I thought I will never see flowers on my Jade Plant.
Since I was a kid we always had this plant at home and they never had a single flower. I got my one about 8 years ago as a cutting from the old plants my mum has and this is the very first time it blooms!
And it is not shy about it :)
Crassula Ovata
Yep - this is my 8 (I think) year old tree. It is actually 3 plants in one pot. I got the small cuttings and planted them together. I liked that they were so bushy and I didn't bother separating them after they started to grow roots. Later it was just too late.
The blooming part was a big surprise though! I saw those plants around with flowers on, but my one never grew even a single one. Until now.
I took those photos a week ago when about half of the buds were still unopened. Now it is in full bloom and it looks amazing!
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Care:
It is a succulent. And it is a damn hardy one!
It doesn't like too much water, but a proper watering once in a wile does it good. It will also handle forgetfulness of the owners :p. It does enjoy spring rains I noticed. The leaves grow big and green.
In summer when it gets hotter they turn a bit more red. It does gets sunburn sometimes. I don't manage to shade it all - it is too big now and the part that gets hit by the sun the most does gets some spots sometimes.
The red edges are noticeable almost all year round. The plants grown at home don't show it as much. Less sun, winds, temperature changes and they grow all happily. The ones kept outside must handle it all.
I am still wondering what changed this year that it didn't have before that it decided to bloom. I didn't repot it, didn't fertilize more than normally. Maybe somehow the temperatures were different and I moved it to a slightly more shaded spot (behind that fence you see; before it was right at the edge of it).
Propagation:
Like with many succulents it is possible to get a new plant from a single leaf. Just twist it gently and make sure it detached right in the place when it is connected to the stem. Place it on top of the soil and wait.
Other method, that I prefer is though cuttings. This is how I got mine. The cuttings I got were finger size with few sets of leaves on. Let the cutting dry for a few days and then just plant it. The young stems are brittle and they break easily so there should be no problem with that. Sometimes they break even if they are not asked to - I gave away many little plants this way :p
The cuttings way is so much faster to get a new plant, but if you only have a leaf to work it, it's possible too (I got my Crassula Ovata Gollum like that)
Look at that trunk! They look like mini trees by now with the leaves just on the tips of the stems/branches. They regularly drop older leaves and grow new.
The moss in the pot showed up on its own and I let it be. In winter when it is colder and it rains more it is nice and green. Later it will also grow some spores. By summer it will all dry up, but will come back in the fall again. Love that look :)
So nice with all those flowers :)
You can see another Crassula behind it with thin, needle like leaves - Tetragona that I will have to chop up this spring and plant all over again. I am not sure if they grow until certain age, or I put too much fertilizer in a pot and she did not like it. Some stems died completely and lots of the leaves curled and died.
Oh! And that one has never bloomed for me either. It is about the same age and I did see it blooming in a gardens around.
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Shot with Nikon D5500 + Sigma 105mm lens
All photos, graphics and text are my own.
