Not sure about the light, even if there is many hours: plants in the photo looks quite etiolated. Maybe light is not strong enough? What is grow light like and when exactly is it on? I keep lights on for approx. 12 hrs now. Maybe slightly less hours but more intensive would help?

I use much more gritty and inorganic mix. Your mix may be quite water retaining, and it is, IMO, overpotted. Plant will start growing if in favorable light, same as some new growth is visible - you just need to give it some time.

This is the grow light I am using.

54W Light Bar 12-15" above plants.

Light Schedule:

Grow Light, no other lights: 8pm-8am

Florscent light, no grow light: 8am-4pm

Darkness: 4pm-8pm

I just moved the plants in the photo from home to my office and installed a grow light, so they've only had about a week of this lighting schedule. Before, everything was at home my a north facing window with two smaller 12w lights. (I am in Detroit, MI)

As far as soil goes - I think you're right. I'll keep reading up on that.

Rina -

This is all super helpful - Hopefully others have more insight on the LED Grow lights

I'm going to head out and see if I can procure the materials for Al's 1:1:1 Gritty Mix. When I do I will plant the jade in a smaller pot. Is there a good rule of thumb for sizing?

I have been doing lots and lots of reading on this forum - you guys are all so helpful. I've gotten bitten by the plant bug, and love having these plants in my office.

Hers the another shot of plants I have growing - these are cuttings from other friends' plants - no idea what they are!

The other plant in center is Tradescantia "Wandering Jew". These are suffering from low light and perhaps a combined lack of nutrients. They will survive this for quite some time but under better light (not direct sun) they will have shorter internodes (space between the leaves) and more branching. They look neat in water but will really thrive better in soil. The name of the other escapes me at the moment but it grows similarly.. Where in this world are you (e.g. in which state if you are in the USA)? Are the fluorescent bulbs you are using fairly new? With good light the jade should start to branch fairly quickly from those points you mention. Does that pot the jade is in have drainage holes?? I agree that soil looks a bit peaty/organic for the jade. Rina has great results with no soil, though I would recommend keeping a bit of soil in the mixture until you have grown things longer. You can take commercial cactus potting mix (or even regular potting mix) and mix that with about equal amounts perlite. Depending on where you are, if you can get that jade outside in the summer in some real sun, it will take off quite well in those ideal condtions. However any increase in lighting intensity should be done gradually, over several days to avoid sunburn. I am in NJ with minimal good inside window space so my plants go outside for "summer vacation" in Spring .

Thank you for identifying my wandering jew - I will get those guys potted in soil ASAP!

Answers:

• all of my pots have drainage holes
• I am using LED grow bulbs Link Here
• I live in Detroit, MI - My office has no windows. Quite depressing.
• I've bought the ingredients for 1:1:1 and going to give that a shot.

Question:

• When I transfer to the Gritty Mix, should I leave my Jade out of soil for a day or two? Do I give the gritty mix a thorough watering immediately after transplanting or do I wait a bit? I am planning on re-potting a few of my jades next week - most have not seen water for 1-2 weeks.

Hey Christopher,

I might add a word on Al's mix. If you have trouble finding good bark (this is almost inevitable), than just use screened perlite instead. This definitely works well for succulents, but I'm not sure about the other plants you have there.

In agreement with both wood & palms.

I don't use soil, but it is OK to use some as long as it is not big % of the mix. And I know it could be 'weird' not to use soil, as we all know that plants come in soil, in pots, lol. I decided to go for it and it works well. Especially for ppl that are over-waterers and/or keep plants outdoors in locations where it rains more often. In hotter climates they usually need watering more often if in gritty mix, and that may or may not be convenient for grower.

Whole idea behind Al's gritty mix is to get very good drainage - bigger particles will do that. I came across this forum and Al's mixes few years ago looking for ideas about ficus Benjamina. Read his postings about gritty and 5.1.1 mixes and got curious to see if and how could they possibly work.

You don't have to use bark - I don't since it is hard to find (I can get lots of it but very large. I did try to cut up some, but that is way too much work, lol). I have potted many jades in a mix of only grit & perlite, and they grow just the same. I water them all at the same time. It takes a little while to get used to such change, but eventually it becomes very easy. I have even some non-succulent plants in gritty mix (wanted to see if the live), only problem is that bigger pots get heavy with all the grit.

A thick trunk is based upon need. It is a highway between roots and leaves, carrying foods to the roots and minerals, water to the leaves(my simplistic explanation). If there is a large canopy of leaves to support, a large amount of roots are needed and the 'highway' is busy between the two. Thickening of the trunk is to increase capacity of flow up and down. So, lots of sun and proper nutrition for a large canopy, and lots of proper soil for lots of roots sets the stage for trunk thickening. Finally, let the plant grow hairy wild for a coupleafew years until the trunk is where you like it.

Once you have a thick-trunked plant that looks shaggy and wild, you then start pruning the canopy down to where you like it, and pruning roots to fit it back into a smaller pot. A recommendation I have found helpful is to have several plants in various stages of development so that you keep busy and aren't tempted to impatiently rush the process. Of course we all like being counseled to get more plants!

As far as grow lights, a high Kelvin number is helpful to your plant. For instance, my T5 fluorescents are 6400K, and I get the canopy of leaves to within an inch or two where possible. Of course, as soon as weather allows, I put them out to bathe in sun, wind and rain where growth accelerates rapidly.

ez

Wow - you guys are amazing.

I am still trying to figure out proper LED Wattage & Height for my office setup. If anyone has insight, I would love that

Question:

When I transfer to the Gritty Mix, should I leave my Jade out of soil for a day or two? Do I give the gritty mix a thorough watering immediately after transplanting or do I wait a bit? I am planning on re-potting a few of my jades next week - most have not seen water for 1-2 weeks

I would go by condition of roots:

If roots are gone (rotted off or cut off because damaged or dry), treat as rootless cutting = no roots, no water :)

If roots in good condition but were in wet soil, set on something absorbent to wick away extra moisture, pot up after day or so.

If roots are nor too wet, just needed little prune here & there, pot into dry mix and water next day.

Watering in grittier mix will be different; and if not sure, help yourself with a bamboo skewer/chopstick/wooden dowel or pencil: stick deep into soil, if it comes out dry - water, If damp/cold feeling and maybe some small particles sticking to it, no water yet.

On the LED lights... I don't use LEDs, but as a rule, you need to get the lights as close to the plants as you can.

I feel that LEDs are a bit finicky, and it is kind of hard to pick out a good light (especially for 1st timers). I use CFLs, which, like LEDs, use a lot less energy than conventional bulbs, and they are compact and easy to set up and use. I like that they are tried and true- it is super easy to pick a bulb; much less mystifying than LEDs, at least. If you try CFLs, make sure to go with 6500K, and 23 watts (actual wattage). You can easily screw a CFL into an ordinary desk lamp.

Christopher,

The LED bar you are using apparently only draws 22 Watts. There is a label on the power supply that gives the efficiency rating at of 88% so that comes around to actual lamp wattage of only about 19.4 watts. It's a lot lower than what it is rated for (which is 54 watts). Low watt=less photons, even at the higher efficiency rate of light-emitting diodes. This is one of the pitfalls of buying LED grow lights, since they are still so expensive and buyers have to go through so many extra steps just to ferret out information about a specific rig.

That being said, for the size of your jade, I think it is enough light until it starts really putting out more leaves (and will therefore need more light). I suggest propping your plant up in increments of an inch higher so that it is closer to the light source. I think considering how low-power this strip really is, you can put the plant all the way up to almost touching.

If you have a power meter, you might also want to check yourself how much this strip actually draws. That's another thing with LED panels---they are not all created equal. I've not met a brand I would consider reliable or consistent.

I hope this helps.