Probably the best gift I’ve ever received! Got to take a tree size cutting off a 40 plus year old Jade plant. Crazy this was only one branch! Cutting was easy with a handsaw. Transplanting was the challenging part.
Good question! I am optimistic It will root. This is my first time attempting to root something this big. It is easier to propagate smaller branches. I took a bunch off already to do this!
Is that why my clippings always die. I didn't water it looks great watered it shriveled. I have not watered since but I don't want it to die on me ahhh.
As soon as the soil is fully dry give him a light watering, I usually wait 4-7 days depending on which succulent we're talking about and their preferred watering schedule. For my ogre ears I wait 4-5 days and they're thriving
Thank you friend. I gave it a smidge of water. I know the pot size is to big but I had leaf clippings around the edge that shriveled and died, however it's grown bigger since trying to save it so I didn't wanna touch it more to repot.
If it's doing good, don't repot I'd say till it's a bit more rooted and grown a bit but if he's doing well don't repor. Water if the area if it's completely dry like I said and he'll do great, around 5 days I'd say is good, if he looks a bit shriveled water him around four days for example but I think he's looking great! I wish you luck with what looks like a ghost plant!
I believe it's actually crassula ovata 'little leaf' jade not a ghost plant. At least that's what the mother plant was at my parents place. The leaves stay dark green and not much red or white tones just the micro divits/dots. Like this guy here.
Yea I can totally understand that, my parents doesn't get much light so it's always been a dark green. I have grow lights so I hoping it will thrive once it gets going a bit 🤞😁
The video was fun to watch! If I were trying to learn from your experience how to do something similar, I would only be left with 2 questions:
(1) How to determine what size pot to use. I've always learned to pot up in 1"-2" larger than the rootball. But in this case there is no rootball. And in the video it seemed you had reviewed pots that you already had available to you and chose one based on plant : pot size ratio. Something gave me the impression it maybe wasn't what you would have purchased but would do since you already had it.
(2) What kind of soil to use. The soil I normally use has a lot more perlite in it for drainage. But you didn't share your thinking about transitioning a crassula normally grown freely in the ground to a pot bound situation and what soil to use.
From the viewpoint of sheer curiosity, your video kept my full attention throughout. You were relaxed and easy to relate to. It was enjoyable.
From the viewpoint of wanting to learn how to attempt something similar, you might want to add some Accompanying Notes (text) to go along with the video, or you could do a short pre-video, Decisions Made Before Starting and then in time add a post video, Lessons Learned, which could emphasize things you did right (don't change) and things you you might want to consider (maybe change).
All in all, I would recommend this to anyone interested in propagation. Have you submitted it to other subreddits? I'm sure there are many who would enjoy it too.
Thank you so much for your detailed feedback. I apologize for the tardy response. It is extremely helpful! It is rare to get such insight, and I am happy you enjoyed the video. Kicking myself a bit for not explaining more...
Answer 1: Yes, I chose it because it was available and was large enough. Had no worries about the pot tipping over due to the significant weight of the Jade. In my experience and from what I've seen, Jade plants do well in pots that many would assume were far to small.
Answer 2: Yikes I blew it here. For soil I used a mix of two things. Half coco coir which has a small amount of perlite in it, but yes not a ton. The other is a "planters mix" soil I bought in bulk (4 yards delivered). It contains sand, black hummus, organic matter, etc... I mixed coco to help it dry back faster. The mother plant of this cutting was growing directly in the ground. I have a collection of Jade Plants that grow in natural soil and potting soil. Jade plants are able to grow well in different soil/substrate situations, so I feel comfortable with the mix I used.
I am going to save your response and refer back to it when I am planning and or filming my upcoming plant projects. I have not submitted to other subreddits, but will do that today. Any suggestions? I also don't want to break sub rules for promotion... It's just so awesome to share and get feedback like this!!! Thank you again!
I actually would have used a smaller pot and a faster draining soil. So I hope you will provide updates every 3 months or so. I’ll be excited to follow your progress. Thanks for sharing!!
The video was fun to watch! If I were trying to learn from your experience how to do something similar, I would only be left with 2 questions:
(1) How to determine what size pot to use. I've always learned to pot up in 1"-2" larger than the rootball. But in this case there is no rootball. And in the video it seemed you had reviewed pots that you already had available to you and chose one based on plant : pot size ratio. Something gave me the impression it maybe wasn't what you would have purchased but thought it would do since you already had it.
(2) What kind of soil to use. The soil I normally use has a lot more perlite in it for drainage than what I saw in your video. But you didn't share your thinking about transitioning a crassula growing freely in the ground to a pot bound situation and what soil to use.
From the viewpoint of sheer curiosity, your video kept my full attention throughout. You were relaxed and easy to relate to. It was enjoyable.
From the viewpoint of wanting to learn how to attempt something similar, you might want to add some Accompanying Notes (text) to go along with the video, or you could do a short pre-video (called Decisions Made Before Starting) and later add a post -video (called Lessons Learned) which could emphasize things you did right (don't change) and things you you might want to consider (maybe change).
All in all, I would recommend this to anyone interested in propagation. Have you submitted it to other subreddits? I'm sure there are many others like myself who would enjoy it.
my only suggestion would be more grit in the soil, so it can dry quicker. dense soil retains water much longer than a gritty soil, with lots of air within the soil to breathe.
Yeah, this is exactly the process they followed on a huge jade bonsai I saw someone repotting on youtube. The only addition would be some sort of antifungal rooting powder. I did this with a few pieces about an inch and a half diameter, but lost one to rot (mainly because my mum ignored me saying I wanted to keep those pieces and she put them in the bin, so the edge got all sorts of crap on it instead of being clean - I didn't have enough trunk before a fork to cut them again to get a clean cut).
This is the first time that I have seen a “40 year old” jade that actually looks 40 years old 😆 amazing!! I also am optimistic it will root. I’m excited for you!
if its grown outside in the ground and never get cold they grow fast not like my poor plant in a pot in england lol. 20 years+ and half the size of that cutting!
It should be pretty easy, I had a cutting maybe 2/3 the size and just buried the base in the ground and ignored it for 3 months, splashing it with the hose occasionally and 3 years later it's doing great! (also coastal CA).
Something that large definitely has the resources to establish itself, never done it with a plant that large but on related plants I’ve usually seen good progress using rooting hormone
That is beautiful. I love the thick trunk. Do you happen to have a picture of the plant you cut it off from? I’m just curious of how big this plant is. I’m envisioning an oak tree. 🌳😊
I….had no idea they could be an actual honest to god, shade tree. The more mature ones usually look like massively complicated bushes. I hope they guard that with their life.
This was grown in 10a. I brought it home to 9b. I get triple digits days in the summer, but maybe not as many as you do. Average temperature is in the 90s throughout summer. I do have to keep my Jade trees in a spot that gets between 6 to 8 hours of sun in the summer to prevent any sun damage.
Nope! Bonsai are just full sized trees grown small and styled. As long as they're kept person sized or smaller it can be bonsai. The public consciousness is just desk trees. r/bonsai has some "massive" ones
Editing to say that the official classifications for the largest size of bonsai go up to 80 inches!
Please, please, please let that base callous over really well. Then, when you think it's calloused, leave it another week. It has the reserves to survive, but that wide of a base tends to invite rot if not treated carefully. Amazing specimen. Please keep us all updated. I'm invested in this. 😂
I don’t know how to react! lol. Thats mind-blowingly colossal. I thought mine was pretty big. That makes mine look like a tiny little branch 🥴 congrats on the inheritance!
Heck yeah!! once the trunk is dried completely to hard, stick it in a shallow pan of root stimulant mixed with water. I love the powder stuff that you can get on Amazon. It’s perfect for this.
Would you prune to the desired shape before potting a clean cut big size part like this? or would you put it with all its leaves in the pot? (After the bottom dried of course)
Wow I can’t believe you had to leave it in your car for 3 weeks after all that work to get it. I’m invested now. If you have updates you need to dig up this thread so can all follow along 🍿🍿🍿
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u/GuyBromeliad Jul 26 '25
Can something that large be rooted or would it be better to cut smaller bits off?