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Rootless Jade
June23,1998
Can you help? I recently transplanted my Jade plant (3-4" diameter trunk)
because it would not stand alone, into an 18" pot. I had been propping it
against a wall. How can I get it to stand without support? It had very
little root structure. Is this normal? I used top soil. If I used the wrong
size pot and soil how soon can I transplant it without losing it? Can you
trim a Jade into shape?
The lack of a good root structure indicates to me that your Jade Plant (Crassula argentea), was probably being over watered in its previous pot. Succulents generally will send their roots out only far enough to find a sufficient source of water. Jades do need more water than most other succulents because of the large amount of surface area of their leaves,,,HOWEVER! they do need a period of drought between waterings. During an active growing period, this should be one or two weeks, and when the plant is dormant, you can wait for up to a month before re watering..
For succulents, I recommend that you use a sterile, commercial potting soil (no insects or weed seeds) to which you have added course builders sand at a ratio of about 4 parts soil to 1 part sand. (The sand will help the soil to drain faster) Since you have already re potted your plant, go ahead and leave it as it is, but withhold watering as much as possible until the leaves begin to shrivel a little, then water thoroughly. Repeat this process as necessary until the plant has rebuilt its root structure and is able to stand on it's own. (this might take a year +-) Fertilizing should be withheld until the plant has begin to recover and is showing signs of strong, new growth..
Jades can be pruned to whatever shape you desire. The parts that have been removed can be rooted and used as new plants. Each cutting should be allowed to callous over (very important), for a day or two (longer if the cut surface is large) Plain, healthy leaves can be set with the cut slightly embeded into the soil surface. These will produce a miniature clone of the parent plant in about 2-3 months. Stem cuttings should be set about 1-2 inches deep, and will root and begin growing in a little as a month. Very little water should be given until the new roots have begun to form.
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