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#1
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Jade lost its composure
Hello,
I've had a little Jade plant in my office for a couple of years now. It doesn't get much light (read: no sunlight :|) other than from the fluorescent bulbs, but has been growing a bit. Unfortunately, at some point this summer (during my absence) it "lost its composure" and fell/bent sideways. Since then I've had to prop it up with a stick... but the stem is like a large spaghetti now and I'm not sure what kind of prospects the little guy now has. Any suggestions. Pardon the complete-plant-illiterate post; hopefully in patching this little Jade up I can learn a thing or two about plants. Thanks, Mike |
#2
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Jade lost its composure
wrote in message oups.com... Hello, I've had a little Jade plant in my office for a couple of years now. It doesn't get much light (read: no sunlight :|) other than from the fluorescent bulbs, but has been growing a bit. Unfortunately, at some point this summer (during my absence) it "lost its composure" and fell/bent sideways. Since then I've had to prop it up with a stick... but the stem is like a large spaghetti now and I'm not sure what kind of prospects the little guy now has. Any suggestions. Pardon the complete-plant-illiterate post; hopefully in patching this little Jade up I can learn a thing or two about plants. Thanks, Mike By a jade plant I assume you mean crassula arboscens\ovata otherwise known as a money tree.* First of all, these plants are tough as old boots. Give it a good watering by standing it in a bowl of water with the chill taken off, until the water shows on the surface. The plant would benefit from a regular monthly(ish) feeding with a lowish nitrogen liquid or powdered fertiliser (including trace elements). Any fertiliser will do. However if you insist, you can pay more for a special houseplant fertiliser "baby bio" or similar. You can tell when the plant needs watering when the leaves or pads are spongy to the touch. When it's been well watered the pads will be rigid. So its water and feed throughout the year whenever the leaves are really spongy to the touch. Also when its been watered it should really regain its upright shape. However propping it up, if necessary, will do it no harm These plants are very easy to propagate from cuttings. Either from individual leaves, or leaves plus a piece of stem which has broken off. If you notice, the stems all have knuckles similar to bamboo, and these break off at the knuckles when the branches get overburdened with leaves, fall to the ground and regrow from there. In nature that is. The plant also makes arial roots. All the Crassulas are South African, Southern hemisphere in origin and so most species continue growing through the Winter. In fact they can grow all year round. I've had the best success with flowering, in plants on North facing windowsills. In this situation they also make a more open candelabrum shape. All plants benefit from a bit of sunlight now and again. The more sunlight they get - unless grown under special growlights - the better they'll do. Maybe you could leave the plant on the windowsill over the weekends when nobody's in the office to object. Or take it home for a holiday. Everyone has their own recommendations for compost for repotting. My own, gun to the head figures, would be around 50% peat based compost, 30% sharp grit, and 20% coarse sand. With the bottom third of the pot first filled with pea shingle to promote good drainage. michael adams * http://www.bcss-liverpool.pwp.blueyo...ula_ovata.htm* |
#3
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Jade lost its composure
Thanks Michael,
I think that's the same plant we're talking about; looking it up on Wikipedia I also get Crassula ovata. Yes I will water and feed it more frequently. At this point it won't stand on it's own at all (bends down at the bottom of the stem), so I do have to prop it up. Looking at the pics, a grown plant should have the stems like a trunk of a tree! ...so as You say, this little one should get back into shape over time. Thanks, Mike michael adams wrote: wrote in message oups.com... Hello, I've had a little Jade plant in my office for a couple of years now. It doesn't get much light (read: no sunlight :|) other than from the fluorescent bulbs, but has been growing a bit. Unfortunately, at some point this summer (during my absence) it "lost its composure" and fell/bent sideways. Since then I've had to prop it up with a stick... but the stem is like a large spaghetti now and I'm not sure what kind of prospects the little guy now has. Any suggestions. Pardon the complete-plant-illiterate post; hopefully in patching this little Jade up I can learn a thing or two about plants. Thanks, Mike By a jade plant I assume you mean crassula arboscens\ovata otherwise known as a money tree.* First of all, these plants are tough as old boots. Give it a good watering by standing it in a bowl of water with the chill taken off, until the water shows on the surface. The plant would benefit from a regular monthly(ish) feeding with a lowish nitrogen liquid or powdered fertiliser (including trace elements). Any fertiliser will do. However if you insist, you can pay more for a special houseplant fertiliser "baby bio" or similar. You can tell when the plant needs watering when the leaves or pads are spongy to the touch. When it's been well watered the pads will be rigid. So its water and feed throughout the year whenever the leaves are really spongy to the touch. Also when its been watered it should really regain its upright shape. However propping it up, if necessary, will do it no harm These plants are very easy to propagate from cuttings. Either from individual leaves, or leaves plus a piece of stem which has broken off. If you notice, the stems all have knuckles similar to bamboo, and these break off at the knuckles when the branches get overburdened with leaves, fall to the ground and regrow from there. In nature that is. The plant also makes arial roots. All the Crassulas are South African, Southern hemisphere in origin and so most species continue growing through the Winter. In fact they can grow all year round. I've had the best success with flowering, in plants on North facing windowsills. In this situation they also make a more open candelabrum shape. All plants benefit from a bit of sunlight now and again. The more sunlight they get - unless grown under special growlights - the better they'll do. Maybe you could leave the plant on the windowsill over the weekends when nobody's in the office to object. Or take it home for a holiday. Everyone has their own recommendations for compost for repotting. My own, gun to the head figures, would be around 50% peat based compost, 30% sharp grit, and 20% coarse sand. With the bottom third of the pot first filled with pea shingle to promote good drainage. michael adams * http://www.bcss-liverpool.pwp.blueyo...ula_ovata.htm* |
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