Pug,
Very nice. i would not worry about your cutting unless the stems start shriveling. i am sure your cutting will root and thrive.

Mike,
that is awesome, very beautiful.

Thanks Mike, No...please you keep that beautiful little cutting! I have one I got from you last year...which I've shared with friends and my sisters too,lol... I'm good for now. Thank you though! I bet by next Spring that would have grown very nicely. It is very pretty! I just wish I can root them as easily as you guys. I just need some more colder weather I think?

Jade man, thanks for the boost of confidence, I'm keeping fingers crossed.

Hey Josh, the rubra cutting is not from my little Jade with purple undersides, it is one from a well-esteemed GW member. When it starts to grow, I will post a photo.

Mike, I think I found your (our) variegated Jade, on the GlassHouse Works web site, listed as rare, with starter plants for $18. Listed as CRASSULA OVATA VARIEGATA. What do you think?

Christopher

Here is a link that might be useful: Mike's Jade?

Thank you, Christopher!
I've heard of that Jade for years....but no one, esteemed or otherwise, has ever been able to show me a picture.
I do look forward to it. May it grow well!


Josh

Christopher,

From what I've read, both here from the usual esteemed personages and elsewhere, isn't that the correct name for it? Unless they have selected a cultivar from their growing and validly got the name published, that's how it should be named, IMO.

M. Jeff:

I take it you are referring to the Crassula ovata variegata? Of course the name fits, though I have never seen it on a website listed for sale before. Have you? I love it, more so than the obliqua variegata which just can't take the New England summer humidity. Beautiful plants both, though.

Christopher

Hi everyone, well...bad news! Patience has never been a virtue I've been blessed with...so I checked on the cutting to see if its starting to root and believe it or not...NOT one single root has formed! I removed it from the turface and just laid the end of the cutting on top (not in) the turface. Any other suggestions? I've been trying to root this darn cutting since the 4th of July(almost 4 months),lol...I don't see any rot...and as you can see its completely calloused. Should I dip it in some rooting hormone? Another problem that I'm seeing is we've been in the upper 80's to low 90's again and the same forecast for the next week...so I'm thinking nothing will be happening any time soon either.
That dark spot on the end isn't rot...its just some type of dark discoloration and isn't soft to the touch. It's in a 4" pot so you have an idea the size of the cutting.
{{gwi:666681}}
More wrinkling of the leaves...good news is the stems feel fine...no softness or rot that I'm seeing.
{{gwi:666685}}
If anyone else has any other suggestions I'm all ears...but maybe all I can do is wait for cooler weather?
Just wanted to know if you think rooting hormone is necessary? Thanks!!

Hi Nanci,
I am sorry your cutting is giving you so much trouble! I have tired rooting hormone and just rooting in turface without any root hormone. To be honest I don't think the hormone worked as well for me but maybe it's the fact that the hormone is old. Good luck Nanci. I bet that once it cools down you will have roots.
Andrew

Rooting hormone needs to be applied to a wet fresh cutting. Mostly it is useful because it contains anti-fungals. It is too late to be of any help now. A general rule of thumb is that is takes one month for each inch diameter to start forming roots. There is a great deal of water stored in the stem, the leaves are starting to dessicate (slight wrinkling is evident), so I would expect roots soon. The cutting is is no trouble, so just be patient.

I leave jade, aloe, agave, and other rosetting succulents unplanted for months at a time because of laziness, lack of pots, season, etc. These cuttings almost always survive.

Try this, replant in dry soil. Plant deep enough to cover the first node completely, and it wouldn't hurt to bury up to the second node line. Roots will emerge from the node lines around the perimeter. Planting deeper gives you twice as many areas for root formation. Do not water until you see new top growth. This may not be for two or three more months and it gets cooler.

BE PATIENT! No more peeking! The plant will tell you when its ready for watering when you see the pale green of new top growth forming.

Brad

This is my most recent experience. A jade cultivar rooted within one month's time, in perlite, on a window sill inside the house with air conditioning. As the sun came onto the sill I would move it to the cooler, shadier part. I dumped it out of its pot to look and saw roots forming on one side. It had rooted sometime during the month.

Hey Andrew, yeah...this cutting has given me fits!

Thanks Brad for the suggestions and directions! Okay, I will "try" to be patient and pot it back up tomorrow in some dry gritty mix...I won't peek until I see it completely dead or new growth(whichever comes first). Its DO or DIE for this cutting,lol...its on its own starting tomorrow! Thanks again for the help.

Tinyplants...Thanks, but I had the cutting in very bright light(no direct sun)close to a window inside an A/C house for over two months and it didn't form a single root. Unfortunately that method didn't work for me either. Glad it worked for you though!

Hi Pug...How did your cutting ever do? I am so sorry you have had a problem rooting that one...Remember what my offer was...You deserve it..

Please keep us updated...I think you might have a better chance to root now because the weather there is drier and cooler, no? I hope so..:-)

Mike

Hey Mike, thanks for asking! Its still alive(but wrinkled) but I doubt its rooting yet! Good news is we're suppose to get a cold front this Friday but its only lasting for four days. Then its back in the 80's again. But, I promised Brad I won't peek,lol...I'm going to give it till the end of December or January? We were 89ð yesterday and low 80's today...can't wait for this cooler weather to get here even though its short lived!

No PEEKING Nancy! LOL!

I would imagine you must really be frustrated by now! I would sure be temped to peek. ;)

I've never tried to root a cutting, just leaves so far.

Our temps have been the same as you. Mid 80's all week! 90's last week. nuts!
Nights are in the high 50's.

Keep us posted!
JoJo

Pug..

My mother thought you were talking about her when you said "still alive, but wrinkled"..lol..I can only pray for the warmth to come back Pug..

Jojo, My mom send you a big HUG..Do you think that Pug will not peek?lol

Nite

Mike:-)

Jojo and Mike you guys are too funny,lol...

I am "trying" to be good and not peek. I put the cutting somewhere where I won't see it all the time...hopefully out of sight out of mind. We'll see if it works?

Pug..

That is exactly what happened to the one that rooted above....In fact, it was doing great until I found it..lol

Mike

This is a very interesting thread. Sorry to hear that your cutting is frustrating you so much Nancy! I brought cuttings of my grandmother's jade with me when I moved to FL. It is a plain green variety - don't know if the plain ones are easier. But I've had no trouble getting it to grow in central FL. My original cuttings were planted just over 4 years ago and the plant is now about 1 1/2 feet tall and the primary trunks are around an inch in diameter. It is planted in a terra cotta pot in regular potting soil. Nothing special. I keep it outside in my screened room almost year around. I bring it indoors only for nights where the temperature drops below 32. I've noticed that in the summer it gets too much rain here for it, so I put it under the shelter of my porch to keep it dry, but put it in a spot where it still gets as much direct sun as possible.

I've been reading the comments on pruning jades with interest. I pinch the growing tips of mine heavily to make it branch and keep it from ever looking leggy. Is there an advantage to letting them grow leggy then pruning hard, vs. pinching often?

When I want to make new plants, I let the big plant grow a bit bigger than where I would normally pinch and then pinch off pieces of the growing tips and stick them into potting soil. I leave them sitting outdoors in my screen room in about half day sun and under the roofed part so they get no rain. I did this earlier in the year - not really sure when, maybe around June. Been busy and haven't really been watching them very closely, but those little starts have just been hanging out doing mostly nothing all summer. I just would give them a sprinkle of water maybe once a month to keep the soil from being bone dry. But I looked at them about a week ago and decided they were starting to elongate and grow so they must have rooted. Since they were growing, I moved the pot out into full sun. So I think there must be something to the idea of fall temps being helpful here. Now that I think about it, I moved to FL in August & would have planted my original cuttings in the fall. So maybe I just got randomly lucky. Hang in there!

I'm actually planning to plant my newly rooted cuttings out in my landscape and see how they fare. I am going to try putting them under a mature oak. The oak sucks up all the water in its vicinity, so it should keep the jade dry enough in the summer. And since the oak provides about 5-10 degrees worth of frost protection to things directly under it, that should be enough I think. We'll see=) Anybody else in FL got one in their landscape?

Hi sun worshiper...THANKS so much for the info on your great experience growing Jades in central FL, so nice to see a fellow Floridian growing them well! Mine definitely doesn't grow here in the heat of summer, mine are practically dormant in summer thru early fall. Once the weather cools off I finally see some growth...though slow, any growth is better than nothing,lol...

I do have a few very small cuttings I planted in the ground under some palm trees last fall. They survived the brutal winter we had last year. The only drawback I see is they get a little too much rain in the summer, and they certainly haven't grown hardly any. The ones you planted under your oak trees should fare much better since the tree will use most of the rain it gets. Good luck with your Jade and thanks for the well wishes...I've definitely not given up on this cutting yet, it still looks pretty good considering how long its been.

As far as pruning, I personally like to keep them small(Bonsai) style. Although, I wouldn't mind having a large one someday. I don't see any thing wrong with tip pruning, but I think people sometimes "whack" them because they've gotten too lanky or they want to maintain a certain style. Its all a matter of taste and preference. I honestly don't think there's any wrong way to grow Jades.

Glad to hear yours is growing Nancy! Your information on the cuttings under your palm trees is very interesting. Very good sign if they survived this past winter!

Thanks for the input on pinching vs. pruning. Certainly I see the usefulness of a hard pruning if the goal is to keep the overall plant small. I am the opposite - I'd like to have a large landscape specimen eventually=)

Hey, Sun Worshipper!

Although "whacking" a Jade does reduce its size/height temporarily,
one of the main goals is actually to increase the thickness of the trunk.
By developing the trunk and primary branches, we provide a foundation
that, later, will support a much larger canopy (if so desired).


Josh

Josh, very good point! I completely forgot to mention about "whacking" the Jade for increasing the trunk! Especially since I do have one that has really thickened up after I whacked it a few times in the almost 4 yrs I've had it.

This is the Jade that started it all for me...Purchased it in Jan. '07 at a local Flea Market of all places.
{{gwi:666689}}
Very first Pruning...
{{gwi:666693}}
Severe "whacking"...Oct.'08
{{gwi:534521}}
Same Jade taken this summer...
{{gwi:666697}}

Thanks for posting those images, Nancy!
Excellent progression from start to finish. The pics say it all!


Josh

Wow Nancy!!

Fantastic job and great looking plant after the crew cut!

It looks so happy with you down there..Thank you for the progressive pictures..I love them..

HI Josh...I love it when you do progressive pics too..

Hi Sun_worshiper...I wonder why you picked that screen name? lol

Mike

Thanks Josh and Mike! This is definitely one of my favorite Jades even though its a plain green variety...it has a lot of character,lol...It has taught me a lot about pruning, care and soil mixes with the help of you guys out there.

Nanci,
your big wacko jade is one of my favorite jades ever. i can only hope to some day have a jade that looks that awesome.

how is your hummel's sunset cutting doing?

Doug

Josh & Nancy thanks for the great explanations! I hadn't considered increasing trunk size as a reason. That is an awesome looking plant Nancy - what a huge improvement in form!

As for my screen name - I moved to FL from cold, rainy Seattle in search of sun=) Happy to say I found it.

Thanks Jade man and sun worshiper!

Jademan, I'm not sure...as I haven't peeked,lol...the cutting is still alive, I just have no idea if it rooted or not, but I doubt it...I'm guessing a few more weeks before I take a peek.

Nancy..

I FOUND IT..

Unbelievably beautiful and for a green one...I even see some coloring in it.. Sweet!
That plant must love the Florida sun too as I would..
Are your Hummels coloring up now that your temps are dropping? Oh I hope so..Please post us pics and updates...I love them..

Mike:-)

Hi Mike, Thank you!! I will post some pics in a few weeks...I'm still waiting for a little more color, not quite there yet.

hey pug,

how is that cutting doing? do you have an update photo?

Hey Jade Man, thanks for asking ...still NO roots. I did cut off some of the small branches/leaves several weeks ago in hopes of trying to promote roots...but it didn't work. Here's a picture I took today. As you can see the branch itself still looks good...but the leaves are quite "stressed" to say the least :o(
There is however a sign of life?
{{gwi:666701}}

This is the close up of the tiny new growth...does this mean there's hope? Or is it the last ditch before death?
{{gwi:666706}}

Oh, and this is the Mother Jade where I "whacked" and got the cutting from...at least this one is doing well.
{{gwi:666711}}

i would consider that a sign of hope. and i am glad the mother plant is doing well and looking good.

Nancy..Hi..

It looks like it is getting ready to make you happy..I have seen CC gets that wrinkled, then all of a sudden plump up..

I do question something though...Some have suggested to never look at the roots until you see growth, right?
What if you do have roots and the top does not grow for now, very slow to start, and may have roots anyway? While those little roots are waiting for a drink, it shrivels away from drought?

I have never had a problem carefully lifting my rooting jades out of the gritty mix we use. It falls away so easy and not a root is disturbed..
I have never had one die or slow down one me, because to me they grow slow anyway..

I would look to see if you have roots yet, lift slowely and if so, water asap..
It seems like you may have looked anyway..If so, why not dip the cutting in rooting gel or powder if the end has not rotted yet?
BY lifting gently and examining the cutting, considering your cercumstances, then you will be able to also see if the bottom portion is rooting away while you are at it and make a different cut again to save it if it's not to late..

Nancy, do you use rooting hormone..? I do on all mine that I deliberatly root, even if some might say it makes no difference, because mine do root at a much faster rate and tend not to rot because of the fungicide in it..

Your mother plants look amazing! I can tell your cooler weather is moving in by the beautiful coloring starting to develope. Great job>;-)

Many hugs!

Mike

i agree with Mike. i would look for roots or water it like it has them. if it has not been watered i would not worry about rot.

Best of Luck
Doug

Thanks Mike and Jade man...Sorry to say that I did check and there is no roots...here's a picture I just took. I've been spraying the soil with water to dampen it every 5 days or so, so its never bone dry and still nothing.
{{gwi:666715}}

Mike, this is what Brad aka "paracelsus" (above post) told me when I asked him if I should add some rooting hormone several weeks ago...

"Rooting hormone needs to be applied to a wet fresh cutting. Mostly it is useful because it contains anti-fungals. It is too late to be of any help now. A general rule of thumb is that is takes one month for each inch diameter to start forming roots. There is a great deal of water stored in the stem, the leaves are starting to dessicate (slight wrinkling is evident), so I would expect roots soon. The cutting is is no trouble, so just be patient. "

So, I think I will just let it do its thing, if it roots great if not I'm over it,lol...I've done all I can. I Thank you both though for all the advise and help, I really appreciate it!

Jademan..I would never suggest anyone water their cuttings if there is "NO" roots.You run the high risk the cutting will rot..Although I have had many leaves root on my containers outdoors that exposed to lot's of rain,lol.

I have had cuttings root with no "new" growth at all, especially in summer when by nature then stop growing much if at all, while the leaves were shriveling away..If I hadn't looked and saw the root developement, they would of died of dehydration as some have..

Water only "if" there is roots, and Pugs growing area is not as forgiving to wait forever before she knows if she has them of not..It takes longer to root plants as composed to using rooting hormones and that's a fact..

In her gritty mix, she can look at the roots all she wants without hurting one root..Many here grow in a far less forgiving mix that rips roots once any plant is tuged from the soil, expecially these plants and other sensitine plants..

I would also root in the driest place possible, even if it means in the window sill indoors with the Ac on..

Mike

Pug..

I would not hesitate to dip the end in water and dap rooting powder all over it..It wouldn't hurt for sure..It looks like that stem is still hodling quite a bit of water..I would only quit if the stem gets soft to the point of rot or death..I have rooted cutting that have gone down to only one leaf..

If it is too late, then next time you will know what you can do to encourage rooting much more rapidly...I would also root your cutting indoors in a very bright window, not outdoors because of all your humidity..

Mike..:-)))))
We are all here for you..

Mike

Hi Pug,what if you make a fresh cut and then use rooting hormone.Once I tried to root a Jade big cutting for loooong time,couldn't do it,decided to make a fresh cut again and discovered that I had rot.I cut to the area when it was bright green,no brown specks,and after a while 2-3 weeks its rooted. NY is very humid in summer too.

i have never lost a plant to rot. i use turface as my potting medium which also falls away. i have watered many cuttings in a very well and i do mean very well draining mix i have watered many jade cuttings before they had roots to keep them in place, and to encourage root growth. i think that the stem can tell if it is very dry or a little damp. i believe that watering as i would any other plant has helped many a jade cutting root faster i do not see any difference between a stem with roots that can be exposed to water or a stem without roots that can not be exposed to water. that does not make that much sense to me. if your mix is right then you can water a plant or stem every other day for the rest of it's life if you like.

Doug

Hi Doug...

You grow yours very well and that I know..:-)
In fact I have seen many of my jade cuttingsn root outdoors soaked with rain all summer..

The thing is that you are safe here, to encourage people to root with "no" water until roots appear..No one can come back and blame you for loosing their cuttings to rot, which will happen to many.

But if you encouarge everyone to water them with no roots, then if they do rot, many will be blaming you for giving poor advice..I wouldn't set my self up and you are a very good man..

You are a very good man and I wouild never want anyone to say they were sterred wrong by your good intentions..You have wonderful plants and you are a very good member to learn from..;-)

Josh here is a jade "expert"in this reagrd, along with Norma, and many others, and they have always suggested to "not"water until roots develope for a very good reason.

Some may try your method and be very thankful for that in which I hope they are if they succeed..

Thanks Doug..:-)

Mike

?Well I am going to try this again, I took 5 cuttings with flower buds on and not opened yet, it been cold here. I waited two weeks no water, except the rain, put soil in and they rooted up in just day's, THEY ARE SUMMER DORMANT. End of comversation. These five went into dish garden 2 week ago. Made twelve to give to a church for their holiday party next week. I am here shaking my head. Just don't try so hard, still can't figure out the big deal about Crassula oveta varieties. Your killing them with kindness. Norma

Norma, how am I killing it with kindness...all I'm trying to do is root this cutting per suggestions from people that root them with better success that I've had. Sorry, I don't understand your statement...

Elichka, thanks for your suggestion...I think you and Mike may have something there, I will try to make a fresh cut and start over and dip it in rooting hormone and see what happens. BTW, our weather has been very mild lately cold actually(at least at night) so maybe now would be the time to start over.

I hope I'm not going to kill it with kindness by doing this :o)

Thanks again Josh, Jademan and Elichka

Pug,

A few things I'm going to note on your cutting - you've pestered it too much, for one thing. Leave it alone and it will be fine (well, as long as you mist the stem). Misting the soil does no good (there are no roots) - misting the stem/leaves allows the plant to absorb some water.

You might want to, as you have it out, start over with a fresh cut and rooting hormone applied to it, but then again, maybe not. Keep it warm and you should be fine in a month or two. It took three months for ol' Stumpie to show any signs of life but it eventually did.

Personally, with the hundreds of cuttings I've rooted, I would think wet soil is not desirable, but in the end, it's what works for you. What works against you (probably) is your humidity, so it's a good time to try to root it (assuming your humidity is down now).

Your plant should be fine - there's no sign of rot at the stump, right? Ah, you're in like Flynn.

My two sens' worth.

Norma,

There's a positively slanderous rumour about Crassula ovata being summer-dormant, and until everyone knows that it's a myth the size of a Madoff'd Ponzi scheme I'd say it's not the end of conversation.

They are dormant/non-dormant depending on the temperatures of a particular season, but I can assure you I see plenty of growth here in June, July and August on my Crassulas, and I'm not alone. They are summer-dormant where you are, because of the high daytime/nighttime temps. The plants are always up to something.

Nancy,
if you're going to make another cut, cut about a quarter inch below the lowest node (far right in pic).
I like to leave only a tiny little stub that will quickly dry up, pop off, and leave a nice smooth callus.

Rooting hormone helps cuttings - all types - form a callus (necrotic plate). Once the callus has formed,
the rooting hormone is of little added benefit (as Brad mentioned). On fresh cuts, it can't hurt.

If you'd like, I can put a red line on your Jade pic showing exactly where I'd make the cut.


Josh

Thank you Jeff and Josh...I will cut it tomorrow, add some rooting hormone and see what happens? You won't see me again on this thread unless someone asks me a question or asks for an update,lol...

My pleasure, Nancy! I hope you'll check back soon ;)
I took the initiative of marking your pic...I hope you don't mind! Here it is:

{{gwi:666719}}

Josh

How do you do that Josh? Great job on the line drawn..

I hope you can help me come in spring with this method..Thank you.You have helped many here as I said in my post that you are an expert at these plants....

Mike

I appreciate your vote of confidence, Mike! ;)
And I will totally help out in any way I can....marking up that new Adenium, as I recall! And any Jades, of course!

What I do is save the picture, then I re-size it so that it's a bit smaller (less than 60kb).
Then I open the picture in my "Paint" program, which is just the standard accessory that
came with the HP computer. Then I use the "line tool" to draw the line. Hit save, and viola!

Quick and dirty!


Josh

Hi Nancy. I've never tried rooting a cutting that large. But thought I'd report on my small cuttings. The ones that I planted early in the year that did nothing all summer finally started showing a bit of growth. You all have inspired me to try out turface (so far I like it a lot). So I unceremoniously dumped them out of their potting soil and rinsed them clean with a hose. Each one had a nice web of 2-3" worth of roots. I've repotted them in turface and they haven't blinked at the change. So it does seem that fall is the time in central FL when cuttings grow roots. I also decided to re-pot my larger jade in Al's gritty mix. That went fine, but as is inevitable, I broke off a number of small branches in the process. I have stuck those into gritty mix too. Figured I'd use them to experiment with out in my landscape. I'll let you know when they start growing roots and we can compare if it is quicker this time of year than it was in summer. And of course with the cold this week I have all of them up close to my sliding glass door where the heat loss through the glass keeps them just above freezing.