DragonStone's Blog

2010-05-23T14:49:00.002-05:00

Look what a friend sent me yesterday. A huge box of jade plant clippings. Geez! hehe.

Today I got them all potted.

As for my other jades, most of them are still hanging in there. I did find out that one jade plant died and possibly another is on the process of shriveling up. Not sure why now... since I repotted them all. Frustrating.

Caved in...

2010-03-27T11:45:00.003-05:00

I caved in and bought more jade plants!

The side view didn't do much justice to the shorter jade plant. The shorter jade plant is actually very wide.

This picture here shows how wide the shorter jade plant is! The taller jade plant is behind it. Looks puny now, don't it? hehe.

Today was pretty productive. I headed to a local nursery to see if they had anything. I saw huge Barrel Cacti through the clear plastic when approaching but after I stepped in, they were all dying from the bottom up. There were a couple of sedums but... that was pretty much it. Nothing else.

I asked the guy if he had any jade plants. He fetched one from a greenhouse from across the road. He said that he was going to make cuttings from the ones he had left but I was more than welcome to buy the tall skinny one. I noticed that there was yellow/red coloring on it and this was the same nursery that I bought my Hummel Sunset from. I jumped on it. He told me it was $10 and I was happy to take it.

Then I visited another nursery nearby and they had a batch of jade plants that were just HUGE. They were all $10 each. I didn't see any red/yellowing so I figured these have to be regular jade plants. I snatched one up. hehe.

I'm happy! It was $20 well spent.

Surviving Jades

2010-03-08T16:49:00.002-05:00

I repotted what was left of the jades today. New leaves are popping out and I hope they'll thrive this summer. I still have whatever little that is left of my Ms. Jade that started all of this. I have some gollum and hobbit. I believe I may have lost all the Hummel Sunset or the regular jade plant. Not sure. The jade plant on the very far right - that may be a regular jade plant or a hummel sunset. Time will tell if the leaves change colors after it gets bigger.

Update on Jades

2009-07-17T16:35:00.002-05:00

I was asked to give an update on my jade plants. I guess the grim news is that I expect all of them to die before the year is over. Why such a harsh prediction? Most of the little ones are long gone. The larger ones are still losing branches over time and none of them are thriving. They grew a couple small leaves but then sit around...

I guess the winter shocked them so much that they're not recovering. I guess somewhere inside of me, I'll be somewhat relieved to deal with whatever handful that survives and thrives rather than sit around and stare at a table of jade plants that look so miserable while they're on their way out.

I was encouraged to make a couple clippings but the clippings immediately shriveled before they ever had a chance to do anything.

Freeze Tonight?!

2009-04-07T11:45:00.002-05:00

I probably shouldn't have put my winter clothes away. Heh! There's a freeze coming up tonight. I was hoping the forecasts were wrong and even if they weren't, it always showed the temperature at 34 or 35. I figure that's not bad for plants to creep through just one night. Now that we're nearing this cold night, I'm finding that the temperature right now is already 49 degrees and it's not even 1pm yet! The predicted low tonight is, at the moment, 32. Isn't that beautiful? Now I have to figure out if I oughta shuffle all the plants into the greenhouse to protect them in case it drops lower than 32 - which I'm convinced it will since it's already 49 right now.

Bleh.

One shows life!

2009-04-05T19:21:00.003-05:00

In my grouping of small jade plants that I felt may have died - one finally shows signs of life! I removed the two rotting nodes when I saw these little leaves coming up. We'll see how the others are.

Jade Plants - Still not sure...

2009-03-27T09:37:00.003-05:00

I took the jade plants out of the greenhouse yesterday. I still can't tell if any are going to make it. Sure, there's a bunch of green leaves but a good chunk are shriveling up - along with the branches. Heck, I'm worried my main Hummel Sunset is dying as well. A lot of the smaller plants look like they totally bit the dust.

And thus they live on...

2009-03-10T15:16:00.003-05:00

Guess what I found beneath the table in the greenhouse? From the way they're all sticking up, I guess they rooted into the ground. I can't reach these right now but I guess I'll have to repot them when the time comes!

Warm temperatures but will it stay?

2009-03-06T12:24:00.003-05:00

It's amazed me how many times we've had flurries this winter. I don't think I've seen it happen here that many times in a short period in... forever. Some of the jade plants may have bit it. I certainly did a lot of removing of dead branches. So far, I suspect two jade plants will die. Even their trunk is a bit soft. The rest still feel firm.

Even though I'm keeping an eye on the 10 day forecast, it doesn't seem like there'll be any freezing temperatures left. Who knows though, there's always a cold frost that'll kill a bunch of plants when they believe spring has already arrived.

Hummel Sunset Jade Plant

2008-04-19T14:43:00.005-05:00

I was told: Withhold water and provide lots of light - Hummel Sunset should redden right up.

This is as red as its gonna get because the leaves are starting to shrivel up. I was going to water it but supposedly a storm is coming through the area tonight so I'll let it water my succulents and other plants.

Variegated Jade Leaf Growing New Plant

2008-04-07T22:58:00.002-05:00

I hate my variegated jade plant. I do. It just seems to sit there but I guess that's what someone meant when they said that variegated jades are agonizingly slow to grow. At least it's alive. I think. I don't know. It hasn't done anything in the year I had it.

While in the greenhouse over winter, one of the leaves fell and started growing a new plant. All green!

This made me remember a comment on the Cacti and Succulents forum on Gardenweb years ago where someone said not to bother planting variegated jade leaves because the plant that grows from them would revert back to a solid green state. The only way to get more variegated jades is to grow from branches.

Maybe Ms. Jade really is a Crosby's Compact?

2008-03-25T16:18:00.004-05:00

Hmm, Over the years, I've posted pictures and information of Ms. Jade that I've had since December of 1996. It's my oldest jade plant. One of my biggest frustrations with her is that I've never succeeded in having her growing big at all. I would either let her get all leggy or just keep her sharply pruned down - nothing worked. After posting on Gardenweb over time, a few members have suggested that she may be a Crosby's Compact.

After looking up information, it appears Crosby's Compact turns red. I've always dismissed it because Ms. Jade and all her 'offspring' have never turned red at all. The leaves remain green and would have a 'sunburnt' edge during summer.

Well, for some reason, one of her offspring has started reddening right up! Sorry about the pollen. The pine trees are trying to make everything look yellow right now.

Here's the image of the full size plant.

Hm, my poor camera. I don't think it can deal with certain types of light that well anymore.

I decided to hit Google for Crosby's Compact again. While a lot of images show them as red leaves, I can't help but think that Ms. Jade is one. The trunks all look the same.

So a new year starts...

2008-03-19T16:14:00.003-05:00

There's a big storm coming through the area tonight so I decided to quickly lug all my jade plants out of the greenhouse (along with the rest) so that they can all get a good soaking. The temperatures will be staying warm so I suppose spring has arrived in this area ... despite the fact that winter has been pretty mild anyhow.

I have to seriously repot quite a few of the jades.

And yeah, I'm aware of the pine tree in the one pot full of jades. I haven't been able to bring myself to remove it. ;)

Jade Plant Experiment - Afterthoughts

2007-12-03T16:28:00.000-05:00

Oy. Google ate my post. That was fun. Now to retype it all...

I failed big time. I knew it was going to happen. As I predicted, the summer heat would make me lose interest in this experiment. Ah, but, I know some are curious as to what happened after...

Numbered

Team M

Plant Name	Numbered	Team M
1. (Dwarf?) Jade Plant	9.5"	10"
2. Hummel Sunset	10"	***
3. Gollum Jade Plant		9"
4. Hobbit Jade Plant	8.5"	7.5"

***I gave away the jade plant when someone asked for it. Sorry 'bout that...

My conclusion? I think the recipe helped slightly. (Refer to measurements from first post) While Team M was catching up to its taller counterparts, it wasn't exactly a big improvement. I imagine if I were to run this experiment for five years, Team M would have a big advantage over the other team eventually. Would I do it? Very lazily.

Off-topic note, I do love how the fertilizer recipe has caused lots of buds on my thanksgiving cacti. The likelihood of me making the fertilizer for next year is very high and I may continue to water Team M just for the heck of it.

Update 9 - Jade Plant Experiment

2007-08-01T14:09:00.001-05:00

I know, I know. I didn't do an update for July 15th. The heat and humidity in this area has become so smothering that I can't bring myself to step outside for very long. Any gardening has held very little interest for me right now. However, I was able to eek out this update though.

I can hear it now. "What is this mess that I'm staring at??" Severely unweeded jade plants. It's amazing how weeds pop up in the pots like that.

1st Measurements, 2nd Measurements, 3rd Measurements, 4th Measurements, and 5th Measurements.

Plant Name	Numbered	Team M
1. (Dwarf?) Jade Plant	9.5"	9.5"
2. Hummel Sunset	9.75"	8.25"
3. Gollum Jade Plant		8.5"
4. Hobbit Jade Plant	8.5"	7.5"

Update 8 - Jade Plant Experiment

2007-06-30T10:18:00.000-05:00

I can't believe tomorrow will be July. Yikes. Everyone have a safe July 4th!

Well, here's the next update.

1st Measurements, 2nd Measurements, 3rd Measurements and 4th Measurements.

Plant Name	Numbered	Team M
1. (Dwarf?) Jade Plant	9"	9.25"
2. Hummel Sunset	9.75"	8"
3. Gollum Jade Plant		8.5"
4. Hobbit Jade Plant	8.5"	7"

Update 7 - Jade Plant Experiment

2007-06-15T17:12:00.000-05:00

Here comes the next Jade Plant update...

I'm thinking that maybe the mixture doesn't hurry along any new growth. I know I'm only halfway through the summer but I don't know. I imagine there's going to be seven or updates left (before we hit November.) so I don't know.

Random Jade Plants

2007-06-01T14:17:00.000-05:00

Hobbit Jade Plant

Gollum Jade Plant

Hummel Sunset Jade Plant

Variegated Jade Plant

Tossed up some extra pictures of the various Jade Plants I have.

Update 6 - Jade Plant Experiment

2007-06-01T14:09:00.000-05:00

Hm, I'm kinda baffled by the measurements. A majority seems to be sitting still (too hot?) while one or two made a jump.

1st Measurements, 2nd Measurements, and 3rd Measurements.

Plant Name	Numbered	Team M
1. (Dwarf?) Jade Plant	9"	8.5"
2. Hummel Sunset	9.5"	7.5"
3. Gollum Jade Plant		8.5"
4. Hobbit Jade Plant	8"	6.25"

Gollum Jade Plant covered in Webs

2007-06-01T12:29:00.000-05:00

I got my new digital camera today! I really like how this picture came out.

Update 5: Jade Plant Experiment

2007-05-16T18:43:00.000-05:00

And the fifth update is here!

Update 4: Jade Plants Experiment

2007-04-30T09:21:00.000-05:00

Here comes the next update...

So far, it seems that 'Hobbit 1' and 'Gollum M3' has had nothing new for the past month.

1st Measurements and 2nd Measurements.

Plant Name	Numbered	Team M
1. (Dwarf?) Jade Plant	9"	7.75"
2. Hummel Sunset	9.25"	7.5"
3. Gollum Jade Plant		8.5"
4. Hobbit Jade Plant	7.25"	6.25"

Update 3: Jade Plants

2007-04-15T15:58:00.000-05:00

And chugging along to the third update...

Update 2: Jade Plants

2007-04-01T16:58:00.000-05:00

You know, I almost didn't measure them because I didn't notice them being any bigger but there was some growth afterall.

Refer to this post for the previous measurements.

Plant Name	Numbered	Team M
1. (Dwarf?) Jade Plant	8.75"	7.5"
2. Hummel Sunset	9"	7"
3. Gollum Jade Plant		8.5"
4. Hobbit Jade Plant	7.25"	5.75"

Purchased A New Jade Plant

2007-03-29T13:26:00.000-05:00

Ah, I did something I didn't think I would have. I bought yet another plant from ebay. I posted about it here because I wasn't sure what it was. The seller says it is Gollum but I bought it because I didn't have a jade plant with that type of leaf.

Variegated Jade Plant vs Squirrel. Bets?

2007-03-22T08:28:00.000-05:00

I knew it. I knew it! Something or someone is telling me that I'm never ever allowed to have a variegated jade plant!

This time around, it was a squirrel. A jade plant was knocked over and my prickly pear also has a bite mark. However, one squirrel took their time to bend over my poor variegated jade and make a light snack out of it.

I have to get back into the habit of putting squirrel feed on the stumps out back in early morning to prevent them from coming up to the house.

Took Jades out of Greenhouse

2007-03-19T14:03:00.000-05:00

I may end up having to bring them back into the greenhouse, I'm sure... The local newspaper warned gardeners not to start planting because locals have seen snowfall in April after a warmspell in March. I don't mind. Some direct sun would help them for once instead of the thick plastic of the greenhouse obscuring it.

I took quite a few pictures but unfortunately the bright sun and my digital camera did not agree with each other so I'll have to take new pictures at a different time. However, I did have a few that were okay.

A side-by-side comparison. The Hobbit Jade Plant on the left is already taller than my ten year old jade. I received the hobbit jade plant as a clipping back in 2005. It receives the same sunlight. There's a gollum jade plant further down the table which is also big as well.

Gollum Jade has tubular leaves.

Hobbit Jade has leaves that curl inwards.

Ms. Jade - A dwarf variety?

2007-03-18T14:24:00.000-05:00

My oldest jade plant is Ms. Jade who I've had for just slightly over ten years now. I got her several days before Christmas of 1996.

It's funny because I remember walking around the garden center of Wal-Mart and I saw this tiny jade plant in a pot. It reminded me of when my teacher gave me a jade plant (which unfortunately died after shortly moving down south and was exposed to the sun and heat) so I decided to buy it. I don't know if the garden center was exposed to the winter or if winter was mild that year.

Then, over the next following years, I'd get frustrated because she got very leggy. I posted pictures online and I was told that if I wanted a big huge jade plant, I'd have to keep her pruned. I did that... but still, she won't grow any bigger.

About two or three years ago, I bought another jade plant from a local nursery because the leaves were tri-colored. I was told that it'll "turn green after you water it". I liked it too much that I decided to buy it. Later on, I posted it online and a few agreed that it was called Hummel's Sunset and that's why it was getting tri-colored.

What blew me away was that in a very short amount of time, the jade plant thickened up and was growing. So here I was, agonizing over my poor location with all the humidity just knocking down Ms. Jade when this other jade plant was doing extremely well. Even the cuttings I made from it did very well while cuttings I made from Ms. Jade were all not doing much.

Now I'm convinced that Ms. Jade is a dwarf variety. Some suggested that she was Crosby's Compact but she's never ever turned very red or yellow like the pictures I've seen online.

Whatever she is, I never expected to have a plant for a decade now.

Update 1: Two weeks later...

2007-03-16T07:40:00.000-05:00

Here's the update after two weeks. The mixture was applied again.

There was some light rain after I watered the plants. I'll be relocating them to the greenhouse because there's some big storms on their way in.

Jade Plant Experiment

2007-02-27T15:17:00.000-05:00

I chose the plants for my personal experiment. The numbered ones are just strictly water. The ones with M are the ones that'll get the funky mixture from the recipe I listed earlier.

I really thought I had several Gollum clippings but I could only find the one which I decided to use in Team M.

Plant Name	Numbered	Team M
1. (Dwarf?) Jade Plant	8.5"	7"
2. Hummel Sunset	8.5"	6"
3. Gollum Jade Plant		8"
4. Hobbit Jade Plant	7"	5.5"

I thought it'd be interesting to have the taller plants to have just water and see if the shorter plants in Team M would grow faster and end up being taller.

March 1st is when I plan to water them and then just let my personal experiment start.

Using Epsom Salt on Jade Plants

2007-02-23T16:19:00.000-05:00

Over a week ago, I asked on a forum to see if anyone had ever used epsom salt on succulents. My mother's roses are doing very badly so I did a lot of looking around online for tips such as using bananas and coffeegrounds. I stumbled across someone suggesting epsom salt and how it was a miracle.

I looked around for information on epsom salt and with people giving raves about epsom salt, I wanted to know if anyone ever used it on succulents. I asked on a forum but it was kinda interesting. People had great results on other plants but either heard good or bad things about it from others.

Not only that but one member provided a recipe that involved epsom salt. The recipe goes like this:

1 12 oz. beer
1 cup epsom salt
1/2 cup ammonia
2 cups water
1/2 cup molasses

You mix it together and store in a container of some sort. This is the fertilizer. You use 1 teaspoon per gallon of water.

I've decided I'm going to group apart some clippings. A few will get water as it usually does and a few will get this mixture to see if there's any big improvement. The worst is that a few plants could die and the best is that the jade plants respond really well. I have a couple clippings that I'm more than willing to test it on. None of my big jade plants will be subject to it.

Sad thing is, most of my clippings are from this dwarf jade variety. I may use one from the gollum jade to see how big it can actually grow if it reacts well.

Variegated Jade

2007-02-09T01:13:00.001-05:00

Variegated Jade
Originally uploaded by dragonslumber.

The variegated jade plant that I purchased from ebay arrived in the mail with a small dried rootball but I'm hoping it's enough for the plant to establish itself. I'd really like for this one to survive and not fall apart like the other did. Maybe I'm just being slightly paranoid about the variegated jade plant even though all the other types of jades I currently have have grown well.

Variegated Jade

2007-01-31T21:04:00.001-05:00

Variegated Jade
Originally uploaded by Fordjones.

I had no idea you could blog photos that other people uploaded. Isn't this a beautiful plant?

In 2005, I received several variegated jade clippings and none survived. I really wanted one for a long while and to have it die on you, well, it was discouraging.

I keep dancing around on ebay when it came to trying to buy a variegated jade plant. I finally purchased one today when the seller told me it was rooted in a pot. I figured I'd have a better chance of buying one that was growing in a pot rather than as a clipping.

If the plant survives just fine, then I'll have to start some cuttings just in case the main plant up-n-dies on me.

Gollum Jade Plant

2007-01-30T16:39:00.001-05:00

Gollum Jade Plant
Originally uploaded by dragonslumber.

I have this 'bad' habit of tossing clippings into unoccupied pots. Sometimes if leaves fall off, I'll gather them and toss them into a pot. Some root and some don't.

This picture here is of several gollum jade plants growing from the leaves I've tossed into the pot. Eventually I'll split the random cuttings into different pots (I have an easter cactus and some leafy plant growing in this same pot as well).

Dragon Arum (Dracunculus Vulgaris)

2007-01-29T14:26:00.001-05:00

Dragon Arum (Dracunculus Vulgaris)
Originally uploaded by dragonslumber.

This one I am excited about. I got this back in 2005 and potted them up. It grew a plant but it went through an accident where the plant broke.

The bulbs struggled in the pot after which I don't know why as they did really well before. They were relocated to a bed but... no one knew where. Totally slipped the minds of us, it did. Not a good thing!

They never made a peep in 2006 so it was agreed that they died off. Imagine the surprise when we saw this! Apparently, over the long warm spell in December and January, they've been growing.

Sad thing is that we're now getting freezes, sometimes several nights in a row, so it's gonna be tough. The bulbs rested for an entire year and was ready to burst free but now winter seems to finally be giggling its way here.

I have placed a bucket over it in a lame attempt to protect it from the freezes but I have to face the possibility that they'll die down to the ground and will have to peek up when spring finally comes around.

It's just frustrating because everything actually grew during the warm spell. Nothing peeked out or budded or... No, everything grew and grew and now winter is coming around. Oy!

Another glimpse

2007-01-29T14:20:00.001-05:00

Tangerine bloom
Originally uploaded by dragonslumber.

Blooms on a lemon tree. At least, I think it is. It has just started blooming and supporting fruits. All are still green so no idea yet.

Hm, Any idea on how to post more than one picture to a post?

Glimpse into my Greenhouse

2007-01-29T13:39:00.000-05:00

It's smack dab winter around these parts so a building of a greenhouse was created several years ago with wood, nails, and plastic.

Most of my plants are currently jade plants which can't survive the cold winters. Most of my jade plants are of the one growing in a white pot. It turned 10 years old last month and hasn't done anything, really. After lots of thinking and talking with others, I am convinced that it is a dwarf variety that'll never get any bigger than it ever has been. I also have some hobbit jade, gollum jade, as well as some jade plants that I got that came from a plant that was very large so I'm very pleased to get some. I'd like to have a jade plant that would actually grow very big. I'm just disappointed that I struggled with my old one only to really come to the conclusion after a long time that it wasn't a 'big' jade.

Let's see... There's also two poinsettias, some thanksgiving cacti cuttings - Oh! Those long leaves are Pachira, I think? It was given as a gift and labeled as Money Tree. I believe there were 5 or 6 of them braided together. Unfortunately, all the others died off except for one that has hung in there and still appears to be growing.

And the plants growing in the plastic holiday santa cup is cucumber. I found a ziploc bag full of very old vegetable seeds so I decided to test the cucumber packet. All four seeds took. I really didn't think they would. After they grow a bit bigger, I'll have to find a very large pot for them to grow in. I've grown them in a large pot before and it's done fantastic as long as I water it heavily on a daily basis.