Someone gave me this Trumpet Jade a long time ago and my priority was just to keep it alive, but now since it's gotten bigger I'd like it to start growing upwards. Can anyone tell me how to get it to grow upwards, or if it needs trimmed & where? Why is it flopping like this?
Hi ladybird, there are several different plants in this family Crussula (Crussulaceae) if you wish to look them up, I think your one is C Argentea, some reasons that your plant is a bit floppy could be, it needs bright light, however, if an indoor plant, not right beside a very sunny window as the sun through the window at full intensity, might cause scorching to the leaves, the sun on glass acts like a magnifying glass. Too much watering even in the growing season, dont let the pot sit in a dish of water, drain any in the saucer away, after about an hour. Give a liquide feed about every 2nd week in the growing season ONLY. Would it be pos to check that your plant is not too wet UNDER the soil as it may be starting to show signs of stem rot and you wont notice this till the stem just rots away. Could be too much of all these and the woody stem therefore have not been able to harden up to support the plant. Try useing soft ties to help support it onto your cane, they are really easy to take cuttings from as you just snap off a bit of stem, remove some bottom leaves, pop it onto a pot of quite sandy/ or well draining soil and look after it as above, it will root within a few weeks, only repot every second year if it needs it. hope this helps you, p.s. love your pebble mulch, it helps to stop water splashes onto the leaves and looks really atractive. WeeNel.
I only water it once in a while and when I do I soak it, so that's probably a bit of a problem. I did notice that the stem seems a bit wet. I'm also going to move it outside into the sun and open up the soil around the stem a little to let it dry out. I've attached another picture where you can see how the stem has grown a little better. Should I break it off at the top where the main stem breaks into two? Break off the bottom one? Also there's that new branch should I break that off too? I also read that before planting you need to let the fresh cut cure first -- stick it in a cup of water for a few days? Thanks so much for your help.
Hi Ladybird, yes your stem does look a bit wet, however, it will depend when you last watered it to know if this is the problem, it is good that you have taken the pebbles away from the stem as that may have caused a bit of the problem by not letting air onto the stem, I would repot it into a sand and soil mixture, (washed horticultural sand) from the garden center, if you cant get that, then ordinery compost with a handfull of grit will do, this or the sand help the drainage of the soil and therefore the plant wont be sitting in wet soil for long periods trying to dry out. also give it a liquide plant feed, a house plant food will do and the directions on the bottle will tell you how much to add, never add extra for good measures as over fed plants also go a bit mushy. As for your cuttings, I dont dry mine of unless when I cut them I see some sap oozing out, some cactii need to be dried of a bit before you put them in the soil, but this is not one of these, get a sharp knife,(kitchen one will do) cut clean across the stem, then remove some of the bottom leaves, (you might see some fine roots on this plant already on the bit of cut stem) pop it into the sand mix in your pot and water very sparingly, just moisten the soil, leave it there for about 2 weeks and it should have started to root already, dont sink it too deep thet any leaves are laying on the soil, they will rot too, remember it may need a little water in between the potting and root growth, depending on the temp, the heat in the area you have it, as for your older plant, remove it from the pot, knock some soil off and if the stem feels firm, repot it into the soil mix and care for it as I said earlier, either way, it looks too wet and is under stress trying to grow and get dried out. hope this helps. By the way, over in UK, we call these money or luck plants, as anyone you give a rooted cutting to, has suposed to get rich or have good luck. hope it works for you, take care and good luck. WeeNel.
Lady Bird, don't move your jade plant outside into sun the first day, it will get sunburned. Shade first, sun slowly.
Thanks WeeNel and dale_a_gardner! I've moved it onto the front porch, for now, where it gets sun only for a little bit in the morning. I'm glad you told me because it was a real rich green and started lightening up from the sun. --I'm sure bad for it. Money or luck plants, huh? I will have to get the smaller ones going and pass them around! Thanks for you're help. I'm off to get some supplies! ladybird
