Jade: the jewel of the garden
Seems like everyone in the Bay Area has a Jade plant because these plants like the weather and temp range. Here in zone 10, Jade plants grow wild! The technical name is Crassula Ovata and they are a non-native species originating from South Africa & Mozambique.
Last year a towering Jade tree in the neighborhood was trimmed back and the trimmings left on the ground; we scooped them up and nurtured the shoots into 4 separate indoor plants. In July, we relocated the two large ones to the growing container garden on the patio where they seem to be doing a-okay. The smaller one just busted out a whole new generation of leaves, which is what inspired this week’s Plant Portrait.
Notes on the sketch show information from observation and the Internets. 🙂
Reflection
I learned about Jade plants! Where they came from and why the stems and trunks are so fragile until they get older and woodier.
I was surprised at how many shapes the leaves take. I thought they would all be regular ovals but they each have individual shapes, edge quality and surfaces.
Next time…I’d like to add measurements and quant observations to the portrait, and maybe a map of the origin of the plant.
