RH-W
Yamadori
Rescued this from a Trader Joe's planter my better half brought home. Thinking Crassula Ovata. Anyone have one of these as Bonsai?
Crassula Ovata? Can you identify this Jade?
- Thread starter RH-W
- Start date
Rescued this from a Trader Joe's planter my better half brought home. Thinking Crassula Ovata. Anyone have one of these as Bonsai?
kale
Shohin
Yep! I have a bunch all cuttings from a big one I have. Put it outside in the summer!
RH-W
Yamadori
Cool. Thats what I figured. Thanks!
Do these ramify pretty easily with pruning?
kale
Shohin
Yeah, they do but they grow so slow. They really do take a beating though!
RH-W
Yamadori
There aren't Jade bonsai? Or just not this kind? There's water because I just repotted it. That top middle is where I'm considering pruning. I'm going to give it some time though.
BonsaiJames1986
Sapling
These are fun plants. I propogated 10 of them from a my first jade. They do grow slowly.
I think some don't consider them as "real" bonsai, since they are a succulent but there are surely some convincing examples to be found.
MrWunderful
Omono
Dwarf jade, or “portulacaria afra” makes a better candidate for bonsai.
RH-W
Yamadori
Gotcha, well for a $5 Trader Joe's planter I guess I'll see what comes of it. I'm itching for an indoor Bonsai for the winter. This will suffice for now.
Leo in N E Illinois
The Professor
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Crassula ovata - Jade plant.
Portulacaria afra - Spekboom, also called dwarf or miniature jade plant
Like many succulents, these do not have "true wood" with growth rings and such like an Elm or Oak. They get woody, like some herbs get woody, but it is not "true wood". For this reason, some do not consider them bonsai. For Crassula, the leaves generally do not reduce, so there is always an issue of the proportions not being quite as some would like it. Portulacaria afra has smaller leaves, and can really be trained into a convincing image of a tree. I saw a Portulacaria at a MABA convention, and it "blended in" with the other trees on display. It was near 3 feet tall and nearly as wide, planted on a rock, and it looked like a "proper bonsai", very woody looking trunk.
These days most bonsai clubs do accept Crassula as bonsai if it is well enough developed to look somewhat tree like.
My favorite succulents for bonsai are Bursera, Operculicarya decaryi, and Boswellia species. They are all fat trunk pachycauls, meaning that they have a spongy water retaining layer between the outer bark and the cambium. These are true woody shrubs. They have growth habits that remind you of baobabs, but have smaller leaves and pleasant smelling resins.
Portulacaria afra - Spekboom, also called dwarf or miniature jade plant
Like many succulents, these do not have "true wood" with growth rings and such like an Elm or Oak. They get woody, like some herbs get woody, but it is not "true wood". For this reason, some do not consider them bonsai. For Crassula, the leaves generally do not reduce, so there is always an issue of the proportions not being quite as some would like it. Portulacaria afra has smaller leaves, and can really be trained into a convincing image of a tree. I saw a Portulacaria at a MABA convention, and it "blended in" with the other trees on display. It was near 3 feet tall and nearly as wide, planted on a rock, and it looked like a "proper bonsai", very woody looking trunk.
These days most bonsai clubs do accept Crassula as bonsai if it is well enough developed to look somewhat tree like.
My favorite succulents for bonsai are Bursera, Operculicarya decaryi, and Boswellia species. They are all fat trunk pachycauls, meaning that they have a spongy water retaining layer between the outer bark and the cambium. These are true woody shrubs. They have growth habits that remind you of baobabs, but have smaller leaves and pleasant smelling resins.
