And here are the cuttings. I cleaned them up nicely and sprayed Physan 20 (anti fungal, viral, bacterial liquid) on all cuts. Some people are afraid of water on the cuts, but it really dried up quickly. Now, the day after, the cuts are dry and nice. I will dust some rooting hormone powder on the cuts today to be double sure no disease enters the cuts.

It's in the middle of the winter here. 40s at night 60s during the day. I would have preferred to do this in March, but I couldn't wait. But I hope that I can keep these until it gets a little warmer.

Any input is greatly appreciated!!!
Robin

Hi -

Your best bet would be to send one of those chunky cuttings to me as soon as possible...just kidding!

I would not chop the rooted piece back anymore. I would just stick it in a pot and let it grow.

There will be others here that can give you better advice on those large cuttings. Here is a link to a previous post that may offer some insights.

T

Here is a link that might be useful: large jade cutting

Thanks Tom. That's actually the thread that got me very interested in getting my own cutting. Amazingly the most massive one I have seen grew next door to me and turned out it had to be moved.

I knew someone would tell me not to cut it back, because I already did :) I cut it 1/3 down. Once the new branches grow it will double in height. And that's a massive bonsai, haha.

Unless someone dissuade me from grafting branches onto the trunk I will do that tomorrow. I have grafted ficus successfully before so I feel confident about that. And something tells me that should be done sooner than later.

R

I have no idea about the grafting, but I typically dust my cut ends with sulphur. The antifungals in the rooting powder will work too, but be a lot more expensive. Make sure to dust the top cut as well. With trunks that fat, you have to be careful of the top cut. The callus will develop deep cracks that can trap water and rot out. I keep my fat ones on a bench leaned up against a wall in the proper orientation so roots form on the bottom in shallow containers of pea gravel. I keep an eye on those cracks and dust they when they form. If they look like they are drying out I'll give them a little spray of water. Eventually, when I see a big ring of little root nubs I plant them in a well draining mix.

That's great information nil13. I already see separation between the harder center and the softer outside. Will keep dusting with antifungal when I see fit. I'll probably let them dry out a little for a couple of weeks and then "rest" them upright in shallow pots just like you suggested. In that way I can check for root nubs without having to pull the cuttings out of the medium. Very sensible.

Do you wet the pea gravel at all?

Jades are blooming and growing in my area now. Despite the cold, perhaps this is a good time to root these guys?

I always use cinnamon on fresh cuts on my cactus, jades and orchids.

i leave the gravel dry. I'm in L.A. and I've rooted plenty this time of year.

Robin,

Grafting one Family of plant onto another completely different Family of plant? I wish you success, because you'd surprise me with it, but I thought because the vascular bundles are different you won't be able to do so successfully.

And dusting the ends of them with sulfur powder is sufficient to ready them for rooting - I've never used the other stuff you mention, but if it's worked before, I'm the smarter for it.

I'd root the larger ones in almost pure pumice on a sun-warmed sidewalk / patio. I'd think you'd have roots by the end of spring.

Rots of ruck and good on you for the rescue.

Just had to say good luck that jade will be awesome, wish out here was warm enough to get cool plants like that outside lol

Fantastic Jade, and cuttings :-)

As Jeffrey says, Crassula and Portulacaria are very different and I don't think the
grafts will take...although you might do serious damage to the Crassula.

Now is a great time of year for opportunistic Crassula to grow and root.
Even further to the north, many of my Jade cuttings are rooting right now.

I, too, would cover that top-cut with a liberal application of cinnamon.

Josh

Today I planted the trunk in a huge nursery pot, pure pumice. I didn't bother cleaning the roots because I think that would hurt the plant more than help (as if being dug up and cut in half isn't traumatic enough). Will not water for several weeks to make sure the severed roots dry up nicely.

Then I tried to graft some branches to the trunk. Didn't feel very clinically perfect, but, if they don't take I hope the trunk will sprout life on its own. I basically used a drill bit to make holes, then sprayed with anti microbial liquid, and then put a branch in the whole, making sure that some cambium was exposed on both branch and trunk. I am slightly skeptical, but hopeful.

now if you want to get really crazy, encourage some rot on the top of one of your stump cuttings and then stop it with antifungals to create a natural looking djinn.

Hmmm, that sounds like fun!! :) I bet you I couldn't make it rot if I wanted to, haha.

I will leave this alone for some time before touching it again. I am sure what I did to it is very traumatic and it needs to bounce back. But I agree with you, some djinn (jin?) action would benefit this very straight and cylindrical trunk.

I have another chunk of jade that I planted today. No need to graft because it had growth on it already. But I noticed a tennis ball sized area that we soft. I opened it up and excavated the rot and under the rot was a nice organic looking surface. If that can be reproduced it would be a nice look. I'll send pics tomorrow.

Robin: Since no one else has said it, let me be the first to say HOLY CRAP ON A STICK, that's a HUGE jade! At least, I'VE never encountered a jade with a trunk that big! I hope it does well for you. Keep us all posted! :)

Jademan: Cinnamon? *pondering to self* Man, why have I never heard of this trick? What properties does it provide for cuttings?

*CG*

haha yeah it's jin. and here I would have thought that would spellcheck to gin.

Jades this size are not that uncommon in Southern California. But I doubt they get much bigger. There is a whole row of them down the street from me. Maybe I run over one with the car one day and pick it up in the dumpster the next, haha. Ok, I don't need more jade for a while :)

A lot of people say they use cinnamon, and it sounds like people have success with it too. I will use commercial stuff. The brand I use, Physan 20, is anti fungal, viral, bacterial and algae(l?)...sound like it would take care of everything :) I have never used sulfur powder, but that too seems to be common and useful. I will order online now :)

I will keep you updated about what happens to my jade.

R

Do not water a plant that has no roots, there is no hurry to do so. Set in on shelf out of the sun, it doesn't need to be in soil and this and for roots, then put into fast draiing soil.
Don't overwater until the skin/ flesh shows roots, wait for new leaf growth to start, then water. Make sure they are in soil mix by March 15 Don't be afraid to ask questinz.

making to many mistakes going to bed now. Norma

haha, thanks Norma!

Just so there is no confusion, the large trunk has a big ball of roots. I planted that in pure pumice today, just two days after digging it up. I am going to wait to water it until the roots have dried up a little. The trunk should have enough water to survive for a long time.

All the cuttings will be out in the sun, just like you said, until I see roots. I am following all the directions, no worries Norma :)

Robin

Robin,

The sulfur powder (flowers of sulfur) is available at any compounding pharmacist's. Given that the big guy has roots, it needn't be in pure pumice - you could put it in regular soil mix and water it in a few days. It's the rootless ones that should be given the pumice home. After a few days there in the pumice, if you mist the stems every few days when the weather is dry it will promote rooting more quickly. For that matter, a rooting hormone on the end of the limb will, too.

This post was edited by cactusmcharris on Wed, Jan 9, 13 at 13:13

I would definitely have removed the fine yard soil from the roots....
but you're in an area with good weather, which will mitigate the issues
associated with differently textured soils in the same container.

Robin, I may sound like a downer, but I have serious doubts that the "grafts" will take.
I think the top of the stump is going to form a callus, and the little cuttings along the
edge will be in the area that dries out. I'm sure the cuttings will form roots, of course :-)

When my largest Jade propagation froze one year, the trunk collapsed back to the soil line.
I snapped off the soft upper trunk, which left an irregular exposed stump-top. Fearing rot,
I dusted/caked heavily with cinnamon from the kitchen.
It worked like a charm, and at half the price! ;-)

Josh

Just wanted to double check with the experts here that I am doing the right thing. So I just put the cuttings uprights in a sunny spot against a warm wall in shallow pots with pumice. Except protecting them from frost and rain there is not much I need to do right now?

The cuts have dried up but not callused over. It's not too soon to put them on pumice? And what about moisture? Do I spray them with water or not (I think there is conflicting ideas regarding this)? Should I dust the cuts occasionally with sulfur powder?

Thanks so much for your help!
Robin

What a monster of a jade that must have been! We here in New England can only dream of such things. Never heard of grafts like that, can't wait to hear if they are successful. Personally I would not have cut the main trunk down as far as you did, would have kept some more height to it. What an extreme bonsai that would make, though. Good luck with it.

Christopher

Robin,

Insert them a little bit into the pumice and leave them be - if they're not already dusted, but look healthy, go ahead, put them in, leave them be for a week or two, then start spritzing. Some sun, definitely some heat (but not too much), and you'll have rooted trunkage in less than 6 months, about the time the plant unchopped would have gone into minor dormancy.

I am getting more and more skeptical about the grafts. I read an online page about the hole grafting technique, but I am starting to see the flaws already. The holes have dried up and gotten larger. The little cuttings fit snugly in the holes two days ago, but now they are lose. So without good contact with the cambium I doubt they will fuse. If a couple fuse I would be happy at this point.

But hopefully the trunk will sprout new shoots on its own, so the grafting doesn't really matter.

Originally the trunk was so darn big and heavy. I don't think I could manage a bonsai that big especially if the primary branches would add another foot or two to the height. Perhaps a few inches taller would have been ideal. I can always unearth some trunk and roots below the surface.

There is no risk of too much heat here right now. We're expecting 36F over night. I am considering bringing plants indoors ... *sigh* :) The days are not especially comfortable either. (I know you're thinking about the future months, just expressing my displeasure about cold weather, hehe).

Oh yes, bring them in if the temps are going to be dipping that low.
As Jeff says, some heat and some sun, but not so much that the tissue dries out
before it has a chance to effectively root (this probably applies more to smaller
cuttings, and during the Summer, mostly).

I think those stumps look great.

Josh

robin, I hope we will hear more from you soon.

Not much have happened here. No clear casualties and no clear survivors. I have 6 pots of jades going on.

The main trunk grafts are still green and plump. Now I don't think they actually fused with the trunk, but are getting hydrated by sitting in the moist trunk. Most succulent friends I share this with chuckles and say it will fail. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

The jade in the bottom middle picture was a separate chunk that will turn into a nice bonsai...hopefully. It has roots and is doing well.

The other four bulb pans of jades have not done much. They are drying up and are cracking some. They got some rain on them the other day. Not planned, but it was their first moisture so I think that was good. No rot or disease as far as I can see. Some shed their leaves, some have fairly plump and healthy looking leaves. Not sure what that indicates.

I will keep you updates when there is anything to report :)

Robin

Has anyone ever seen a jade of similar size growing in Florida before? I hope to have one that large someday! Very nice, Robin. Best of luck!

Hi Robin, I came across this post and realized its been about 9 months...I was wondering if you have any update on your large cuttings of Jades...how are they doing? Inquiring minds :o)

Thanks!!

Greta, I live in FL and I've never seen Jades that growing that large here...I'm guessing we might get too much rain plus its very humid here 7-8 months a year? But, maybe someone has
one and can post a picture? Mine are all pots...but have a few small cuttings planted under Palm trees...

What massive trunks!

Thanks for these posts guys pretty groovy stuff here!

Any update? There huge

Update for the new year?

Josh