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Transplanting a Jade Plant ~ Help Please?

gardenbug
9 years ago

My jade plant is a couple of years old. It's healthy and bushy. I am going to transplant it into a slightly larger and heavier pot. I would like to know what kind of soil is best and once it is transplanted should I water it right away or wait a week or so. I've read on some posts about 'gritty mix' but I don't know what that is or what it's purpose is.

When I transplant, should I put some rocks at the bottom of my pot? There is one good size hole in the pot. I've been climatizing it to outdoors for the summer on my deck. Thanks for all your help everyone.

Comments (18)

  • pirate_girl
    9 years ago

    No, no, no, no rocks on the bottom pls. it doesn't help drainage. No sand in the mix, either.

    Pls. read around here on mixes, there are MANY & they all need to be fast draining, that's the point of gritty mix or things we do like amending C&S mix w/ 50% perlite, that will do as well if that's all one can get.

  • gardenbug
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    pirate_girl, thank you for your help. Got it, no rocks. I was thinking of putting a piece of filter cloth at the bottom to prevent the soil from coming through the hole, would that be a 'no' 'no' too? I bought some soil for cactus and succulents, so I'll mix it with some perlite.Thanks again. No rocks!

  • jojosplants
    9 years ago

    As Pirate Girl says.. No rocks on the bottom or sand. Try doing a gritty mix search here and see what materials are available to you. Many use a mix that is sifted bark, granite, and turface. Perlite and pumice are also materials used.

    Do not water for about a week after moving it to a new pot. The roots need time to callous.

    If you have more questions be sure to ask. :-)

    JoJo

  • jojosplants
    9 years ago

    I'm not sure what filter cloth is, but screen works well too. Cloth screen is best .

  • gardenbug
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thank you jojo. I'll do some checking on the soils. I use filter cloth on many of my outdoor plants and it works really well. It's thin, and keeps the soil from plugging up the hole. I'll wait a week to water. Thanks again for your help,

  • jojosplants
    9 years ago

    Your welcome!
    Just curious, what is filter cloth normally used for? As long as water gets through it will be fine.

    I've used flat rocks off set a little in a pinch too. LOL!

    I was gifted a huge sheet of cloth screen a few yrs back so am set for life. lol

    We love pictures here so please share if you can. :-)

    JoJo

  • pirate_girl
    9 years ago

    I just use a couple of rounds of newsprint (I trace the bottom of the pot on some newspaper pages 2 or 3 layers thick, then cut them out just inside the lines & place in bottom of pot BEFORE potting up). Newsprint disintegrates quickly, holds the mix in & does the trick for me: cheap & easy, my favorites!

    I agree w/ suggestion to wait a week to water (sorry I forgot).

    Good luck w/ the transplant.

  • Spider1943
    9 years ago

    I've put rocks or large gravel in the bottom of my cactus and jade plant pots for over 45 years and it helps with drainage. It also keeps my big jades from being too top heavy so they don't fall over. I keep the cactus jades root bound so they will be more apt to bloom and they bloom every year.

  • gardenbug
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thanks so much everyone for all your help.

    jojo ~ The cloth that I'm using is just black landscaping cloth. I've got lots of it, so I just cut out a small circle and place it at the bottom of the pot.

    pirategirl ~ I like your idea of using newspaper

    spider ~ 45 years? Then why do some folks recommend NOT using rocks at the bottom? What kind of soil do you use?

  • jojosplants
    9 years ago

    Cadence~
    Thanks you.. now landscape cloth I am familiar with. Learn something new every day ;-)

  • littlekirstenjr
    9 years ago

    Why is sand a "no-no" in the mix? Curious to know as I sometimes mix sand into my jade soil.

  • jojosplants
    9 years ago

    Sand will shift and settle into the small openings and end up slowing down/ stopping the good drainage that they need. Hope that makes sense.. Headache today.. brain kinda foggy.. lol

  • Spider1943
    9 years ago

    YES 45 Years! I don't know why people say no rocks, but we all have different ways of growing plants. During all my years as a pro and amateur grower, I've always used some sort of drainage material in the bottom of the pots including broken clay pots. The soil I use is a mixture of small sharp rocks, about 3/8", small fir bark, course sharp sand and a small amount of soil. It looks like it has been swept off the side of the road. And when I water the water runs through pretty fast.

    This post was edited by Spider1943 on Wed, May 14, 14 at 16:13

  • gardenbug
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Spider ~ Thanks so much for sharing your experience with your Jades. Also thank you to everyone else that gave me valuable advice. I really do appreciate your help. I'll be transplanting my jade plant this weekend.

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    9 years ago

    Dissimilar layers of mix will impede drainage due to the small particles migrating and lodging betwixt the larger particles, such as gravel at the bottom of the pot. The finer mix immediately above the gravel/rocks becomes saturated and impedes drainage, and the water must then travel horizontally before draining. JoJo nailed it.

    Josh

  • Spider1943
    9 years ago

    Whether the soil becomes saturated or not depends on the mix.

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    9 years ago

    Most commonly, folks will use standard bagged peat-based potting mixes on top of a layer of rock or gravel. That combination leads to the saturated layer and impeded drainage.

    One *can* make an effective mix of graduated particle sizes in layers throughout the pot/container. Al (Tapla) has demonstrated this. However, it is what I would consider an advanced technique.

    Josh

  • Calzoner
    9 years ago

    I found that drywall tape works perfect to cover the holes at the bottom of the pot and prevent your mix from falling out while watering. For years i struggled with finding the right material and this has proved perfect!

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