Flowering Jade

Discussion in 'Cacti and Succulents' started by sburkhar, Nov 29, 2005.

  1. sburkhar

    sburkhar Member

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    My Jade plant is in bloom. Has anyone ever heard of such a thing? This is part of a plant that has been in our family for over 50 years. I've had this particular start for about 5 years and it is growing at an alarming pace. I thought Jades were slow growing and I certainly didn't know they could bloom.
     

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  2. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    Actually, they can become covered with flowers when conditions are suitable. Consider it a good sign that yours felt happy enough to bloom.
     
  3. Cristina Diaz

    Cristina Diaz Member

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    Sburkhar

    Beautiful and healthy one you've got there; like Ron says, happy to bloom. The Jade is also known in Spanish as the "Planta del dinero", that is the Money Plant, and its growing is related to abundance of wealth. It is not unusual to find a coin in the soil of some of these plants in Spanish houses.

    If it receives the right amount of light, it can actually bloom like yours and propagate very quickly. A nice idea is to cut a few stems and re pot them so you propagate it, maybe you can place the new plants eventually on hanging baskets, as the effect is quite nice.

    So, it seems wealth is coming to you, I can only say but congratulations.

    Keep us informed!

    Cris
     
  4. silver_creek

    silver_creek Active Member

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    Our 35 year old jade plant blooms almost every winter. Some people (including my brother in law!) are very allergic to the pollen. We grow numerous succulents, and we find they all bloom well if they spend the summer outside, and do not come in until they have gone through some cool nights (temps down to 40oF) and the shortening light of autumn. They spend the winter in our house attached, unheated sunroom.
     
  5. Oldmilkmaid

    Oldmilkmaid Member

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    Westcliffe, Colorado, USA
    I adopted a huge jade plant about two years ago, which outgrew its large pot so I stuck it in a 5-gallon bucket, where it seemed very happy; last summer it even outgrew the bucket (the cat knocked it over, it was so top-heavy), so I replanted it in half of a plastic 55-gallon drum, set on wheels!

    I was chatting with a friend about this plant on EpiForums.com one day this summer and I asked him if jades ever bloom. He sent me a photo of the flowers and the info that the plant needs to be quite large, old, and exposed to just the right light and temperatures before it would blossom. A week or two later, I noticed BUDS forming all over mine! It seemed to take forever for them to finally open, but they did - in October (see the snow in the background of the bottom picture!) - and the ones closest to the window (which opened last) are still blooming.

    The flowers on the darker side of the plant, away from the windows, seemed to have more pink on them, while the ones closer to the windows are pure white. They are quite interesting and lovely when viewed close-up, with lots of neat little parts to the flowers. There doesn't seem to be any fragrance to them, and I didn't detect any outpouring of nectar, such as happens with hoya blossoms, so there wasn't any sticky mess under the plant. Most of the spent flower-clusters have dried out, and only drop off when the plant is jostled, so they still adorn it for a while - I vacuumed most of them off of it, just so they wouldn't fall on the floor. It has been a singularly pleasant blooming experience, even if there wasn't any fragrance to go with it.

    Becky in Colorado
     

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  6. OMGosh... here I thought that I had an anomoly! I had started this jade plant from a small slip over 20 years ago. Never flowered... ever! This year I thought I had left it outside too long in the cold, brought her inside with the leaves all falling off, feared that I had killed it. About 2 weeks later my gosh it had blooms! I called it my "miracle flower".... and was under the impression that jade plants are not flowering plants. The flowers bloomed on Christmas morning and are just now starting to fade. Am very happy to know that I am not alone in my amazement!

    Thank You!
     
  7. Mine too started blooming. I've noticed common threads in the dialogs, repotting and fast growing. Maybe that's the key. Thanks everyone for the info.
     
  8. Dave L

    Dave L Member

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    Just wanted to say I was happy to find this site. Never had my Jade flower and it is OLD!

    These are from one of the propogates which finally flowered after being outside all summer and brought inside in late fall as stated above:
     

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  9. Blondie09

    Blondie09 Member

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    I recently have gotten myself a nice, but small jade tree:) Whats the proper care for it? Want mine beautiful and much bigger like you 'pros' have yours:) They are sooo beautiful!!!!!!! Kept looking at all your pictures.........wow! Are there a lot of roots on your trees? Do they run deep or shallow in the pots? The reason I ask is because the place where I purchased my little jade from must have trimmed its poor roots, as they are all the same size (about) and look to be cut in a straight line. Any special fertilizer used? Thanks...........sorry so many questions, but I am learning as I go. Don't post much as I dont want to seem foolish.........lol.
     
  10. Dave L

    Dave L Member

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    No question is ever foolish, there are only foolish answers! Even that is open to debate.

    Jades grow fairly quickly if properly cared for, but the beauties you see from the "pros" have been cared for for many years!
    After haphazardly caring for mine for years ( a hand-me-down) I found that they are extremely tolerant to abuse, but after talking with some other growers, I found that with a little care they can become fabulous! After mine flowered this fall, I began researching quite a bit.

    Your Jade will love you if you give it LOTS of natural sunlight. As a succulent, don't over water it, in fact, let it get DRY before you water again. They like just a balanced fertilizer, no need for anything special. I hit mine with some OMRI listed organics about once every couple months if dry, but something like Shultz etc. will be just fine.

    You should also prune or pinch tops (new growth) to promote a nice healthy base. The pinches or leaves can be placed in nice organic/peat compost to root up and become their own tree.

    Your roots as you mentioned should also be pruned. This is often done when transplanting every two to three years as you up container size. Simply remove from it's current container (roots will appear over grown) and with a sharp knife slice about 3/4 inch off from the bottom and sides. Place some fresh mix into the new container to replace the 3/4 plus the new voids and fill in around the sides.

    If you are in the Northeast or equivalent, as soon as its above 55-60 you can put outside in full sun. The bright sun will red up the margins of the leaves. Leave out to late fall when temperatures drop (obviously not below freezing) and when you move it inside it will most like flower for you.

    As stated above, My wife and I were somewhat allergic to the pollen, but after you have flowered you can cut them back.

    Hope that helps, and keep us posted on your progress and up some photos!!
     
  11. Blondie09

    Blondie09 Member

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    Thank you so much for the info you gave me. It helps a great deal. Since its winter , I just let my jade go completely dry before watering again, correct? Also, can you use something like green moss or spanish moss as a decorative top layer? (To dress up the container and plant.) What is the fertilizer you use again?
    OK, one more question........how do you clean the jades leaves and can you safely use something like neem oil to prevent any buggies getting it. (that was 2 questions ..........oops:))
    Thanks sooooooo much again:)
     

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