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alex_i_gw

Jades keep growing in 112 degrees heat

alex_i
11 years ago

Hi folks,

Just had to share this with everyone. We've hit above 100 degrees since the end of May and have even seen 115 a few weeks ago. Today it is 112. I am amazed at how well these cuttings are thriving in the Las Vegas heat. I thought jades get dormant when it gets stupid-hot? Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining, just puzzled they have not stopped growing.

These were pruned from the mother plant in early February. There are 20 cuttings lined up in 2 rows of 10. I purposely have them in plastic box planter to retain moisture. They get watered at least 3 times a week, from the top, leaves and all.

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This next one was started also in February. The amazing thing is this is out in FULL SUN 3/4 of the day. See the penny/quarter in 2nd pic to get a perspective on new growth size. 1st pic was Jun11 and second pic is today. What's weird is the little ET Fingers cutting behind it has not grown much in that same time period.

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Even my indoor ones are still actively growing (and I have lots indoors). Here's just a couple of them that also got whacked aggresively in February or later.

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Comments (17)

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    11 years ago

    My Jades grow for most of the Summer...they only slow down for one or two weeks around the
    Solstice, then boom! they start to grow again.

    Josh

  • alex_i
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    So, Josh, does it have something to do with which 'zone' we live in? Or is it the type or variety? Or is it the way we care for them in the summer? It seems many say their jades go dormant above 90, but mine never seems to. I do not even fertilize mine because it grows so much as it is. But I do break the major jade-growing-rules for my outdoor ones; i.e. I water often, I water the entire plant even leaves, I do not let the soil dry completely, I use plastic pot, soil not as gritty as my indoor mix - because with outdoor humidity so low here (5-15%) I try to preserve enough moisture so they do not wilt in 48 hrs.

  • Lamora
    11 years ago

    Wish I could put mine out is full sun and I know they need it.. I dont have a place where they wont get knocked over.. The last place that I thought was safe for them, the neighbors hit a basket ball too close. Didn't hurt them, but made me not want them there anymore. So they are in the shade all day with the rest of my babies. But they are growing, slowly, but growing. If we are still here next summer, I am going to get my husband to make me something for the full sun plants. hehe

    Yours are so pretty. Hope mine get like that soon.. :)
    Marjie

  • puglvr1
    11 years ago

    Mine don't grow in the summer in FL. The only difference I can think of is because of our very high 70+ percent humidity and you guys in Las Vegas and California have very low humidity (at least compared to us in FL).

    Congrats on the new growths Alex!!

    I have about about another 2 1/2 months or so before mine starts growing and maybe around mid December to see some nice colors.

    Hi Josh!!

  • alex_i
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Hi Nancy, I still remember your post in May about putting you jades in "Direct sun, bright light". I hope you found a permanent spot for them during the summer heat. And you are right, the high humidity there could make a big difference in their growing cycle. I just finished a lot of yardwork today and 110 with low humidity does not bother me; however, if the humidity was very high, I probably would not want to move or exert any effort either, just like your jades :-)

    Thanks Marjie - do what I do when the neighbor's kids get their ball over to my yard, I hide them and pretend it never came to my yard. So very cruel of me, though eventually I toss it back over the fence a few days later.

  • Microthrix
    11 years ago

    Down in sandiego they have about 98% humidity, so im sure everyone there's jades have stopped growing ... i cant say i have any experience growing jades because i dont have one. I just got my first jade cutting a few days ago from my moms ex husbands giant 30 year old jade. Its a pretty nice cutting.

    I lol'd when you said you throw it back a few days later! I do that too, but most of the time they hit a cactus or some spikey succulent and they pop ... and my neighbors have young children, which like those thin bouncy balls ... i always have to give the bad knews of a popped ball ... lol.

  • Lamora
    11 years ago

    lol-- not kids-- drunken adults!! (it was so quiet before they moved in)

    If the ball was to stay anywhere NEAR this house, My Sadie (black lab) would totally distroy it! She is the Queen of Distroyer of Balls!! Hummm that gives me an idea--naww, they would just get another one-- /sigh

    news of a popped ball? how many do they have to go thru before they learn that going over the fence is NOT a good thing?? lol

  • alex_i
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Nancy, Microthrix - I read an article from The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences that in areas with high humidity like Florida, the jade plant may never bloom at all. Is that true?

  • whip1 Zone 5 NE Ohio
    11 years ago

    I'm pretty sure Nancy has got blooms on hers in Florida.

    I'm in Ohio, and it's been in the 90's a lot. My Jades do not appear to have slowed down at all.

    Rob

  • mrlike2u
    11 years ago

    It's also a night drop in temps of 20-40 degree ranges that promote jades to keep growing.

  • alex_i
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    So if my little cuttings are still growing in this heat and have been acclimated to this environment, are they destined to never go dormant in future summers? and if that is the case, will it affect it's growing cycle the rest of the year? The mother plant is 12 yrs. old and has grown so beautiful that I have permanently housed it indoors a few years ago so it is always protected. Because of that, it has actively grown year round the past 2 yrs. So do these cuttings now come from a pedigree of year-round-growers (if there's such a thing)?

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    11 years ago

    Hey, Nancy!

    Alex, Jades will grow whenever the weather is suitable, so just keep up with the watering
    and enjoy that growth. As far as I know, it has nothing to do with the particular variety of Jade.

    I do notice that your 'Gollum' Jades are looking rather leaf-haggard in the pics. Are those
    newly stuck/rooted cuttings, or are they just suffering from the intense heat and sun?


    Josh

  • jeffrey_b
    11 years ago

    Hello, Alex.

    The plant in the picture with the coins looks like it might be a Cotyledon rather than a Crassula. Maybe it's just the image, or just me?

  • alex_i
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    jeffrey_b, I do not know how it could be a cotyledon because it was a cutting or more accurately, a small 2-leaf branch that I thought broke off the mother jade plant that used to be in that pot. I left it in that pot when I transplanted the jade plant out, not knowing the little guy would survive, not even intending to grow it. I do not even know what a cotyledon is, but I know I have none (at least not on purpose) :-) Is it possible a cotyledon was growing in the soil and when it pop'ed up from the soil, I mistook it for a branck that fell from the jade?

    I also have a few mature flowering plums in that same area, and with the warm winter, bloom was early Feb. It is a favorite of lots of birds, epecially when the blooms turn into fruits. I wonder if the birds could have delivered a cutting while they were checking out their favorite plums? Now you got me thinking; hopefully in a few more months, we'll know for sure if it is a crassula? Is there any other way to confirm if it is a cotyledon?

  • mrlike2u
    11 years ago

    cotyledon
    Saw it as a Jade in a glance as well Jeff I think your right

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    11 years ago

    Alex,
    are those Finger Jades newly rooted cuttings? They aren't looking too good,
    and if they haven't grown, you might want to gently check their roots or pot them separately.
    Doesn't look as though they're growing or handling that intense sun very well.


    Josh

  • alex_i
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Josh - Thank you for your concern. Yes, it is finger jade and I do realize it is not doing too well in the heat. But I am not worried since this one was just for experimentation. I had many cuttings last Feb. and I wanted to see how far it can survive in this heat. It is my sacrificial cutting :-)

    mrlike2u - Thanks. I guess I got a new cotyledon succulent from mother nature for free. I am still baffled how it got here? But it seems to like the heat and growing fast :-)

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