TheoM

Hello there,

A month ago, I began what I hope will be a lifelong bonsai hobby. I started with a dwarf jade. I'm a little familiar with the debate as to whether this species is a "real" bonsai or not, but at this point I am not interested in such controversies. I am very interested, however, to make sure that the dwarf jade, which I call Nelson, will survive -- and maybe even thrive, etc.

The internet abounds with tidbits on dwarf-jade care. Almost all of these tidbits assume some prior knowledge, and many, even more confusingly, contradict one another. The one universal comment, luckily, is that these things are easy to care for. But what does that mean?

So here are the basic questions. I hope that someone will be nice enough to answer them and that future beginners will see the Thread and save themselves days of internet searching and head scratching.

My dwarf jade is about 8-10 inches tall, with a trunk just a bit slimmer than a dry-erase marker or a roll of dimes. Its sitting in a pot with glued-on rocks and some moss at the base of the trunk. We're inside, in New York City.

1) how often do I water it? I've heard "every two weeks" and "once a month" and "when it needs it"

2) how do i water it? I've heard "mist it"; I've heard "don't mist it" . Fine. But if I don't mist it, does that mean that I immerse it? Or what?

3) Do i need to get it out of this rocks-glued-on pot? Then what should I put it in?

4) I saw what looked like a dwarf jade last week that was sitting in a pot near the ceiling in a foyer and had a trunk that cascaded to the side and then turned down and dangled all the way to the floor -- some ten feet. Does anyone know how to do that?

5) And cuttings. I took six cuttings just smaller than a pencil. I put three in Miracle Gro Potting Mix two days later, and the other three a week later. I watered one of each with bonsai food; I did nothing at all (no water) to the other four. They've been in for about a month (first batch) and two weeks (second batch), and they have lost most of their leaves. I've pulled them out and I don't see any roots. Should I just wait? And what should I do with the cutting I just took ten minutes ago?

That's all. I hope someone will take the time to help me (and others to come) out with this. I'll get pictures up soon...

Thanks,

Theo

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