Oldest one of ALL

Oldest Plant

Jade

What I'm am dedicating today to is my old jade pant, its in  of some TLC. 

Fun info on my jade, its over 16 years old!

 I got a leaf from my grandfathers plant and started this one. Its not as  big as it could be because we move a lot and my pets like chew on my plants , its had a tough life. Thankfully today its going to get a boost and start loving life again.

Must have tea with this project!

     First off I'm going to clean out the  debris that has collected. f As you can see I got a odd collection of stuff in the pot, fur from pets, glow in the dark beads and lots of dead leaves.  

 This needs to be done often in house hold plants or you may get plant pest. Personally have had problem with aphids, white flys, and spider mites. Its best to keep any dead plant debris off the soil. I had rocks, sea glass and shells to keep the cat from digging. 

The dead leaves look kind of cool and silverly. The leaves below I plucked off. 

    Realistically the last time i cleaned out my jade pot was the last time i repotted it. Which was two years ago.   

Leaves covered in dust and pet fur.

       After throwing away that stuff I'm going to wipe off  the jade leaves and base with water to get off the dust/fur. When that is done I like to then wipe the base and leaves again with a cloth and very little olive oil. I know kind of weird but it brightens an refreshes the plant. Make sure you only use a little olive oil.

Clean base of the jade! 

Clean Plant!! Its so happy its GLOWING*

           This process  took me about 1 1/2 hours . It will depend on the size of your plant. 

If you want a easer way to do this and its summer just stick your pant outside during a summer warm rain. That will dust off your pant (but you still have to pick out the dead stuff in the pot). Make sure it doesn't get to much water and let the pot fully drain out.

From the pics above you can see that as I was cleaning up the jade I was soaking it in the sink. While soaking i added some fertilizer for its winter food. This is the type I use.

Extra fun links below!

Info on jade plants- here are some great links -

How to care for you jade-

 http://www.examiner.com/article/how-to-care-for-a-jade-plant

Different types and more info-

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cacti/msg101405495632.html

 PS: I got ride of all the pest using a soap/water solution and just sprayed the plants . Make sure to get under the leaves as  well, also use a nontoxic soap. I have pets that like to chew on my plants the safer the better.

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/homemade-bug-spray-houseplants-41029.html 
This web site has some ideas on home made pest sprays.