Moonshiner

Hello peoples! I received the Dwarf Cavendish gift today, and my experiment with bananas has begun. It's potted up in the 20" pot, with soil and fertilizer regimen recommended by Richard. Lot's of room in there to grow! Is going to receive at least 5-6 hours of direct sunlight through the fall, and here in SoCal will remain in the pot over the winter. I have it sitting on top of, but not in some pea gravel in the drip tray, so that I know when the water is running out the bottom.

Witness:






Not a banana, but I love to show off my 70 year old jade, who will be keeping a watchful eye on the new recruit:





Wish me luck!

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Mike

Richard

Congratulations! By mid-summer it will probably be ready for a 25-gallon pot. Looks like I'll have two extra of the black plastic variety -- I'll put a name tag on one of them if you're interested.

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Moonshiner

Is that the 22x18? This one is 20x17. Do you think I'll need to re-pot it that soon? And then how long until I'll need a 45 gallon?

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Mike

sirmoebly

You need to fix your zone (22?), I grow DC & what I found out is they don't like to big of pots. The bigger the pot the more chance you will get root rot & it doesn't matter on how well it drains!!! The plant needs to dry the soil by itself & if there's to much soil with to much water then toast plant. You will know when to repot because the soil will dry out really fast. Thats my advice. Good luck with your plant!!!!

Moonshiner

California is a tricky place, full of mountains, canyons and deserts, often times in the same zip code. Desert winds from the East, ocean breezes and marine layers from the West, sometimes in a single 24-hour day. Many of us out here refer to the Sunset Zone Chart.

From Backyard Gardener:

Sunset Zones versus USDA Zones

Gardeners in the western United States sometimes are confused when confronted with the 11 Hardiness Zones created by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture), because they are used to a 24-zone climate system created 40 years ago by Sunset Magazine. The Sunset zone maps, which cover 13 Western states, are much more precise than the USDA's, since they factor in not only winter minimum temperatures, but also summer highs, lengths of growing seasons, humidity, and rainfall patterns to provide a more accurate picture of what will grow there.

If you live in the western U.S., you'll find that nurseries, garden centers, and other western gardeners usually refer to the Sunset climate zones rather than the USDA plant hardiness zones. In fact, the Sunset zones and maps are what are listed for each plant in Sunset's Western Garden Book and Western Garden CD-ROM, which are considered the standard gardening references in the West.

However, the USDA zones are still of importance to western gardeners, since the USDA zones are used in the rest of the country. When you order plants from catalogs or read general garden books, you need to know your USDA zone in order to be able to interpret references correctly.

Sunset climate zones: California/Nevada - Sunset.com




Thanks! I will make sure to keep a close eye on the soil. Things dry out pretty fast around here. I can water my 6' jade with a full 2 gallons of water, and it will be completely dry within a week. It's all a matter of knowing your weather, I guess.

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Mike

Richard

Really! I got the proportions all wrong, thinking the black pot to the left was a 1 gallon. That makes your Jade plant on the right all the larger! You might not need a 45 gallon for that plant -- next spring will tell.

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Moonshiner

Yeah, Richard. The Jade is in a 20" square wood container. It actually needs to be re-potted, but I can't find another container like it close to what I need (24" square) for what I can afford to pay right now. Maybe that black one you have would do the trick, although I don't like potting up such a large jade in plastic. Send me a PM if you've got any ideas..

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Mike

bepah

Zone 22 is the Sunset Western Gardens zone....for Laguna Niguel....probably 9b or 10a in USDA terms.......it can be confusing. Sunset has zones for the entire nation for most of the country, but they have no relationship to USDA.

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John Case
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Richard

Jade is a space-filling plant. You could put it in a cubic yard planter box and in 3 to 5 years the box will be solid root mass. I have one in a 15 gallon pot. Each year I prune off the trailing branches after the rain, and every few years I scale back the root mass with a lumber saw. It seems to like it -- a short while later it blooms, regardless of the season.

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Moonshiner

Hmmmmm. Well, I already pruned back the overhanging branches from last year, and accidentally lost a big branch during a recent move. So you think maybe take it out, cut the roots back 10-20%, let em heal and then repot it back in?

Hmmmmmm..........

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Mike

Richard

Wait until the Jade is in a mode of vigorous growth. If not already, then certainly by May.

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Bananaman88

Jade plants do have cool little blooms!

Richard

Little? Mine is covered in yellow blossoms from late December through mid-March!

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Moonshiner

Update time!

After two weeks in the sun, getting lots of (but not too much) water, the new guy is about to unfurl it's first leaf. The 5 remaining original leaves are getting bleached out by the intense sun, but that doesn't worry me as long as the new leaves are healthy. This must have been grown from seed in a greenhouse because there was no sign of any piece of a previous corm when I planted it up. And although I gave it a few days in dappled sun to get acclimated, when put into the direct sun it acted like a Maine tourist on the San Diego beaches with no sunscreen. Yet it never shriveled or dried up, just lost color. The root system seems to be grabbing hold, and it is growing.

I will take a picture when the first leaf opens up, and any words of wisdom are always welcome.

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Mike

Richard

Congratulations!

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sirmoebly

Awesome!!! lets see pictures!!!!!

Chironex

I would love to have some Jade vines, but it's way too dry here. Another one for China.

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Scot

Moonshiner

Not much of a pic (cell phone), and not much of a leaf as yet. I'll take a better one after it's opened. This is about as dwarf as a cavendish gets, I'm guessing!

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Mike

Caloosamusa

Good day Moonshiner,

Some Marines on San Diego Beaches used sun screen because the aforsaid came from the sunshine state, and he did NOT shrivel dry up or exhibit color loss. One Marine has a very strong root system and is still vital.

Your metaphor is not completely accurate, but I'm glad your Jade plant is doing well, and wish you well with it.

Best wishes and Happy Easter!

Moonshiner

Not Marine tourist....Maine tourist. You know, pale skinned people from the cold Northeast. Like me, once.

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Mike