From commentor, gardener and political activist Scout211:
Jade plants are easy to grow and we have been growing them since 2006. It all started with an election campaign.
In 2006, prompted by a couple of websites with initials FDL and BJ, my husband and I decided to get active again and join a local campaign for congress. Remember Richard Pombo? He was the Republican Congressman from Tracy, California that was busy during the GW Bush presidency working on gutting the endangered species act. He was our congressman when we lived in Stockton.
An engineer from the East Bay decided to take a chance and run against Pombo. Starting in Spring of that year, we answered a call to campaign for Jerry McNerney. We worked every single weekend until the election in November knocking on doors and talking with voters in areas all over Stockton.
One female voter, who was very happy to talk with us, had a large assortment of jade plants on her front porch. I complimented her on their beauty and she immediately got her clippers out and gave me several cuttings.
We are still growing those cuttings and keep growing more jade plants off cuttings that we take from the two “mama” jade plants (from the original cuttings).
A few of the youngest cuttings:
A mid-sized plant:
One of the “mama” plants still in a large pot:
Here, and at the top, are close-ups of the second “mama” plant. Earlier this year, she fell over during a windstorm so we had to remove her from the large pot and plant her in the ground. We were not sure if she would survive our hot summers in the ground but with shade cloth and lots of extra water, she survived and is now thriving, with many blossoms this year:
We actually did not know that jade plants bloom. We were very surprised the first year we were gifted with blossoms, many years after starting the cuttings. Only the two “mama” plants blossom, so I am hoping that the younger ones will eventually.
Jerry McNerney was re-elected again this year and will be starting his 8th term in congress. We no longer live in McNerney’s district, but we have always felt good about helping him win his first election and also for being given the jade plant cuttings by a very generous fellow Democrat.
***********
I have a packet of pea innoculant, but not (a reservation for) the bred-for-container-growing pea I intended to use it on. However, I’ve got some sweet peas on order, and I think I’ll try the innoculant on them this year — see if maybe it encourages them to rebloom after the heat of summer, which last year’s plants didn’t. (Of course last summer was a killer for a lot of plants, so… )
What’s going on in your garden (planning / indoor / propagation), this week?
WereBear
These are favorites of mine because they are so easy root and treat as quick bonsai.
mrmoshpotato
Congrats on any Midwest garden ice sculptures. ?
Jeffery
Never be able to keep a jade plant alive.
rikyrah
Good Morning, Everyone???
rikyrah
It’s -5 degrees. Wind chill is -21??
Steeplejack
@rikyrah:
Good morning! ?
I was promised snow overnight here in NoVA—well, threatened with it—but so far nothing.
. . . Okay, I just looked outside, and it’s now starting to fall.
OzarkHillbilly
I have seen these, but could not recall where, so I googled it. I picked up a few interesting tidbits about them.
First, they are very long lived, 70-100 years according to the google search page.
2nd, wiki says, “Under the right conditions, they may produce small white or pink, star-like shaped flowers in winter.”
Also as@WereBear: noted, “The jade plant is well known for its bonsai capabilities, since it forms a bonsai very easily when pruning is done correctly. Many who learn bonsai begin with a jade plant, since they are durable, easy to put through the bonsai process, and attractive.”
4thly, “The jade plant is toxic to horses,[9] and dogs and cats,[10] as well as mildly toxic to humans, in some cases, with skin contact.”
Lastly, as I expected they won’t survive outside here due to our below freezing winter temps. When it comes to growing one as an indoor plant, I have inherited my mother’s brown thumb.
sigh….
satby
Haven’t had a jade plant in years, my last one probably was decimated by previous cats. And I never knew they bloomed. Now I want to try them again! Even though they’d have to co-exist with the cats or in one of the two rooms the cats aren’t allowed in. (ok, isolation it is, tnx Ozark!)
Gardening is just a daydream today, it will be a high of 11° (-13C for all the international readers) today. Lots of snow cover to insulate the plants at least.
OzarkHillbilly
@Steeplejack: We were promised 2-4″. What we got barely amounts to a dusting.
satby
@rikyrah: I’m staying home, aren’t you? ?
Baud
@rikyrah:
Good morning.
Dorothy A. Winsor
It’s – 6 this morning. High today predicted to be + 6.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a jade plant growing outside.
FelonyGovt
We were out walking in the neighborhood last week when we saw gardeners cutting down mature Jade plants from in front of an apartment building. They were just throwing them in their truck, so we asked if we could have some. They gave us three large cuttings, already in bloom like yours.
They are now sitting in buckets of water. Hopefully they will root and we will plant them in a few weeks.
Quinerly
Good morning! 7 degrees here! Have a jade that is close to waist high that was originally my grandmother’s first in DC then in SC. I figure it must be close to 70-80 years old considering how long my grandmother then later my mother had it. It ended up in my family home in NC in 1976. It was close to 5 ft when it was there, and I had to cut it down and make other plants for gifts when I moved it here 5 years ago.
I also grow several varieties of jade. Rather addicted to succulents and bring everything in, of course, in the Fall. Have to trim that large, old one back every year just to get it in the house for the winter.
Quinerly
@FelonyGovt: love this! I skip the water part with my cuttings. Just stick directly in dirt. Never had a problem. My mother always rooted in water. I really don’t think it makes any difference if you have good potting soil.
MazeDancer
Jade plants are supposed to be lucky. Hope so, because they take over the house, Have 1 jillion at last count. And would be delighted to send anyone as many little ones as you like. Just be warned. (Email via site, click on nym)
My current cats, alas, love to play with them. Bang on the dangles of the big plants. Chew and chase the leaves. So, I have had to rearrange.
Butch
@rikyrah: Here in the central Upper Peninsula it’s currently minus 15 with a minus 32 wind chill.
Charluckles
Our coldest week of the winter, but David Austin sent us an absolutely gorgeous rose catalog last week and it us keeping us in good spirits.
Steeplejack
@OzarkHillbilly:
They’ve been overselling here this season. Last weekend’s storm was supposed to be the snowpocalypse—which it was for the Northeast—but I got a bit over 2" here in my little corner of NoVA. Then yesterday they were saying 4-6" overnight and this morning, but I’m betting it’ll be about the same as last week. It’s already 37°, and at some point it will turn to rain.
Looks pretty coming down, though—fat flakes falling hard. And I’m stocked up on supplies, so I can wait it out.
FelonyGovt
@Quinerly: We thought about just sticking them in dirt, but these are really large cuttings, maybe 10 inches tall, so we figured they might be better anchored in their soil if they had some roots first.
ETA we love succulents too!
Geminid
@Steeplejack: There was rain near Stanardsville at 5:30am. Now it’s been snowing for an hour. Big wet flakes. I was told by a farmer that clover seed can be planted on top of snow. I’ve got a pound of crimson clover seed, and will try this out in some places. Hopefully there’ll be be some pretty flowers by April.
satby
@Charluckles: That catalog is my strongest motivation for digging out the back raised bed, replacing the soil, and then replanting it with roses. I have no luck with grafted ones though, and all the most beautiful ones always seem to be.
Quinerly
@OzarkHillbilly: I would love to send you cuttings of mine. For the last 5 years since mine came to live in St Louis, I have to constantly cut it back since it gets moved twice a year. My mother had it in a solarium and it didn’t move for 40 plus years, hence the size she had let it get to by 2015. I want the cuttings to live on in other homes… Especially other states. Friends in AZ, CO, Utah, NM, IL, VA have cuttings from Grandmother Emmie’s jade! I’ll be cutting back in the Spring. Will start you a pot!
Quinerly
@FelonyGovt: I’m still smiling at this story.
???♥️?
Quinerly
@FelonyGovt: they are just amazing plants. I grow plants from dropped leaves… You probably already know that. Just stick the leaf in good potting soil.
debbie
Do you cut back on watering jade during winter? If so, by how much? I may have overdone it a bit this year (five weeks), and I need to get them back on track. They more than doubled in size last summer and I’d like to keep that going. Do you wait for the leaves to go soft before watering?
Quinerly
@debbie: I water mine in the house about once a month. All my succulents, cacti, geraniums, and begonias are under grow lights inside, though.
FelonyGovt
@Quinerly: We passed the same building again a few days later and there was just a patch of dirt where the jade plants were. I guess they’re putting in something different. Kind of sad, and I’m glad we rescued a few of them.
The Dark Avenger
@FelonyGovt: Too much water will rot your plants out. Just plant them in soil now.
OzarkHillbilly
@Quinerly: Don’t bother, I’ll just kill it, but thanx anyway.
stinger
I’ve grown jade plants indoors, but had no idea they could blossom. Or even survive, planted outdoors. O California!
satby
@Geminid: It can be, so can grass seed; but best done when more snow is expected or birds will eat a lot of it. I tried it once ?
satby
@Charluckles: OMIGOD! I had to stop looking at the online site because I’ve already bought three in my mind. So many own root shrub or climbing roses that I loved! And I still have a bare south facing wall.
NeenerNeener
My mom had a jade plant that my grandmother bought for her. It was about 10 to 12 inches tall when she got it, and was 3 feet tall 15 years later. I don’t ever remember it flowering though. When they moved she decided not to take it with…just left it out on the curb where it sat for less than an hour before somebody driving by stopped and picked it up.
Spanky
@Steeplejack: Didn’t turn to snow here until about an hour ago. My bet is we’ll end up with less than an inch. Again.
I think I’m done with non-natives, except for maybe Christmas cactus and aloe, which we already have. Now if I could only kill off all of the English Ivy and Pachysandra …
Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!)
@FelonyGovt: Skip the water with succulents like these. For rooting let the base dry out and callous for a week or two and then stick directly in slightly moist potting soil. In water they will most likely just start rotting.
Quinerly
@NeenerNeener: my old one flowered once that I can remember. It was in my mom’s glass room in the corner with bright sun, middle of the summer. Never recall that it bloomed again. It’s never bloomed since I have had it. I did have a snake plant (mother in law tongue) that was so old that it bloomed. It was huge too. Died right after it bloomed. It probably was at least 50 years old at the time.
Gin & Tonic
@Quinerly: We are thinking of going to the Outer Banks for a week or so in May. Never been. Thinking of renting a small house ( just the two of us). Any places to stay away from?
debbie
@Quinerly:
Thanks. Mine are in an easter-facing sunny window during summer. They both started dropping leaves so I moved them about three feet away and used a full-spectrum bulb as a light source.
Immanentize
I have a bunch of jade plants with different sized leaves. My favorite has leaves the size of, well, hmmmm, a really big jade leaf? Like the circle I get from thumb and forefinger, but that is gonna be different for everyone. I’ve rooted in water and I’ve rooted in soil. Sometimes I use Rootone, sometimes not. They really are pretty indistructable for me. I did however manage to freeze one to death when I moved to Boston from San Antonio.
debbie
@debbie:
Eastern, goddammit.
rikyrah
@satby:
Not going out until tomorrow morning
Immanentize
@Gin & Tonic: I’m not Q., But I’d say stay away from Nags Head north to Duck, it’s too overbuilt. Try to get down to Buxton or Avon. I’ve stayed in both. If you are near Hatteras in Buxton you can take an easy trip to Ocracoke. Or, just stay on that island. It is very peaceful.
I love the outer banks. Have fun!
Immanentize
They are suggesting 3-5 inches here near Boston. But mid-30s…. We shall see.
MoCA Ace
-15 here this morning! looking for a high of 2. I have a pile of seed catalogs that arrived just before this cold snap but I haven’t been able to go through them yet. Spring is a long way off.
Quinerly
@Immanentize: great suggestions. Everything so over built. I sold our family place below Ocracoke on Bogue Banks (Pine Knoll Shores) just as the pandemic was hitting. My old area is considered the Southern Outer Banks and I have no desire to go back unless in Fall and Winter (off season). Plus, the entire county (Carteret) seems to have lost its mind over Trump and the locals have gone full fledged QAnon (those local newspaper comments that I finally quit torturing myself with).
Spanky
@Gin & Tonic: I’m not Q either, but I’d echo Imm’s comments, with the addition that Ocracoke itself is much more commercial than in ancient times (20-30 years ago).
If you’re looking for an out of the way place to rent a house, I’d suggest Avon or Salvo.
Dan B
@FelonyGovt: Move them to sand. Their stems and leaves contain plenty of water and they can rot if too wet. The sand can be moist but barely moist.
Best of luck!
Spanky
@Quinerly: Don’t kid yourself. Carteret County was full-blown Trumpist long before Trump was ever a thing. They were all over the place every time I visited, and I haven’t been back since my dad passed in 2000.
Steeplejack
@Spanky:
Where is “here”?
Quinerly
@Gin & Tonic: try to hit below Duck and above Ocracoke. If you want something different and a little village, look at Ocracoke. You could use that as a base and explore out. All depends on what you like to do. Beginning of May is normally around graduation for the local colleges. Lots of house parties back in the day in my old neck of the woods. If I still had my old place, I would rent to you but sold it in March. Cole considered it one time but the HOA doesn’t allow dogs except for owners. Then Hurricane Florence hit. You can get my email from a front pager if you end up in my old stomping grounds. I can give you restaurants, bars, etc suggestions.
la caterina
it’s snowing again here in Brooklyn, on top of the dirty snow left over from Monday. Gotta go feed the navy yard cats before it accumulates too much.
Spanky
@Steeplejack: Twenty miles or so southeast of DC, along the banks of the raging Patuxent.
Dan B
@satby: Is the problem with grafted roses freeze damage?
If so it can work to put a cone of loose sandy loamy, mulch amended soil around the base to cover the graft union with up to 18″ of loose fluffy, insulating soil + medium coarse mulch. Scrape some of it back after last frost. The graft union is tthe most delicate part of the plant.
raven
@Quinerly: The last time we were there we stayed at Durant Station just north of Buxton. We liked it because it’s right on the water and not too far from the fishing boats. They have one, two and three bedroom units.
Spanky
@Quinerly:
The Sanitary!
raven
@Quinerly: Get and Apple Ugly at the Orange Blossom!
Steeplejack
@Spanky:
Thanks. “Raging Patuxent.” ?
Quinerly
@Spanky: Carteret County has always been heavily Republican. I grew up in Pitt County which was always Dem (influenced by ECU, big medical school, hospital complex). Carteret County has a lot of retired military.. So close to Camp Lejeune and Cherry Point. It just wasn’t this crazed before… Trump Boat Parades have been a weekend feature for 5 years now.
raven
@Gin & Tonic: Get hurricane insurance.
Quinerly
@raven: I’ve been there. Buxton is nice (off season, off course)
Suburban Mom
@Gin & Tonic: My family has been going to Ocracoke for over 30 years. I highly recommend it. The beaches are fantastic, the ferry ride makes it feel like an adventure, and the seafood co-op is a great local resource if you enjoy cooking.
waspuppet
My jade plant (indoor) grew like wildfire for about the first year or so, but it’s slowed down a bit. Also, I have it on stakes to encourage it to grow up and not just sprawl all over the place. But it’s been a year and whenever I try to take the stakes away it still just flops about. Am I doing it wrong? Or is it just a matter of time?
Raven
@Suburban Mom: the ferry from Cedar Island is fun!
Quinerly
@Spanky: not a fan of The Sanitary in the last 25 years. Used to be the go to place since the 1930’s. My father adored it. The greeter was a guy who had a photographic memory for names, faces, where you were from. Always impressed the “Yankees” year after year with repeat business. I do love MHC waterfront and the old history of Tony’s (that’s what true locals always called it when Tony Seaman and family owned The Sanitary). For MHC waterfront I would go with the Ruddy Duck (soft shell crabs to die for in season, beautiful horseshoe bar, microbrew on tap, owned by Dems) and actually in the original Tony’s 1930 something building….and/or Southern Salt (in the old Captain Bill’s building). Beautiful views. Southern Salt has live music on the deck.
satby
@Dan B: I’m not sure what the problem is. I’ve had some that lasted a couple of years, others that leafed out and then died. I cover everything in winter that’s under three years old and almost always the roses just because the bunnies eat them, so it wasn’t winter kill. I just seem to have better luck with the own root ones, but I usually don’t have a lot of full sun space and use that mostly for veggies which could also be the problem.
Suburban Mom
@Raven: Yes, and even the short ferry ride from Hatteras feels like a respite after the long drive from NJ. My kids always loved that part of the trip. Boarding the ferry is when the vacation truly begins.
karen marie
@Quinerly: I used to grow African violets and begonias this way. I stopped having house plants a long time ago, after a cross-country move that required divesting myself. Maybe it’s time to start again.
satby
Well, the thing about the really cold days is that it’s almost always sunny too. Looks like a day to open the AeroGarden box ?
schrodingers_cat
@satby: How do you go about doing it? Asking because it’s something I might try.
debbie
@satby:
In a warped way, “It’s too cold to snow” is music to my ears!
raven
@Quinerly: I never thought of MHC as the Outer Banks but I guess it is. My wife has a rwnj lawyer who live there.
Quinerly
@karen marie: I do mostly all pots and really large containers outside (city brick, NOLA type courtyard, small pond, second floor deck/porch). I just can’t stand to see the geraniums, begonias, sun coleus die. It’s ridiculous really…..I have geraniums that I have been dragging in and out for 7 years, keeping them alive and blooming thru the winter. Made a little grow room in my basement. The succulents are mostly in the kitchens (have an AirBnB rental apt in walk out basement). I tried to grow African violets in college. Failed miserably. They are so beautiful. But too finicky for me.
O. Felix Culpa
Good morning! This discussion makes me happy. How much better things are these days, plus plants and travel plans and winter dreaming of gardens.
raven
@Quinerly: We went before school got out and the Weather Channel was set up at there Avon Pier. . .not a good sign!
Quinerly
@raven: mainland, Carteret County. A few years ago, the powers that be started marketing the area as “The Crystal Coast” and “The Southern Outer Banks.” I grew up there and never considered it “The Outer Banks” but Bogue Banks is a barrier island. Runs East and West as you know. That alone makes for beautiful sunrises and sunsets.
raven
@Quinerly: Remember when the boat out of MHC caught the million dollar marlin and the mate didn’t have a license and they lost the money?
Steeplejack
Had to look up MHC. It’s Morehead City, NC.
raven
@Quinerly: My wife’s family always went to Topsail from central Virginia. It was faster than going to the OBX!
Quinerly
@raven: I got caught in Pine Knoll Shores at our old place during Hurricane Matthew in 2016 with my ex boyfriend’s best friend. (that was a story?) Weather Channel set up on the nearest pier. I actually met Jim Cantore. Cantore showing up is never a good sign. ?
germy
SNL video from last night. “Looking at houses”
Zillow as the new sex fantasy
Quinerly
@raven: totally forgot about that. We need to look that up. What year? The Bigrock Blue Marlin Tournament used to be loads of fun. I think they have been having that thing 60-70 years… The weigh ins on the waterfront were really cool.
raven
@Quinerly: 2010 it looks like.
Nearly $1 million marlin tournament prize dispute settle
As a Virginia resident and student at George Washington University, Mr. Wann would have had to purchase either a 10-day, year or lifetime license as an out-of-state resident to be eligible for the tourney. A 10-day license for out-of-state residents is $10 and a yearlong license is $30. A non-resident lifetime license is $500.
oldgold
This morning, I was surveying the frozen wind-swept tundra of West of Eden from a decidedly jaded perspective. Still, recovering from all things 45. Then, to I amazement, I spied a pair of robins. Free of jade, I wondered if they were late birds or early birds. Neither.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/19mvmv3yn2qc2bdb912o1t2n-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/science/2018/02/07/why-are-you-seeing-robins-in-winter/amp/
Quinerly
@O. Felix Culpa: I’m deep in trip planning for your neck of the woods. Finally located my traveling vehicle for Sept-Dec. AWD Toyota Sienna that I’m going to set up as a microcamper van. Hitting CO Springs 9/7 to meet a Cerrillos friend who grew up there. Then camping my way thru Southern Co to North Rim of Grand Canyon and Mesa Verde to be in those areas the last 10 days in Sept. Santa Fe as a base for Oct and Nov. Then camping my way thru Southern NM and AZ in Dec. Hit Southern Rim of Grand Canyon just before Christmas and Winslow Christmas day. My maps and making state park camping reservations have kept me sane during the last 3 weeks.
O. Felix Culpa
@Quinerly: We’re been savoring homebound travel
pornplanning too. I might go to Germany in late August/September, partly to restore my language skills and to celebrate a cousin’s wedding, which was postponed from last September due to the pandemic. Fingers crossed that we all get vaccinated in time and that travel restrictions are lifted.Would love to see you when you’re in the neighborhood in October. We ‘ve only scratched the surface of exploring in the area (southwest writ large), so I look forward to hearing more about your experiences!
Quinerly
@raven: Time gets away. I remember my mom was still alive when it happened, though. She was big on newspaper clippings (never was on the internet). She clipped all the local newspaper articles on it and sent to me in St. Louis. I still find a envelope full of clippings now in then where I stuck in an odd place. Thanks for looking that up. It was a very big deal in that community when it happened. Also, thanks for giving me a happy memory re my mom. She was a local news junkie.
satby
@schrodingers_cat: What do you mean, digging out the raised bed and refilling it? Well the previous owner had built the beds with railroad ties and then the house was empty for almost two years before I moved in, so both beds were filled with weeds. I cleaned them up and planted some of the bulbs and flowers I had moved from my other place, but the soil must be filled with weed seeds because by July it’s a mess every year. So I’ll use a pitchfork first to lift the flower bulbs and Iris that have survived, then I’m going to just dig out a lot of the current soil, replace it with a mix of sifted very mature compost and soil, and start over. And heavy mulch over cardboard when I replant (put flattened cardboard over the bed and punch holes in it to plant, then mulch. It’ll be very heavy work, but I decided that I don’t want to wait a whole summer to solarize the soil since it’s pretty poor anyway. The cardboard will decompose over a year.
Quinerly
@O. Felix Culpa: will definitely see you… And Cheryl. I will be in that casita I was in February 2020…Railyard District. At least one breakfast at San Marcos and at least one HH, dinner on Marcy Street. I still am going to get out to Chaco and Bisti for a couple days and nights. I think we chatted about that as a possibility. My usual Februarys just never worked for that. The Fall will be so much better.
Steeplejack
@Quinerly:
Possibly of interest: “Modern nomads roaming America’s back country.”
Jerzy Russian
@Dorothy A. Winsor:
Me neither, until I moved to Southern California. People use them as hedges around here.
WaterGirl
I opened my AeroGarden box 14 days ago after the inspiration on the Garden Chat. Here it is this morning!
At day 14 you have to empty the water container, clean and sanitize it, refill and add the plant food again. Not sure how you do that, but I will be finding out shortly.Okay, that was completely wrong. At 14 days all you do is add more plant food and top off the water. There’s even a little flashing button to tell you to do it, and you press the button once you have added your plant food, and it turns a happy green again.
At 28 days, you change out the water but you DO NOT SANITIZE until you are ready to start your next crop in your AeroGarden.
I raised the light, too, because it was no longer 4-6 inches above the lettuce.
In any case, I am very excited about my lettuce!
edited
MagdaInBlack
@Steeplejack: I took great interest in that article =-)
I’m just about fed up enough to go that route.
Ken
@germy: Funny, but am I imagining an undertone of “fantasize, because your generation will never be able to afford a house”?
karen marie
@Quinerly: I used to grow African violets and begonias this way. I stopped having house plants a long time ago, after a cross-country move that required divesting myself. Maybe it’s time to start again.
satby
@O. Felix Culpa: Oh, planning for travel, especially internationally ?
I was feeling optomistic, plus so many good travel sales now I booked a two week volunteer vaca to Costa Rica for next November. It’s changeable with no fee if covid is still a huge factor or the country isn’t admitting non-citizens.
I’m more than ready to start my “grown up gap year” of volunteering on (sustainable) projects around the world. Don’t know when I’ll be able to though, as long as I still have two elderly puppers ? ( I have cat care I can arrange).
Ken
@satby: Would it work to dig out the bed, put down a layer of cardboard, then put the good soil on top? It might discourage any deeper weed seeds before they get anywhere near light. Would the cardboard harm the plants you put in the upper layer, though?
Ken
@WaterGirl: Very nice. Do you need a special plant food? I’m wondering if there’s some trace element that would normally be in the soil that isn’t in the usual stuff.
BTW, in case you didn’t see it last night, FF 85.0.1 doesn’t fix the visual tab.
satby
@Steeplejack: I had seen that article but not read it, expecting it to be a depressing tale, but it’s inpiring! Thank you.
Immanentize
@Ken: Just an added thought for beds that are just too mulched — a two-sheet layer of overlapping newspaper is enough to suppress most weeds for a couple of years. Scrape back the old mulch to the ground level you want, lay down the newspapers, then put a nice thick layer of new mulch over it. Something in the ink and printing process (Amonia?) Keeps weeds from germinating or busting through. But again, this is for where you only have mulch and not bulbs or flowers.
satby
@Ken: That might not be a bad idea, though most weed seeds germinate on the surface or very shallowly. The cardboard just decomposes and adds organic matter to the soil. I never planted veggies there because of the toxins from the railroad ties, and still won’t even after I replace the soil, but it’s the best spot in my yard for flowers aside from the spot where I put my tomato plants. Everywhere else is only partly sunny.
Gin & Tonic
Thought I posted this from my phone but it doesn’t look like it went through – thanks to all who commented on my OBX planning.
WaterGirl
@Ken: I edited my comment above because I was wrong about what you do at 14 days.
They give you everything you need in the AeroGarden box, and that includes liquid plant food. Because I have 6 slots, the instructions say to use 2 capfuls. So I put in 2 capfuls when I set it up 2 Sundays ago, and I put in 2 capfuls of plant food just a minute ago.
Gin & Tonic
@Quinerly: Many years ago we spent the last two nights before October closing at the North Rim lodge. It was a wonderful time and a wonderful place.
WaterGirl
@Ken:
Yes, I saw that. :-( John says we’re giving them until Valentine’s Day to update to something that resolves the issue. If that’s a no go by Valentine’s Day, I will be contacting the developers.
MagdaInBlack
@satby: Isn’t it ! I expected depressing too.
satby
@Immanentize: I loved using newspaper to clean up weedy patches! In Michigan I set up a garden area by layering newspaper, then cardboard, then grass clippings and autumn leaves and let it all compost in place for a year. The next spring I rototilled the entire area, put a couple of yards of compost over it I had puchased, covered it again with a layer of cardboard, and planted my veggie garden there. The soil there was rich and black and full of worms, the farm field next to me looked like tilled concrete. My neighbors all thought it was weird that a city kid from Chicago knew how to rejuvenate the soil like that.
Immanentize
@satby: I’m looking at one big stretch near my faucet out back for the paper treatment this spring. It needs help. I was a total slug last spring/summer/fall. Now, I am in repair mode!
WaterGirl
Forgot to mention about the AeroGarden, since people were asking about this last week.
If you are growing lettuce or other things that like cool temps, they tell you NOT to put your AeroGarden in a sunny location.
Quinerly
@Steeplejack: oh… This looks interesting. Will read. Looks like she has a Sienna. I’m taking the easy way right now (and so fortunate, lucky…) I am planning my trip out in Sept and back in Dec down to the day. Doing the state park, national parks and monuments with well in advance reservations (all my picked state parks in AZ… Patagonia Lake, Catalina, Lost Dutchman, and Dead Horse Ranch) were already filling up with snowbirds. Since this is unchartered territory for me (haven’t been South of Sedona in AZ) and wild swings in temperature from day to night and sleeping in a van with my Pandemic Puppy JoJo las Orejas who hasn’t really traveled, I decided I need most nights with electric hook ups. Kinda a test run to see if I have this in me, so to speak. I’m going to explore some BLM land when in New Mexico in Oct and using Santa Fe as a base. For now, I’m just using the state park campgrounds in CO, AZ, and Southern NM. Cheaper than hotels for sure. Access to showers, etc. 1 night primitive camping at Chiricahua (I have been reading about a lone, male wild jaguar that has been roaming the area for 3-4 years. Caught on video) 4 nights in Tubac/Bisbee areas, 3 nights in Tucson area, 3 nights in Phoenix area, 5 nights in a camper cabin as a base for Flag, Sedona, Jerome, and Prescott. Primitive camping in Sept at North Rim of Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde, Hovenweep, though.
Quinerly
@Gin & Tonic: been trying to get there for years. Closed the time of year I usually travel. Been to Fredonia and spent a week in Kanab in 2017, but it was March. I love that drive from Cameron to Marble Canyon. Going to do a couple of nights at Marble Canyon before North Rim. Also, trying to figure out beach camping at Lake Powell before I hit Marble Canyon. Was at Lone Rock Beach with Poco in March, 2017. Windy, deserted. Looks like a cool spot for a couple of nights in September and there is camping. Would love to find someone who has done it.
satby
God, so was I, so were a lot of us I think. PTSD, you had a better excuse than me; but I’m ready to carpe every single diem now ?
No idea what happened when I tried to quote next to your nym.
satby
FYWP.
That is all.
waratah
I need to be added to the I did not know Jade plants flowered. How wonderful I may give one to my daughter for work and tell her if she brings it home in the summer she may get flowers. Do the flowers have a perfume?
RA
@FelonyGovt: I have rooted hundreds of jade plants and the best method I have for getting roots started is to just let the cuttings lay somewhere in a shady place undisturbed for a few weeks and the roots will start growing at the nodules. I learned this because I noticed that when branches fall off, they will grow roots if left undisturbed. I have never tried putting them in water but since I have jade plants everywhere in my house, I will try it.
BruceFromOhio
The gardens are a frozen wasteland. One of the Gaia-damned red squirrels has made it into the attic, that’ll be fun rooting his ass out.
debbie
@RA:
I do what you do, but dip them in rooting hormone before planting them.
RA
@WaterGirl: I have had my AeroGarden in a box for a couple years and I decided to give it a go about 6 weeks ago. I planted basil, parsley and thyme. the basil grew like Jack’s beanstalk. I have cut it back twice and have to do it again. The parsley and thyme is only about 3 inches high.
df
I grabbed a pack of six hens and chicks at Lowe’s over the summer. I was helping my quarantine friend/ex/it’s-complicated do a lot of gardening, and decided I needed some green for my apartment. I needed something that can tolerate infrequent watering and low sun, though, and maybe even chilly temps near my windows, and apparently hens and chicks fit the bill! Some of the plants in the six pack were already cramped, so I split off three of the chicks into their own pots, which meant I went from zero to nine plants overnight! They’ve been great, though, growing steadily, even when I depression-forget to water them for a few weeks.
Apparently they’ll even bloom once every three years or so (or sooner if they’re stressed), so I look forward to that surprise between now and the summer of 2023. :)
laura
Both of our jade plants are in bloom right now. One was my parents and it’s as hardly as can be. The other was a Christmas gift and its leggy and gangly – prone to breaking and good for cuttings to give away. We had one really gusty storm a week ago and it blew down fences, tossed branches all over and a neighbors tree heaved up and crushed the roof. It bent my Daphne sideways but it still bloomed this week and the smell is just heavenly.
I have been weeding and tidying up, trimmed the hydrangeas way back to something resembling compact. Absent covid we would have had the breakfast party last Saturday. The tree is laden with oranges and the harvesters are on hiatus. Luckily, there’s a nieghborhood fruit giveaway in Oak Park on the last saturday of the month, so we’re scrambling to get as many as we are capable of harvesting in time for the end of February.
LivingInExile
Oldgold. It’s below zero here in west central Illinois, several inches of snow, and I also have a pair of robins hanging around. They’ve been drinking water like crazy out of the heated bird bath. I don’t remember ever seeing robins around this time of year.
O. Felix Culpa
@satby: Good for you on your Costa Rica booking! I haven’t pulled the trigger yet, but I keep scanning airline prices and troll Airbnb for interesting places to stay. It’s so lovely to think that travel just might be possible later this year.
O. Felix Culpa
@Immanentize: I am beginning to unslug myself as well. The months leading up to the election were paralytic. I’m finally starting to move again…and enjoying it.
WaterGirl
@RA: Yeah, they tell you about that in their materials, and they specifically mention basil. You have to keep the basil in line otherwise it hogs all the space and the light and the other herbs don’t thrive.
Miss Bianca
I too never knew that jade plants could blossom! These are so beautiful they make me want to experiment with some cuttings! Alas, I have a grey thumb at best, especially when it comes to house plants. My mother had tons of them and loved them – some jades, but her special fondness was for African violets.
meanwhile, anything that needs watering feels like a cruel joke right now, as we are dealing with a frozen water pipe to the well at the Mountain Hacienda. (We got into a snow/thaw/flash freeze situation here, driven in no small part by screaming high winds.) D is MacGyvering away with all his might to devise a solution to this problem. (Why do domestic crises like wells going out and animals getting into life-threatening situations all seem to start around 8 pm on Friday nights?)
StringOnAStick
@df: Hens and Chicks have really interesting flowers, very “Star Trek” exotic.
schrodingers_cat
@satby: I too have a vegetable bed. The soil is rich and good but weedy. This year I got busy for a couple of weeks in summer enough for my veggie garden to be taken over by weeds. Only got peppers, tomatoes, radishes, oregano and basil everything else was over run by weeds
schrodingers_cat
@Miss Bianca: I don’t think they blossom in all types of climates. I have had many successful jade plants but none had any blossoms neither have I seen any with blossoms in my neck of the woods even in the nurseries and such.
Miss Bianca
@StringOnAStick: Hens and Chicks might just be my favorite succulent. But there are so many wonderful ones!
Scout211
Very late to this thread. I love reading everyone’s jade plant stories.
I wish I knew what our secret to growing jade plants is, but it was a shock to us that we were so successful with the two mother plants outdoors. We do live in California and our Mediterranean climate is ideal for growing jade plants, apparently. It is a bit hot in the summer but we have the plants on the north side of the house, shaded from the hot afternoons.
I tried to research when the plants bloom, but there are many different opinions online. Most say “mature” plants will bloom, under the “right” conditions. But how old is a mature plant? Who knows. Opinions vary. I would say our two mother plants were maybe 10 years old before they bloomed but I don’t remember.
Most recommend leaving the cuttings out to dry (as many commenters mentioned above) to avoid root rot. That seems to work well for us.
It’s been a fun experience growing jade plants and we love seeing the flowers in the winter. We had a huge storm here in NorCal right after I took the pictures above, but luckily all of plants survived the rain and wind.
StringOnAStick
@Miss Bianca: I’m planning on creating a succulent rock garden this summer, and I’m getting more and more excited about my landscaping possibilities though it also means redoing the entire neglected yard and new drip system work for all of it (I refuse to have grass while living in high desert). A succulent garden is one part of the overall plan.
Yesterday we hauled 3 loads of basalt blocks in the Outback, the last two loads have lots of lichen. It is really easy to get free rock here, which really helps the budget so every warm weekend we’ve been doing so.
StringOnAStick
@Scout211: My grandparents had a jade plant hedge in Coronado, though the stems were more prominent than the leaves, maybe in response to the intense sun.
I’ve had good luck rooting Christmas cacti by drying the cuttings for a couple of days first, and jade plants seem like they need to have the drying treatment before planting too. That’s how I started plants from the ones I had to give away When we moved. When I went to a local nursery in November I was stunned by how many colours there are of Christmas cactus now! Once it gets warmer I’m ordering a variegated leaf clivia, which will be a baby since anything with more than a couple leaves gets really expensive.
pluky
@waspuppet: betting it needs to be fed at the very least, possibly repotted (mine seem to like lots of room).
FelonyGovt
@RA: Based on the advice I received here, I took one of the jade plant cuttings out of water and I’m letting it dry a bit and then will try planting it directly. Couldn’t convince hubby to take the other 2 out of their bucket with water… this way hopefully at least one of the cuttings will survive.
Adam Lang
I drove 1.5 hours each way every Saturday and Sunday for four weeks in order to canvass for McNerney that year. Happy memories, if a rough drive.
Scout211
@Adam Lang:
Hey, hi! That is real dedication to drive 1.5 hours to canvass. We only had to drive to the Stockton campaign office, less than ten minutes away from our house.
Yeah, it was a memorable experience. It was awesome watching the polling numbers move gradually upward each week. And then with just a few weeks left before the election, the calvary arrived as the DNC and other Democratic groups realized that McNerney could actually win. The campaign office wasn’t even large enough to hold everyone who was working on the campaign by then so our assignments were given to us outdoors in the parking lot.
Good times. :)
WaterGirl
@Scout211: I think you mean “hours” not “miles”? There is still time to fix it, if so.
Scout211
@WaterGirl:
Oopsie! Thank you!