You can put it in the ground right away. You will want to gradually expose it to the light to prevent sun burns. You can do this with a simple plastic patio chair placed above the plant, or an umbrella, shade cloth, anything really that can provide shade to the plant. Every few days or so move the chair or object a little bit to increase the amount of sun the plant receives.

I've also read about some plants that enjoy being cozy in their pots, but I think they prefer being in the ground. My aloes have always done great in pots but when I put them in the ground last year they began to grow faster than I ever noticed and have been producing dozens and dozens of pups.

It's hard for plants to be rootbound in the ground but plants do well there. In a pot, a lot of roots means the water gets pulled into the plant quickly and roots don't sit waterlogged. I believe that's where the saying comes from. I'm jealous you get to plant jades in your yard, sigh.

Regarding acclimating to the sun, if it is considerably easier to move the plant than to move an object shading it, you could start it in a pot, progressively move it to a sunnier location, then transplant it into the ground come Autumn.

ez

Thanks, folks. I want to do right by this plant. I've admired it since we moved in next door and want to make sure it survives. (And I will also start a leaf propagation to make sure the legacy continues.)

Sounds great- enjoy! Hope you post some pics on it's progress.

ez

If the plant is stressed (as it would be if the roots are potbound), it will 'think' that it is going to die soon - as it would if not repotted/given more space. Natural reaction is to flower and produce seeds in order to grow 'replacement'. Since we enjoy flowers and plants blooming even when they may not naturally, at the time, or have as many blooms otherwise, we think plant is doing better (it is blooming). Restricting roots will slow growth - usable if we want to grow trees or shrubs but don't have enough space and pot them in containers. Or wanting to grow bonsai or bonsai-style.

It doesn't mean that techniques (or maybe I should say manipulation?) shouldn't ever be used, but it doesn't mean plants like it...

Thanks, Rina - that's an excellent explanation. I want this plant to thrive, long-term, so I'll give it all the space its little green heart desires. :) I'll start it in a pot just long enough to root (so I can control the moisture heading into spring) and then once it roots, into the ground it shall go!

Good idea, Leslie. I generally start all of my clippings or leaf propagation in pots on the lanai. This way I can also ease them into the sun before PIG. I also plant the gritty mix that I started the plant in. OK, I'm obsessed with good drainage what with all of the summer rains! LOL

Lots of good advice here. Let us see the little guy when you get him settled.

About being rootbound - something I wrote in '09:

I would like to talk a little about, and hopefully dispel the
myth that certain plants 'like' or 'prefer' to be grown tight (under
root-bound conditions). Maybe we can also understand that no plant will
'do well' when it's pot-bound if you are using a plant with plenty of
room for its roots as your standard of judgment. If plants did better
growing under root-bound conditions, it would seem that Mother Nature
would have arranged for in situ (where they naturally occur) plants to
grow with their roots in tight little cones or cubes, yet we never see
that occur. While it's true that we may be able to use the STRESS of our
plants being root-bound to bend plants to our will and achieve OUR
goals, the fact is that this serves US well, and not the plant.

Lets examine what 'growth' is. Growth is simply a measure of the
increase in a plant's biomass, how much bigger it has become (the weight
of the sum of it's parts), and is the actual measure of how 'well' a
plant is doing. We know that tight roots restrict growth, reduce the
amount of extension, and reduce the potential for an increase in mass,
so even if we THINK plants are doing well because we use the stress of
tight roots to get them to bloom or grow in a particular habit that we
like, the truth is tight roots are stressful and plants would rather
have plenty of room for their roots to grow so they could grow as mother
nature intended. No one is more aware of the negative influence tight
roots has on growth than the bonsai practitioner who uses that tool
extensively to bind down the plant's growth habits so the will of the
grower, not the plant, prevails. Using tight roots as a tool to achieve
an end is all about the grower's wants, and not the plant's.

If we chase this a little further, we can see the reasons that it is
suggested that particular plants might like root-bound conditions. Tight
roots alters the plant's growth habits and the stress of tight roots
can cause other physiological responses like bloom induction. Again,
this is happening because of stress, and is the plants unhappy response.
Bright flowers make the grower happy, but the plant's perspective may
be entirely different.

Where I was really heading when I started to write this is: There is a
relationship between plant mass (size), the physical characteristics of
the soil, and the size of the container. In many cases, when we are
advised that 'X' plant prefers to be grown tight, we are being told that
this plant won't tolerate wet feet for extended periods. Someone
somewhere assumed that we would be growing this plant in an
out-of-the-bag, water retentive soil, and "a big pot o' that soil stays
wet for a long time, so we better tell these people to grow this plant
in a tiny pot so the plant can use the water in the soil quicker; then,
air will return to the soil faster and roots won't rot.

If you place a plant in a gallon of water-retentive soil, it might
use the water fairly quickly, at least quickly enough to prevent root
rot; but if you put the same plant in 5 gallons of water-retentive soil,
the plant will take 5 times as long to use the water and for air to
return to the soil, making it much more probable that root rot issues
will arise. So lets tell 'em to grow these plants tight to save them
(the growers) from themselves ......... because we KNOW they're all
going to be using a soggy soil.

Key here, is the soil. If you choose a very porous soil that drains
well and supports no (or very little) perched water (that water in the
saturated layer of soil at the bottom of the pot), you can grow a very
small plant in a very large pot and make the plant MUCH happier than if
you were growing it tight. You still have the option of choosing those
plants you prefer to stress intentionally (with tight roots) to get them
to grow as YOU please, but for the others, which comprise the highest
%, it makes much better sense to change to a soil that allows you to
give the plant what it wants than to stress the plant so it won't die.
That's a little like keeping your dog in a sleeping bag 24-7 to ensure
he doesn't get cold.

Al

Wow! Brilliant!!!!! I was thinking the same thing with my epiphyllum. I unknowingly transplanted it into a 12-inch pot before reading that some suggest it should be rootbound. Mine is doing incredibly well, with really thick, wide leaf growth. The plant seems happy, so I will be happy too!