more. It looks like it has micropores much like pumice.

I've used vermiculite, and it broke down into mush in a single season.

ez

Erica, you are quite right. I have lots of large pots, few terracotta and many plastic ('cause of wight) since I use 'almost' gritty for some other plants, not only succulents. So with so many, even just hauling them 2x/year is enough and every little bit helps.

I don't like vermiculite any more, I know many use it but I stay away.

Rina

Eww, perlite is a lifesaver for OCD chronic over-waterers. LOL

Just like using extra Turface or including peat can easily adjust your water retention UP, perlite inclusion easily reduces your water retention without issues. Like Rina mentioned, it's light, but it also doesn't break down, very stable and plays the part of "0" in any mix. And just like the other particles, it comes in varying sizes from small to huge. I have no use for the huge, but #4 size is so versatile. Believe it or not, I can overwater GM plants, and have. LOL! It won't be to the point of killing the plant but it will be to the point where I notice that I didn't do such a good job after a few weeks.

In my current adjustments, my only water retaining or surface water would be lava rocks and what little perlite can hold. The other component is pea gravel --smooth stones--with zero water holding capability though they do get wet, obviously. This was about 7 adjustments in but it works best for me and my habits not because of the plants' happiness but mine--I can literally water everyday and not experience an issue, and when I feel like it, I can also not water for 4-5 days if the weather is not drastic, and feel comfortable. It's not perlite alone enabling this but it contributes.

Additionally, the other reason I wanted to adjust is that when I was because when I repot, I want to reuse it all, since going to the landscape store to buy and lug 20 bags of anything is my nightmare. So when I unpot something, it has to be intact and reusable without work.

Plus, some of us still use potting mix. For the items where I use potting mix of any kind, many are edible and used as annuals, like tomatoes or peppers. I don't have the desire or strength to make 80 gallons of anything, and it's also important that when the season ends, I can just toss the whole thing. Perlite, comparatively, is the most effective in decreasing water retention and increasing aeration in such containers WHILE reducing cost and overall weight of the pot. And while I have grown peppers in a GM or some sort, I haven't and won't try tomatoes in it. :-)

It's probably the worst thing for people who never water their plants, but for folks like me....go, perlite!! Lol

Still outside in z5a, and still enjoying sunshine. Last week has been a torture - very hot temps (for here) - over 30*C (up to low 90F) and extreme high RH. Few storms in-between. All plants cope with heat, humidity, rain and storms, and occasional high winds:

Copper spoons (Kalanchoe orgyalis) has grown many new leaves that live to their name:

xGraptoveria 'Fred Ives' grows fast from leaves or stems - is this branching or maybe crest? It also enjoys lots of sun and gets beautiful purplish color:

Few of the new plants from friends here:

Thank you Neil!

Thank you Margaret!

Thank you Howard:

Thank you Jeff!

Found 3 strawberries today (often, chipmunk beats me to them):

Rina, whatever that 'Fred Ives' is doing it is just beautiful!

You are having weather like us then. Low 90s (F) with some lovely humidity mixed in. Although we haven't had rain in over a month now. It has been another odd summer in SE Pennsylvania.

-Erica

Some very nice acquisitions, Rina!

Josh

Thank you Josh, I hope I can grow them well.

There are very generous ppl here - (and there are more plants I got from each of them-happy!)

Btw, did you notice the 'hots'? I asked you for advice about growing them last year. Relative success for me!

Rina

Nice to see and update on your plants Rina!

My plants have sadly been indoors for all of last week. High heat, humidity, and wind - no problem. Storms? I'm still paranoid!

mayo

I didn't do anything this time - just hoped for the best - since being away for whole days for past 10 days ( too far to go back and forth more than 1 trip/day). They did get caught in whatever was happening weatherwise - so far, so good...but I did worry few times :)

Rina- I want a strawberry shake!

Neil

Anytime...just finished smoothie :)

How about some hot peppers?

More full sun for Bernard

Nomen!! Where have you been? where did ya get the trikes?

Rina- too spicy for me, lol : )

Neil: I've been dodging a few more that desired daylong temps in the 90's ( 35 C and higher) 78 F (24-28 C) avg night time lows keep many of the pots nice and warm. Given me the chance to finally " full sun" a Kalanchoe.

The trikes' (as you call them) Well at least the main plant plays a small roll that help feed my hording habit, these are the last three cuttings from the main one and are for an upcoming show, entry door give a ways.

Very nice!