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| ELEGANT JADE PLANT EASY TO GROW | |
| Published: November 25, 1997 | |
Sculptural shape and Oriental quality lovely indoors and outQ:I have been given a large jade plant. It is very beautiful and I want to give it the proper care. Please advise.A:Jade plant is not only beautiful but also easy to care for. The most familiar jade (Crassula argentea) has solid green foliage. There is also a Variegata with foliage of grayish green and cream. Both are equally tolerant of drought and of varying intensities of light. As a result, jade plant is considered by many to be the most long-lived of houseplants.Over-watering is the greatest danger. Because the plant is a succulent, it stores water and cannot handle excess. The best practice is to let the soil dry out between waterings. When you do water, do so thoroughly, letting the water run out the bottom of the pot. A suggested schedule is to include 20-20-20 diluted to one-fourth strength with each watering, every two or three weeks in spring and summer. In fall and winter, discontinue fertilizing and water less frequently. Jade plant prefers to be near an east- or west-facing window, however it will adapt to a range of light from a dimly-lit living room to the bright light of a sun porch, to filtered sun on an outdoor porch during summer. It prefers to be pot-bound, so repot only every 3-4 years. The plant responds well to monthly cleaning to remove dust and dirt. This can be done in the shower, provided that a plastic bag is secured around the pot so that the soil wont become saturated. Storing caladium bulbs and geraniums over winterQ:I remember reading in this column directions for storing caladium bulbs. I cant remember what you recommended using to dust the bulbs before storage. Also, do you have any instructions for storing geraniums?A:I store my caladium tubers over winter and have never dusted them with anything. However, dusting with Captan and Sevin is often recommended to prevent damage from insects and disease during storage.Again, Ive never stored geraniums because usually by fall mine look pretty sad. However, this is the way to do it according to Felder Rushing. Take them out of soil before frost and shake or wash the dirt from the roots. Air dry them on newspaper in the kitchen or other warm room for a week or so. Hang the plants up or store them in a cool place until spring. Then trim them so that they are five or six inches long, and pot them or stick them right into the ground. They should root and begin blooming in five or six weeks. Great foliage, no bloomQ.My maui plants bloomed last year with orange red clusters. They have great foliage this year but no blooms. They are in containers and I feed them with Miracle Gro.A:Henrietta Girouard at Girouards Nursery in Broussard, reports that their maui ixora plants (I. coccinea) have boomed almost continuously in a full-sun exposure on a feeding regimen of slow-release Osmocote supplemented by twice monthly feedings of Peters 20-20-20. Good luck! |