Saturday 14 April 2018

Saturday Photo: Trying to Get a Jade Plant to Bloom in a Difficult World

There are some plants I can get to bloom year after year.  The various sorts of Christmas cactus are one, and recently I've been having pretty good luck with hibiscus.  But Jade Plant, also called crassula, is one I would love to see blooming, but which is resisting my attempts to recreate the circumstances in which it flowers naturally.

Thalassa Cruso in her classic guide to indoor gardening, Making Things Grow, talks about hers rewarding her with fragrant flowers every spring. My mother--never much of a gardener--had  big one that bloomed occasionally when I was a kid in San Diego.  But I've never got a flower.

Apparently the plant is a native to a coastal Mediterranean-type climate, so I'm trying to imitate the conditions.  It's not easy, as you can see in the photo which shows the snow outside.  But I'll keep trying.

Of course, it's an insignificant challenge considered against the problems of the world.  But sometimes finding solutions to small things gives one the energy to go to bigger ones...

8 comments:

lagatta à montréal said...

I've had mine for 20 years, it has had many "babies" (cuttings, parts that fell off) but it has never flowered. I wonder if it would if I put it out on the balcony once it is finally warm?

Riley's sister said...

Years ago I visited Rideau Hall and took a tour hosted by Ed Lawrence, then the head of the gardens belonging to the National Capital Commission. He gave us some interesting information about Jade plants 1. they have to be older, I think he said 13 years 2. They need to go outside in the summer to get the necessary amount of light in order to bloom. They had jade plants in the greenhouse there which were over 100 years old and had been donated by Joseph Karsh who had inherited them from his mother.

Mary Soderstrom said...

Very interesting information. Thanks a lot. Mine has spent the summer outside, but our yard is quite shady. Will see what I can come up with re: sun.

lagatta à montréal said...

Mine is a bit over 20 years old; perhaps 21 or 22 now. Does this mean that I should set mine out on the balcony in the summer? I live on the top floor of a typical Montréal triplex and my front balcony is on the sunny side, though there is some light shade from a tall maple tree. I'd love to see her flower, but I don't want to hurt her.

lagatta à montréal said...

Do squirrels eat them? I can't put my cat on guard duty all summer...

Mary Soderstrom said...

Maria, I don't know about squirrels, but I do know the person from whom I inherited mine left it outside on the Plateau in the summer. It never bloomed for her, but I have no idea how much sun the plant got. Certainly worth trying, though. Will try to do the same with mine, although we are mostly in deep shade because of a big maple tree.

lagatta à montréal said...

Half of my balcony is deeply shaded by a large maple tree, the other half gets quite a bit of sun. I live on the top floor of a triplex.

The balcony's light zones make it hard to choose flowers...

Mary Soderstrom said...

I'd say, put it on the sunny side.

Here's some interesting info. http://pza.sanbi.org/crassula-ovata