Jade plant (Hobbit) · Crassula ovata 'Hobbit'
GI upset, muscle weakness. Must stay elevated permanently.
Long-term goal: train as a multi-trunk bonsai. The two cuttings share one 9cm terracotta pot deliberately, not as a temporary arrangement. Do not suggest separating them - the twin-trunk form is the intent.
The thickness difference between the thicker main stem and the thinner removed branch is wanted, not a flaw. Multi-trunk form reads better with unequal trunk calipers and heights than with matched ones.
No pruning until both cuttings are rooted and growing. Pruning for branching comes after establishment, on a plant with roots to support the regrowth.
Observed: no soil roots pushed yet; stem drying out from the bottom, leaves completely lifeless.
Done: light watering, not drenched, to encourage root growth toward the moisture, ~6 days after potting dry.
Checkpoint: check stem base 2026-09-10 if no root push by then.
Mix: as designed.
Quartz also top-dressed on the surface for physical stability.
Prep: dead portion of the stem cut back to fresh tissue, then callused in dry grit before this repot.
Done: potted dry into the same 9cm terracotta, no water.
Observed: no roots yet, stems limp but no rot, still enough turgor in the tissue. Not established.
Metal straw from potting day swapped for a bamboo chopstick. Taller stem rests against it and is deliberately not tied – this is a rooting-phase support only, not a training stake.
Bamboo instead of the wooden skewer originally planned: rot-resistant in mineral substrate, no heat transfer against the stem. Closes the stake-replacement item from 2026-08-05.
Substrate unchanged. Top layer is still almost entirely migrated perlite and gives no ballast. Better mineral mix planned once roots are in; the coarse 5–7mm pumice top dressing still applies.
Watch next: first light water ~2026-08-12 with willow water. Stake stays untied until the cuttings are anchored.
Both cuttings potted dry into the shared 9cm terracotta, 1:1 Gardners cactus and succulent substrate to perlite, mixed dry. No water on potting day. First light water due ~2026-08-12 with willow water.
Potted 2026-08-05 rather than the 2026-08-10 target – the cut faces passed the fingertip check as dry and hard, which was the stated gate rather than the date.
Neither cutting is anchored yet and the mix is too light to hold the taller stem upright. Propped with a metal straw as a temporary stake – replace with a wooden skewer to avoid abrasion and heat against the stem.
Perlite has migrated to the surface. The top layer is almost entirely perlite and provides no ballast. Top-dress with the coarse 5-7mm pumice fraction once the e-bonsai order arrives.
Taller stem is etiolated – long internodes, leaves clustered toward the tip, lower stem bare. Keep out of direct sun until rooted, since neither cutting can replace transpired water yet, then return to full direct to tighten new growth.
Several leaf tips browned and a few leaves shriveled, consistent with the leaf drop logged during callousing. Expected while rootless. Watch, no action.
Twin-trunk form developing as intended, with clear caliper and height difference between the two stems.
Potted into 9cm terracotta with 1:1 Gardners cactus and succulent substrate to perlite, mixed dry, then taken back out the same day. The forking branch was removed so the material pots more easily, leaving two cuttings plus a set of loose leaves. Both cuttings are back to open-air callousing on paper towel.
Two fresh wounds to watch, not one - the cut face on the removed branch, and the new wound on the main stem where it came off. The removed branch's cut face was bright green and uncalloused at the time of the photo.
Revised plan: pot both cuttings together in the same 9cm terracotta around 2026-08-10, earliest check 2026-08-09. The gate is the cut faces being dry and hard under fingertip pressure, not the date. First watering roughly 7 days after the actual potting date, with willow water at that watering. Earlier targets of Aug 7-8 and Aug 11 are both void.
Both cuttings stay under this single record while they share a pot. If they are ever separated, the second one gets its own plant document.
Loose leaves set aside dry. Several are torn at the base rather than cleanly detached and will not produce rosettes; the intact ones go on gritty mix with no water until rosettes appear. A bonus rather than a plan - Hobbit is slower and less reliable from leaf than plain Crassula ovata. Not tracked separately.
One deviation on the day: the cutting was lightly misted straight after the brief potting, against the no-water-on-potting-day rule. No forward risk, since it came back out of that mix the same day. Perlite behaved as expected for the cheap grade, with visible dark fines through the batch and serviceable grain size.
Corky tan-brown patches with a netted texture on the stem and around the leaf scars. Firm and dry under pressure, does not scrape off. Corky scab (edema) – physiological, not fungal and not a pest. Cosmetic and permanent; the affected tissue does not revert. Almost certainly predates the cutting, carried over from the office mother plant.
No treatment and no spray – neem stays off until the cutting is potted and settled. Not contagious to the rest of the collection. Watch next: cut end stays dry and firm through potting.
Checked specialist sources on Crassula cuttings. Potting into damp mix and watering the same day is the main rot risk for an unrooted cutting. Revised plan: pot Aug 7–8 into dry to barely damp cactus mix, 1–2 cm deep, no water.
First watering ~Aug 14–15, roughly 7 days after potting – willow water goes in at that watering, not on potting day. If clear root nubs are present at potting, a light first water at day 3–4 is acceptable instead. Watch next: root nubs before potting.
Several leaves loosening and dropping when the cutting is moved. Normal for a cutting at this stage – energy is being redirected to root development rather than leaf retention. Most leaves remain full and firm.
No action needed. Handle as little as possible until potted. Watch for root nubs before potting (~Aug 7–8).
Cut a ~12cm branch from a mother plant in the office (with permission). Already looking calloused.
Leaving out to continue callousing until next week (~Aug 7–8) before potting into cactus/succulent mix. No water during callusing phase. No willow water until first post-pot watering.
Confirmed Hobbit (Crassula ovata ‘Hobbit’) – leaves shorter and curled/cupped at the edges rather than Gollum’s tubular flared tips. Named Pippin. Long-term goal: train as a bonsai tree.
Plant Collection