Jade plants - a new bonsai favorite

The jade plant has rapidly become one of the new bonsai favorites.  This easy to grow succulent can be an indoor plant as well as an outdoor plant and is very simple to maintain.  The root system lends itself to shallow containers which makes it perfect for bonsai.

Jade plants, Crassula ovata, are native to South Africa and have been used as house plants in Europe and the Americas for over one hundred years.  They require very little to maintain but are best grown in direct sunlight with a high drainage type soil.  African violet fertilizer (10-20-10 or 5-10-5) is a perfect food for these potted plants.

Training a jade plant is also quite a simple task.  They can be manipulated with weights, pressures and very gentle wiring.  Removing old leafs will spur new growth at the same location and they produce multiple limbs and branches readily.  Repotting should be done every two to three years and root trimming can be done in the same manner as any other bonsai.  The jade trunk can become quite thick and in combination with the petal like leaves very attractive.

Propagating a jade plant is uncomplicated.  Any healthy leaf or stem will grow if placed gently into the soil and left alone.  Within two to three weeks it will produce a root system and can be treated as a mature plant.  The jade does have a flowering cycle which normally occurs in the winter around Christmas.   Normally a house plant, they will also grow outdoors but must not be allowed to incur freezing temperatures.

Bonsai jade plants may not be considered traditional by many but they are fun to grow and the results can be very rewarding.