- Oh Happy Daze

can Jade come out to play?

If you are at all like me… keeping anything plantlike alive is a supernatural feat from God.
There are only two green thumbs in my family… and my grandma and my mum have hogged them both!

 Fortunately for me, when God was creating each flower and plant
He decided to throw in a few that are “user friendly”.
Meet Jade.

 She’s the tall trunky one in the back. (is trunky a word?)

Pay not attention to her other friends (Aloe, Jade Jr., and Christmas cactus).
We’ll talk about them another day.

 Let’s get to know Jade a little bit:

Jade is a succulent.
Jade likes neglect.
Don’t pamper her too much, she won’t respond well to it.

 That being said, you do need to time your neglect according to HER schedule.
that’s the only tricky part… fortunately she’s forgiving.

In the spring and summer: 
                   – Jade can venture outside once the threat of frost has passed… 
                               you’ll be the best judge of this depending on the region you live in. 
                   (Here in Virginia, I was able to move them out in mid-march).
                   –  Give her a good soaking once a week.
                   –  Let the soil dry out completely before you water again.
* This works well for me, because I frequently neglect all household chores for a few days, then get everything done in one fell swoop…. including slooshing water on all my plants in frivolous amounts (i spare no expense on the water slooshing).
In the fall and winter:
                   – Water once every 2 weeks
                   – This is when Jade goes dormant, so she won’t be growing.
                             (but she also won’t be needing water)
                   – Your Jade might flower in the winter months, like a Christmas cactus.
                            (if the conditions are right and the plant is mature enough…
                             I haven’t been blessed with this occurrence yet – I count myself lucky that she’s still green!)
Rooting a Jade:
                 – To root your Jade, simple trim off a stem(s)
                 – Set the stems aside for a few weeks so the ends can “scab” over
                 – Plop those fellas in a small pot, kind of crammed in.
                 – Water ’em and sun em’ like they’re adult Jades
*please don’t judge the condition of my soil… I have re-potting on the to-do list.. I swear!
*** Disclaimer:  um… I’m not a plant expert, nor do I want to be. I just have a jade plant that I am proud of because she hasn’t croaked yet… so that’s where my experience comes from. I’m just sayin’.