Jade Plant

The Swallow has sent another plant to its eternal rest...sigh...

The Jade Plant was bought on 18 November last year, about the same time as the Aloe Vera and the Pearl Plant.  It looked cramped in its original pot and the Swallow thought to give it more room, so she transplanted it into a nice-looking ceramic pot with some 'Oriental' designs on it, thinking that the designs would complement the Jade Plant.

Some time after that, the leaves started to turn yellow.  After some research, she found out that the plant, as a succulent, has some characteristics similar to the cacti i.e. they do not need a lot of watering, and they need a well-drained soil.  Well, the Swallow has the tendency to be over-zealous in watering her plants...also, the 'Oriental' pot did not have any drainage holes...

So out came the Jade Plant from the 'Oriental' pot and when the Swallow checked the roots, sure enough, they were starting to rot...

Jade Plant

The Swallow then decided to divide it into three plants (they are usually propagated through division) and to repot them into individual plastic pots that have several drainage holes.

Little did she realise the harm she had already inflicted onto the plant...not only did they have to bear with rotting roots, they had to bear with the many repottings...and they could not take the shocks...one by one, the root rot spread to the stem...and they had to be 'let go'...sigh sigh sigh.

Oh well, at least the Swallow has learnt her lesson (she hopes!) from this experience.  She is now more cautious in the watering of her plants as she checks the soil first to make sure that it is dry.

So far, the other plants in her collection of succulents, the Aloe Vera, the Pearl Plant and the Donkey's Tail are still alive...so the Swallow will continue to press on in her quest to understand the nature of these plants better.  The Swallow promises herself that one day, she will try to care for the Jade Plant again!