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Small Jades

15 years ago

In a book I saw a reference to a miniature jade. At the nursery I asked if they had any. They said that if you kept a jade in a small pot it would stay small. So I bought a small pot of jade. Haven't had it long enough to see just how big it will get. Have taken a few cuttings and seems to root easily and be happy. You can see where I took a cutting from the potted plant.

However, on this forum there are a lot of photos of big beautiful jades growing in awfully small pots. So that advice just can't be all true.

I'm not interested in using jade as a bonsai plant. Just wanted a jade that was genetically less than 6" size. Is there such a plant?

The one in the pot is the one that was sold to me as a minature. No name, no tag. The one in front of it is a cutting I took from an old plant that was about 4 feet high before before having to remove the old plant.

{{gwi:641573}}

Comments (15)

  • 15 years ago

    Hello!
    Yes, it looks like a compact form of Jade.
    These will still grow quite large, it's just that the leaves stay genetically smaller
    and more compactly arranged. They are also quite colorful.


    Josh

  • 15 years ago

    Penney,

    No, that doesn't look like C.o. 'Crosby's Compact', which I think is what you're looking for. Even it won't stay small without trimming, but you can just adjust its growing conditions by the amount of resources (water, soil, warmth) you give it.

  • 15 years ago

    I would guess that to be a regular ovata, it doesnt look like the compact one to me either. It looks to me like a young jade or young growth. In time I think the leaves would get larger if given the right growing circumstances.
    The little leaf jade has wonderful colors to it and is all round smaller in structure but can branch and get large just like the regular ovata. I dont know if there is such a thing as a miniature jade..its all in the way it is kept...trimmed, what it is growing in(pot and soil), water, sunlight and heat.
    Trimming a jade will keep it compact if that is what you want. A jade without proper light will elongate.

    Mary

  • 15 years ago

    Well, that's two against one...but I still think it looks just like the jam-packed pots of compact Jades sold here.
    Time will tell, of course! ;-)

    Josh

  • 15 years ago

    Thanks for the info. I'll have to do a little experimenting to see what I need to do to keep a pot of jade looking like this.

    I know that the cutting I took from my "big" jade has big leaves, and the cutting I took from this "little" jade has little leaves as in the photo. Will have to see what they look like 6 months from now.

    Penny

  • 15 years ago

    You mean jades like this:
    {{gwi:632300}}
    {{gwi:632296}}
    {{gwi:632292}}
    {{gwi:641575}}

  • 15 years ago

    The small jade that I have has leaves that get no larger than a dime. Don't know the variety of it and neither did the person that gave me a cutting.

  • 15 years ago

    Yep. That's what I mean.

    Yours have red around the edges just like mine. While my stems look green now, I expect them to turn brown with age as some of yours have green stems too.

    The tag on my pot only tells where they were grown, not the name. But the fact that I think we both have the same plant makes me think that it probably more common than I realize. I've done some searches on websites to no avail so far. There are a few succulent nurseries south of me. So some day when I feel like driving two hours, I take a drive down with photos in hand and visit them and see what they say. Or maybe I'll take the plant with me and stick it in a plastic bag before entering the nursery grounds.

  • 15 years ago

    Found these at a local nursery about 2 years ago...
    {{gwi:534416}}

    {{gwi:464160}}
    {{gwi:641576}}
    {{gwi:641577}}
    {{gwi:641578}}

    {{gwi:464148}}

  • 15 years ago

    Squishyplant, those leaves look a lot bigger than what I have and the stems are much thicker too. They look like the cuttings from the big...four foot tall...jade plants I had. If you look at the cutting in front of the pot in my photo, the one with the bigger leaves, your plants seem to look more like it.

  • 15 years ago

    Maybe I didn't provide scale for the photos. The largest leaves on my crosby's compact are still smaller than a penny.
    {{gwi:641579}}
    {{gwi:641580}}

    Here's a pic of the same plant you have, grown under the same conditions as the plant above. These are small cuttings with about 1 or so years of growth.
    {{gwi:641581}}
    {{gwi:641582}}
    Here is the kind you have all grown up. This is a "small" cutting off of the mother plant. She was about 4 feet and VERY bushy.
    {{gwi:641583}}

    In no way am I an expert, but i believe the 2 "different" plants you have pictured are the same, and are not crosby's compact. I have seen yours referred to as a "mini jade" or C.o. compacta, but i would assume only in reference to leaf size rather than stature. The C.o. crosby's compact I have grows very differently from the "mini Jade" or "compacta" and stays much smaller and grows much slower. But, then again, they might be the same. I would like to find out as well.

  • 15 years ago

    These jades are just beautiful!

    By the way,Penny,what are they growing in or do you have them surrounded by sphagnum moss. They sure look nice.

    Mike

  • 15 years ago

    A couple different small-leaf Jades...

    The way to keep them compact is to trim them periodically.
    After some time, even compact Jades will extend growth and become rangy.
    As you can see, there is more work to be done on the example below...
    but we're off to a good start. Thanks again to Meyer Mike for this one!

    {{gwi:477692}}

    {{gwi:641584}}

    These are two pots of small-leaf Jade that I was sitting for my sister. She killed them, unfortunately,
    shortly after I returned them to her.

    {{gwi:641585}}





    Josh

  • 15 years ago

    Good morning!

    Click this link to see some incredible Jades, and then scroll down to the October 22nd post
    by Lzrddr to see a pot full of Crosby's dwarf....which looks exactly like yours.

    Jade Plant Pictures and Collections


    Josh

  • 15 years ago

    WOW! after seeing all the photos on the other jade posts I understand why we spend so much time on jades. I think what I was looking for is a jade like maxthedog posted with little leaves. But these little plants are what I've ended up with for now.
    {{gwi:641587}}

    Yes, Mike, I do have jade growing in a spagnum moss wreath.
    I thought I had a miniature jade, but it's already in the tree category! After that mistake, I started looking for smaller growing jades. For now I'm pruning the tree to see how it responds. It'll probably grow into a forest! These wreaths are suppose to be Christmas gifts and I'm glad I started early on them.

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