A diameter of my largest thick Jade, 'Dragon', is 1.96 cm=0.77 inch

One of my biggest is blooming for the first time this year. Always a nice surprise. It is a 'Hummels Sunset' with very little color :-)

Oksana,
as long as the cutting is taken from a mature Jade, it has the potential to bloom. I have had very thin cuttings bloom, like this one below. Not a very large or impressive bloom, but still very possible.

Unknown Hummel variegate maybe an ovata ?

some buds where the greener foliage is

The gollums ( a young Red horn tree and an older lady finger jade @ 8-9 years)are still hosting some red tip coloring under lighting but naddah in buds.

Hi, Josh!

Oh, I don't know. Because I can not achieve flowering from mine. My growing conditions are very severe compared with the your: too short, often cool summer, little direct sun. It is impossible to fix by an artificial lighting. Moreover, I don't know what conditions are necessary to recreate.

nomen_nudum

a 'Helios' sport has grown on your 'Hummel's Ghost.

Oksana

Thanks for all of the great replies and pictures everyone!

Here is a picture from this morning. The nights are getting cold and colors are getting more vibrant. Hopefully I can keep them outside a bit longer. We have had a few nights in the low 30's, but plants have been dry and ok.

Still have the plants outside yet.

I brought mine in few weeks ago (we had number of nights below freezing); out of 9 of pretty well same age/maturity, 5 have buds.

What's a 'Helios' sport ?

Nomen, 'Helios' is a compact sport on 'Hummel's Ghost,' I believe.

Josh

C. ovata (Jade plant) flowering is triggered by the dark period the plant receives. About 12hrs of dark, some may need up to 14hrs. If outdoors cover each night with a large box.

Steven

My plants are never in total darkness, for sure not for 12-14hrs. Even when I kept them in windowless room in the past (during winter), the lights were on for 12-14hrs and the rest was darkness, but they didn't bloom.

Plants that have buds now are all kept under exactly same light/temps/watering/potting mix conditions. I have 9 that are most "mature', and out of those 5 are having buds, for the first time. They have been outdoors, in full sun whole summer long, and brought indoors when temps drop down close to freezing. Not in total darkness and not covered with anything. Btw, I do not fertilize them... I noticed buds about week after I brought them indoors. They are under supplemental lights now as before.

I believe that longer nights have something to do with it - photoperiodism is how plants tell time - but it may not be enough alone. Nighttime temps should be lower too, and from what others suggested, plant needs to be somehow mature.

I would like to know when jade plants flower in northern hemisphere comparing to southern hemisphere?

I've read that one way to trigger flowering is to mimicking its native growing conditions. As winter (shorter days) approaches move it to a dry location, withhold water, and expose it to cooler nighttime temperatures.

Temps and the maturity of the plant would certainly effect if and how well it flowers, but the "trigger" is the plant seeing a longer dark period. I have a cv hobbit cutting from a 5 year old plant that developed flower buds while still rooting. I thought that was odd.

I only have a few plants old (mature) enough to expect to bloom. I'm going to attempt the above method next fall.

In the northern hemisphere they are winter (December-January) flowering, same in the southern hemisphere (June-July). Close to the equator I would think temps would have a big effect.

I have not been able to find what 'mature' means in years. 5 years seems to be mature - but who knows for sure?

As I said, I had plants in dark basement for about 12hrs and under lights for another approx. 12hrs. Temps were kept lower too. In 3 years, that didn't trigger any blooming. Last winter they were kept where there is some natural light (not much) and bit warmer; about same lighting as previously. So the maturity seems to be important factor too - very likely combination of all.

@ Rina: Note the zone, comments and pics posted from Americangold they state the following growing flowering conditions: Jade(s) are still outside being kept on the dryer side in some lower temps with no enhanced lighting. If still true today the jade(s) received just shy of 10 hours of sunlight. Simple math test, there are 24 hours in a day if it's sun light for ten of those hours how many hours of darkness would remain ?

Strange thing is the same 10 hours of natural lighting conditions also occur in spring but jades wont even set a bud ( for me) regardless of maturity yet other crassula species will flower with ease in the same lighting and temperature ranges.

In the common lower growing zones of yours and mine Also note that the seasons are opposite if one is standing in the lower areas of Namibia and parts of SA it's mid spring right now . If the ample flowering conditions are available jades would flower at the same time as the pot cultivated counter parts in the northern hemisphere.

nomen

not sure what am I suppose to note? I believe my math is ok....12hrs lights on, 12hrs lights off = 24hrs.

I did not question what AG said at all, I agreed....I am in same zone & would still have them outdoors, but unfortunately we had below freezing few times, and I am not about to keep taking many plants in & out 2x/day.

What I questioned was using a box to cover & keep jades in darkness, not posted by AG.

'what 'mature' means in years' lol or in parrot (from a Soviet cartoon): length of boa is measured in the footsteps of the elephant, marmoset and parrot.

I know the early maturing varieties of Apple trees bloom in 4 years. But how does it depend on the thickness of the trunk? Is the concentration of the flowering hormone greater in more thick trunk?

Maybe is it require more UV in summer for a Jade blooming in winter? But the flowering hormone is formed due to IR.

I have many questions and few answers :(

'Strange thing is the same 10 hours of natural lighting conditions also occur in spring' The temperatures in spring are higher than in autumn.

I don't understand the 'mature' jade issue either. Realistically, pretty near every jade for sale has been produced from a cutting, I don't imagine many producers would be starting jade from seed! Also, how does a cutting 'know' how old the plant it was cut from was?

My cuttings were from a massive jade that was in a office for at least 10 years. 3" dia trunks. It never flowered and mine haven't yet either!

Keep on with the discussion, trying to figure this out too.

As others have also suggested The keep em covered box theory for periods of time isn't (in my opinion) a good idea Note where your statement reads Jades might not flower with 14 hours of darkness when they can and also will as seen by reading the information stated by Americangold comments With basic math one can use 14 hours of darker times as a reference for some species of Crassula to bud and flower.

My opinion for jades in this zone is they flower when temps are dropping from warmer to cooler with less sunlight time are available where apple will flower when temps go from cooler to warmer and have an increase of sun times.

At any rate if one counts Any more than one bushel as a decent yield I count an avg of five years for an apple tree to be mature for a decent harvest yield. Yet even a mature apple tree wont produce a good harvest as it also depends on other factors Example this yea my apple trees had experienced early breaking in late March then back to a decent frost again in April had a major effect on the most mature apples of mine as the late April frost had sent them into a confused state

Some progress for another that is still outside with more than 14 hours of darker times in cooler times

No idea why a more ' mature ' Gollum jade cant/wont bud or flower so it don't

I've read comments that Gollum is difficult to bloom. I have a couple of Hobbit varieties with 1 or 2 small buds, fairly new starts but with old wood stems. This Hobbit has flowers on a single side stem, nothing on the main trunk.

Does anyone use different fertilizers to encourage flowering? I know that the Hoya crowd does.

Not a-lot of postings with buds and flowers on a jade but it is ( kind of ) a big crowd here. It's even big enough to debate soil for jades for 100 years. Then the debate about watering times and or frequencies that jades may or may not need and at what time of the year would they need it or not need it.

Of course there are going to be different feeding regiments from person to person and plant fertilizer NPK values that vary from user to user of ferts if any at all are used would also be a discussion.

If someone tells you they use fish tea and seeweed soup to feed a jade and another discourages organics of any type not being the ideal feeding ingredients to use in a container growing environment BUT yet both jades in different feeding situations can and do flower kind of draws a big ole blank.

Kind of like how it was slightly suggested Jades might not flower well with 14 hours of darkness where another person says they can and do flower with even more than 14 hours of darkness.

Comes the subject of negligent and how they ' thrive 'when neglected can leave one oddly curious as to what they should be doing.

Steven

Bloom boosters and other 'specialty' ferts usually deliver too much of one of the N,P or K.

I posted link to a post explaining fertilizer ratios on other thread about jades. And I am lousy with fertilizer, my succulents got some maybe 2x this summer outdoors...

Kevin (ewwmayo) is very precize with his routines of watering, fertilizing and lighting, and his plants show it; they are show-worthy, healthy and many are blooming. He has many what I think of as 'more difficult' plants and they grow very well under his care. (I am not sure if he grows many jades - but it will be very similar for most succs).

Hey, folks.

Steven, I fertilize at the end of Summer when the temperatures finally drop again. Typically, I then see buds beginning to form in late September.

Josh

Gollum on the verge of blooming. Jades in sun ahead of the not full sun plants.

Lot of good ideas to digest. It seems that dark period, moisture, or lack of, and lower temps may contribute to the flower trigger. I think that next year I should have several Jades mature enough to think about flowering.

I've been struggling with all the different cultivar names, particularly "Hobbit" and "ET Fingers". Hobbit has cupped tips and ET Fingers has pointed tips, is this correct. Hobbit has a folded leaf and Gollum a tubular leaf, correct?

Red Horn Tree is a Hummels Sunset sport with folded and normal leaf shape with Hummel coloring, do I have that right?

Another is "Akai", "Tricolor" and "Lemon & Lime" I have all three and they sure look alike. Still small so all that could change.

Hi, all!

I have all of these listed conditions in sufficient quantity in Siberia
'dark period, moisture, or lack of, and lower temps'

But my Jades don't bloom. I know mature nature Jades (20-30 years) are flowering every year in our Siberian Garden. What's missing from mine? I guess:

1) direct full sun in summer;

2) IR in winter.

What do you think about this?

Direct full sun in summer: Heat is a killer

Afternoon sun with very hot temps can burn these, I learned the hard way.

'Direct full sun in summer: Heat is a killer'

Only in no Siberia lolSiberia is no Africa and no California.

I want to test led-lamp with IR-led in winter. What do you think: can it help me?

Oksana.

@ Steven, hello there.

I think your flowering plant shown above is a Gollum as it has the cupped ends.

I've always thought Gollums were the ET Fingers, perhaps someone will correct me if I'm wrong on this any anything else?!

Hobbits have folds and ridges on the undersides.

Ladies Fingers aka Skinny Fingers have mainly thin and pointed ends.

Red Horn Trees are oversized Hobbit sports (not Hummels) that colour up at certain times of the year depending on temps etc.

There is also the similar large leaved Hobbit variant, the Green Horn Tree which doesn't colour up.

Hummels Sunset are colourful regular jade sports

Hummels Sunset Ghosts are sports from regular HSunset

There are Crosby's Compacts, ovatas, variegated and a host of other types too................

To confuse you even further, many plants of the Hobbit, Gollum, Horn and Finger type grow a mix of leaves, some of us chose to remove the stray type so to keep the plant leaf specific.

Hope this helps.

Gill

Thanks Gill. I had no idea at the number of Jade varieties. I started collecting small starts last spring. At the time I didn't expect I would have 2 dozen plants.

From my reading Gollum has cupped ends and ET Fingers has pointed ends. From my observation I find Gollum to be a dark green tubular leaf, Hobbit is lime green folded leaf with red tips. I have several starts of both from different sources and they are all different to a degree. Looking forward to a full summer on them to see how they change.

I have read the Red Horn was a Hummel sport but I tend to agree with you, it looks more like a Hobbit sport. I have not been able to find a commercial seller in the USA.

oks2n2_Siberia1, The LED strips do help. I have some very low cost kits from evilbay that are red with a few blue emitters. T5HO is better, but the LED's would be better than nothing, just don't spend a lot for them.

Anyone care to ID, person I got it from wasn't real sure of name, sort of remembered it as ET Fingers.

Steven, the colours that we see on many jades are often a result of differing cultural situations. My Hobbits for example may show entirely different colours, and they're not lime green btw, to a Hobbit grown over the other side of the Atlantic.

The plant above does look like a Red Horn Tree but as there's nothing for scale, it's difficult to judge the size of those leaves. My two RHT cuttings started of with leaves the same size that my Hobbits had, now they are twice the length and breadth. One thing I've noticed, my RHTs tend to have far less of the wrong type of leaves, in fact, I think I'm right in saying I've never removed a wrong one on either plant.

Apologies to the OP for this slight digression :-)

Gill

I went outside this morning, and my second oldest Jade has put out a few flower buds for the first time this year!

Most of the Jades are in full bloom now! I've located them all (minus one) to this sunny windowsill where I can enjoy them.

Very nice greenman! Thank you for sharing. No blooms here yet, just flower buds yet.

Now I really wonder about what makes jades to bloom! Recently, one of my jades decided to bloom. Just 1 flower, but it has been indoors since Nov, and bloom just appeared. Today, I found another one. It has been also indoors since Nov; it is in west window (huge maple tree in front, so not as much sun). It is also quite warm since it is in my LR. It also have only 1 bloom. But none of the suggested conditions are there: not enough light; too warm. Also quite late, as they usually bloom in late fall. Plant is same age as 5 other ones I posted previously that bloomed, starting in late November:

Rina, congratulations! What does mean "in my LR"?

Oksana

Thank you.

LR means living room (gostinaya???)

Mine is in part sun. So,others in town in full sun are more flower then leafs.

Very nice!

This is one of the Jades I've kept in the greenhouse for the Winter. Of all the Jades, it's held its blooms the longest. The cooler, more humid conditions in the greenhouse really help to preserve and extend the blooms.

Josh

Rina

thank you! Can you measure the temperature there, near west window?

Oksana

Oksana

It is quite warm even by the window, since the heating outlet/register is just below it. Plants are on a shelve, so warm air doesn't blast directly on them. I measured temp right on a tray, about 15cm from the window pane. Warmest was approx. 18 C, lowest approx. 14 C. Not sure how much warmer it would get on sunny day. I used just an ordinary thermometer, do not have one (infrared?) to check the leaf surface temperature. Plants kept under the lights may be bit warmer, there is some heat generated even from CFL lightbulbs I use (there are quite a few :)

All my succulents were outdoors until temperatures started to stay around 5-6 C overnight.

Rina

I think 14 - 18C is normal for blooming.

Oksana

Oksana

Thank you. I wonder about advice given often to keep plant in colder temps ahead of time, to encourage forming of the buds. Here is just one example:

1, Keep your plant cool from September onwards at an ideal temperature of between 10-15 Celsius, 50-60 Fahrenheit.

2, No additional heat should be supplied as long as the temperatures keep within 10-15c 50-60F or lower, but do not let the temperatures drop too low e.g below 3c as these plants can not take any frost.

3, no watering from sept onwards…… but water as soon as buds form, letting the soil dry out between waterings before watering again.

4, Keep your plant in a very bright well lit position that receives plenty of sunshine all year round.

5, Make sure your plant does not receive any artificial light from early September onwards,because this will prevent bud formation. if you can’t prevent having artificial lighting on in the room that you have your plant growing in, then an option would be to place a box over you plant only during the times you have the lighting on.

Most of my plants are getting supplemental lights for 12hrs/day. Few I have in the living room window have been moved there after the flower buds opened. I never cover anything to create darkness. This year, they have been in warmer temps indoors after brought in from outside. Buds started to show in November on 5 plants. Only 2 plants had single bloom only, and they both started to flower just recently, 1 is under the lights, another not.

I know there is lots of info around that may not be quite correct.

My jade had started to flower again. When I looked back at photos this means it has flowers twic this year. Makes me feel lucky lol