We have several gold fish outdoor in a big tub and a water fountain. They live healthy and happy in a natural setting without modern filtering system or chemicals added into the water.

Keeping water garden in form of an aquarium or man made pond today rely on technology supports such as chemicals to remove traces of unwanted chlorine from tap water, filtering systems that use electricity and regular water testing. Isn’t it possible to make a living water garden by mimicking the ecological balance of nature? They don’t use all of those complicated gadgets and treatments.

I always question myself how rivers and natural lakes or ponds work for all the fish and the water plants to flourish without manmade technology? Many say that rain water is too soft for the gold fish as it is lacking of minerals so the experts say that it is better to use tap water with chemicals added to remove traces of harmful chlorine.

However, I learned from many articles that the natural balance of aquatic livings can be achieved naturally. Rain water, plants and fish can support each other to create a healthy environment for them to survive.

To live a healthy ecological balance, both water plants and fish can support each other to form a healthy environment. Fish will need oxygen in the water which is provided by submerge plants that act as oxygenators. On the other hands, water plants will need nutrients by feeding the waste that is excreted by the fish. These plants will provide oxygen during the day and absorb carbon dioxide at night. The submerge water plants also act as purifier as it feeds on the waste in the water both from the fish or traces of uneaten food. The most popular submerge oxygenator plants are: Anacharis, Vallisneria, Hornwort, Red Ludwigia, Cabomba. I use anacharis for my water garden.

To add beauty for the water setting and to reduce algae growing rampant in the water, semi floating plant such as water lilies, lotus, nardoo, water poppy or water hawthorn can be added. These plants have the roots submerged in water but the foliage will be on the water surface. The foliage will provide shades for the fish and for reducing algae. These plants will also get the nutrients from the waste in the water so they will help to clear the water. I use water lily for our mini water garden.

Completely floating water plants are also good for reducing algae, providing shelter for fish and the floating roots are also beneficial for cleaning water. Common floating water plants that are used for water garden are water lettuces, duckweeds, water hyacinths or fairy moss.

I use water from our rain water catchment and the only additive that I add to the water is pure sea salt. This is an old practice to help goldfish healthy by preventing fungal diseases and also acts as a tonic for the fish. I use one tea spoon of pure sea salt (or aquarium salt) for every 10 gallon of water (about 37 litres).

To keep the ecological balance, it is important not to keep too many fish. One mature fish for at least every 40 litres of water is desirable. It is also not to over feed, I feed our goldfish once a day with just use enough food for the fish to eat in 3 minutes. After 3 minutes and if there is still some food uneaten, it is better to remove it. It is also needed to trim the water plants to prevent them from overcrowding and to remove dead foliage and roots.

To know if the habitat for both fish and plants is in good balance, the water should stay clear all the time and both the fish and the plants are happy and healthy. If you are planning to have a water garden, it is important to set the plants life going for a week or so before adding fish to establish the growing of beneficial organisms.

If the ecological balance is working there is no need to change water except to add more rain water if the water is low. If the water is loss by evaporation, there is no need to add more sea salt as salt does not evaporate.

A good read on water garden:

http://www.gedye.com.au/culture.html

http://www.greengold.com.au/greengold/CARENOTES/CARENOTES/aquatic%20plants.htm

Waktu dulu belajar bahasa Inggris dibangku SMP dan SMA, rupanya yang diajarkan cenderung bahasa Inggris America. Ternyata  ada kata kata yang kupelajari dulu tidak digunakan disini di Lucky Country.

Suamiku bukan dinkum (asli) orang Australia karena dia orang Belanda yang  lahir di Nederland. Jadi bicara dengan dia sih masih mudah dimengerti.  Dia hanya membenarkan kata kata yang tak lazim digunakan disini. Misalnya disini orang tidak bilang candy tapi mereka menyebutnya lolly. Kalau di Amerika orang bilang cookies, di Aussie orang bilang biscuits. Untuk trotoir, di Amerika orang bilang sidewalk tapi di Australia adalah footpath. Kran air disini orang bilang water tap tapi bule Amerika bilang water faucete. Orang Amrika cenderung bilang apartement sedang disini flat lebih popular.

Yang membuatku bingung adalah waktu kenalan kami yang tulen orang Aussie mengundang kami untuk “having tea” dan ditetapkan waktunya adalah jam 7 malam. Aku sih tak bilang apa apa tapi berpikir koq aneh ngundang minum teh jam 7 malam. Bayanganku having tea itu ya minum teh atau kopi dan makan makanan kecil seperti kue atau biskit. Jadi saja hari itu aku masak untuk makan malam rada siangan. Pikirku kami bisa makan dulu sekitar jam 6 sore sebelum kami pergi.

Waktu suamiku pulang kerja dia lihat aku sibuk didapur, jadi saja dia bilang apa aku lupa kalau malam itu kami diundang ‘tea’. Langsung aku nyahut, memangnya engga mau makan malam/dinner dulu. Suamiku kelihatan bingung dan nyeletuk ‘diundang makan koq malah makan dulu’ Dari sini barulah  kesalah pahaman ini tersingkap. Ya ampun, orang orang sini itu ternyata banyak yang tidak bilang dinner untuk makan malam, tapi mereka bilang ‘tea’….. Ada ada saja. Dari semula aku udah merasa aneh kenapa banyak orang bilang ‘eat tea’…. Makan teh? Kenapa engga minum teh?

Nah, suatu hari tetanggaku no.1, nyonya Aussie  setengah umur yang  kocak itu mengajakku untuk kerumahnya for a ‘cuppa’. Walau aku tak ngerti apa itu cuppa, aku malu untuk tanya. Jadi ya aku nurut saja masuk kerumahnya. Terus dia tanya: “What do you want, lovie? Tea or coffee?” Dari sini aku baru tahu kalau to have a cuppa itu artinya minum secangkir teh atau kopi.  Jadi aku bilang mau kopi saja. Terus yang aku bingung lagi waktu ditanya: “How do you want it?” Kali ini aku bilang bahwa aku tak ngerti apa yang dimaksudnya. Joan tetanggaku itu bilang: “Do you want it black or white…. sugar or with no sugar….” Ternyata kopi atau teh itu kalau black artinya tanpa susu.

Sore itu aku menikmati juga minum cuppa dengan Joan. Dia banyak tanya tentang kehidupannku di Indonesia.  Yang waktu itu membuatku merasa aneh adalah waktu Joan banyak menanggapi ceritaku tentang Indonesia dengan kata “Crikey!” Waktu kemudian kutanya suamiku apa artinya crikey dia bilang sama dengan ucapan “Christ” yang kalau dibahasa Indonesia-kan mungkin sama dengan ucapan ‘ya ampun’.

Ini beberapa kata slang yang sering diucapkan di Australia:

• G’day = Hello = Apa khabarnya?
• Tucker = Food = Makanan
• Bush/Outback = Anywhere not a city or town= Luar kota/daerah tanpa penduduk.
• Dunny= Toilet= WC
• Cranky = Bad mood/angry = uring ruingan/marah
• Rego = Vehicle registration=  Nomor regristasi kendaraan
• Bloke= A man/guy = seorang lelaki
• Sheila = A woman = seorang perempuan
• Thongs = Sandal Jepit
• True Blue – Patriotic = Berjiwa patriotis
• Stickybeak = A nosy person = Orang yang sifatnya mau tahu urusan orang lain

There is this loquat tree next door that hangs over our front garden along the driveway. Though this small tree is quite attractive with its compact rounded shape and glossy large foliage, I have come into conclusion that it is annoyingly invasive. The problem is that the people next door don’t pick the fruits and I think they grow it for a decorative purpose rather than harvesting the little round yellow fruits. So as a result, most of the fruits are left over-ripe and drop on the ground. There are between two to four seeds in every fruit and they will grow everywhere on my garden bed.

To make the matter worse, it is not only the area underneath the overhang branches that the loquat seeds germinate, but they are everywhere. Strange you may think, but it makes sense if the neighbourhood kids pick some and eat them and they throw the seeds everywhere. Some kids don’t like the taste but they have fun throwing  the whole fruits around, on the street, on our driveway and also all over my garden bed. The result is that I have loquat growing everywhere in my garden bed ‘all year around’. If I never bother to get rid of them my garden has already turned into loquat orchard. I don’t like the taste of loquat and even the birds or the possums don’t eat them.

I am surprise to find out that in China and Japan and also in other countries, people eat loquats. Here in Australia, people under value the taste of this fruit which is a blend of sweet and sappy tastes and has no definite aroma.

Loquat Plants

Loquat or Eriobotrya japonica (from Rosaceae family) is native to Southeastern part of China. These evergreen trees were introduced to Japan and had become quite popular and had been cultivated there for more than a thousand years. It is also known as Japanese plum or Japanese medlar.

Loquat is a small and attractive compact and rounded tree with big and long distinctive foliage. The alternate leaves are thick and glossy green. The young stems and branches are furry. Around where we live in Melbourne, it will bear white flowers in late autumn or early spring and the fruits will ripe in late spring or early summer. There are quite a few varieties and most fruits are round but some are oval or pear-shape. In average, they are walnut size and they grow in clusters. When ripened, they are bright yellow, juicy and tangy sweet with some kind of sappy after taste. Each fruit has between two to four big coffee colour seeds.

Loquat fruits have to be consumed only when they are ripe as they can be toxic when they are still green. Can be eaten fresh or can be cooked as a stew with some sugar added. China and Taiwan produce canned loquat, but it is more popular to be processed as jams or jellies.

For many years, loquat has become popular to grow as an ornamental plant. Besides China and Japan, it is common in Australia, Southern United States, South America, Southern Europe, Middle East and Southern Asia.

Though loquat can make a good specimen for domestic garden, I still think that it is very invasive. I just hate to pull so many loquat seeds that have germinated and grown in my garden bed. Today, the loquat fruits next door are starting to get ripe and yet I still can find new growths from last year’s seeds. I am glad that I don’t see loquat plants for sale in the nurseries anymore. I just hope that this once very popular garden plant has lost its charms and people will not grow them anymore………

Sebuah puisi pendek lainnya yang masih mengenai emosi manusia. Bagi kebanyakan orang tertawa itu diartikan rasa senang dan bahagia. Tapi kalau kita lihat lebih dalam lagi, hanya satukah arti tawa itu? Kenyataannya tertawa itu bukan saja berarti kesenangan dan kebahagiaan namun bisa membawa arti lainnya……………..

Tawa

Kapankah kita bisa tertawa?
Ha, ha, ha, ha……
Tawa bahagia
Renyah menggema
Terpingkal lucu mengikik
Terlepas tawa kemenangan
Kepuasan… kelegaan
Tawa sumbang
Menyelubungi ketakutan
Menutupi kesalahan
Tawa keras terbahak
Suatu kepongahan
Ataukah keangkuhan?
Terhujamlah ejekan
Tergoreslah hinaan
Tapi yang mengerikan
Tawa kekalahan
Saat tersadar diri
Menyerah
Tak berdaya
Terakhir
Kematian?

21 April, 2009
Kumpulan Puisi dan Gambar

Laughter

How do we laugh?
Ha, ha, ha, ha…
A happy laugh
A cheerful echo
A giggle if it’s funny
A triumphant laughter
A pleasure and relief
A false laugh
To cover fear
To hide a fault
A wicked laughter
It is arrogant
Or is it boastful?
It is a mockery
Something to ridicule
But the most frightful
Laughter of defeat
A realisation
An ending
Death?

Salah satu dari emosi manusia yang paling membahayakan adalah rasa benci yang seringnya dibarengi dengan pikiran negatif lainnya misalnya iri hati dan kemarahan. Puisi ini meneliti perasaan ini dan akibat yang bisa ditimbulkan……..

Rasa tak suka
Marah membara
Menyesakkan kepala
Membendung pikiran
Meracuni perasaan
Kemarahan
Iri hati
Dengki
Bagaikan api
Berkobar-kobar
Menyala-nyala
Tak terbendungkan

Satu kebencian meracuni satu hati
Diri sendirilah yang jadi korbannya
Namun jika benci itu mengobari massa
Bagaikan api berkobar dan menyala
Panas membakar
Tak adalagi perikemanusiaan
Hancur luruh
Sakit dan pedih
Menghangus menghitam
Semua jadi korban!!

Kumpulan Sajak dan Gambar, 13 Mei 2009

English version:

Hatred

Dislike
Anger
Suffocated mind
Crowded thought
Poisoned feeling
Fury
Jealousy
Envy
They are like fire
Flaming
Burning
Out of control

One hate poisons only one mind
It is oneself the victim
But if hatred burns many people
It is a raging fire
The heat quickly spread
No more kindness
Destruction
Pain and sadness
Charred and blackened
All of us the victims

Written on May 13, 2009

When summer is approaching and the gardenias are blooming, the heat of a slightly balmy evening heightens the sweet sensuous fragrance. I don’t know why, but I think the best perfumed flowers are white in colour, like for examples Jasmine and Tuberose.

http://kiyanti2008.wordpress.com/2008/09/01/jasmine-flower/

http://kiyanti2008.wordpress.com/2008/09/12/tuberose/

Gardenia  is native to the tropics and subtropics of Africa, southern Asia, Australasia and Oceania. In Indonesia it is called kaca piring. There are approximately 250 species of gardenia and they belong to the coffee family Rubiaceae.

The name Gardenia came from a Scottish American naturalist, Dr. Alexander Garden.

Most gardenias are milky white that will become yellowish by age, while few species are real yellow. The most common varieties grown here in Australia are from two different species: G.augusta and G. thunbergia.

The most popular Gardenia augusta species are Florida, Aimee Yoshiba, Magnifica, Fortuniana , Prof. Pucci, Golden Magic and the prostate dwarf variety is Radicans. These species have attractive deep green foliage with double flowers.

Gardenia thunbergia is also known as star gardenia which has single petals. This species originally found in South Africa and it is also known as wild gardenia of forest gardenia.

Gardenias grow best in warmer, moderate and humid climate. It hates frost and cold temperature. Can be grown in partly shade area for hotter climate or in moderate climate it will be happy to be in full sun. The soil has to be rich and well drain. As gardenia tend to lose traces elements in soil (yellowing of the leaves), it is good to apply a complete fertilizer which contains major trace elements. Once the plants are established, they only need to be fully watered once every forth night.

Gardenias are prone to have problems with scales and mealy bugs so regular spray of white oil will help to keep these bugs away.

If you love white flowers and you enjoy the sweet sensation of lingering fragrance in your   garden or verandas, gardenia will certainly fill this purpose. As gardenias will continue to bloom from late Spring to Autumn, the beautiful scents of this versatile flowers will greet you for longer time.

This is an old song by The Deans with the title “Little White Gardenia” The gardenias always remind me of this song…….

Happy Gardening!

I had posted a poem and a story about our dog Foxy. To read this post please open:

http://kiyanti2008.wordpress.com/tag/foxy/

UPDATE:

Foxy died on March 23, 2009. We had to put him down because he suffered from paralysis on both his hind legs. We didn’t want him to suffer….. He died in peace, and it was painless and very quick at the Vet clinic.

After he died, we looked at dog breeds online and we saw a particular breed that look the same as Foxy…. like we were seeing double….. and the breed is Shiba Inu, a Japanese dog. So there was a big possibility that Foxy was not a Basenji X afterall, and he could be a pure bred Shiba Inu.

Now Foxy is resting in our backyard surrounded by my bonsay trees………..

These are images of Shiba Inu Dogs and Foxy. There are 9 photos of Foxy…. Can you tell the difference? Yes He was our Shiba dog

When we bought Foxy in 1996 from Keysborough Animal Shelter, Melbourne (Australia), they told us that he was a Basenji X. That was why we always believed that he was a Basenji X…. not until later after he died and we saw images of Shiba Inu breed.

When we bought Foxy he was already a 10 years old dog. The lady at the animal shelter told my young son to pick another dog which was younger, but our son didn’t want to listen and he was determined to have the dog which later on we called him Foxy.

Facts about Shiba Inu breed:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiba_Inu

Most cactus plants originally grow in sandy desert, but the moist and humid forests in South America have their very own species. Most of them, in natural environment live as epiphytic plants that grow in tree or rock crevices.

There are many species of jungle cacti and the most common name for them is “Holiday Cacti” like for example Thanks Giving, Christmas, and Easter Cacti. For me personally, these holiday names are very confusing and I am more familiar with the proper names for them. At home we have three kinds of jungle cacti:  Epiphyllum (=Epis, Orchid Cactus); Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri (Sunrise cactus) and Zygocactus truncates (Schlumbergera truncata Hybrids/Crab’s Claw cactus)

At the moment as the last month of spring is warming up here in the Southern part of the world (Australia), only the Epis and the Rhipsalidopsis are blooming. Zygocactus will flower later in the summer time.

• Epiphyllum: It is said that originally natural Epis have mostly white or creamy colour flowers. Only the hybrid varieties have more colourful colours like red, pink, salmon or mauve. The ones that we have is a bigger variety with large bright red blooms and the other one is smaller variety with pink and white colour. Unfortunately we have no records of the cultivar names.

Although these three species have flat stems (leaves), Epiphyllum consists of broad and  long flat stems with lobed edges (without sections). The flowers grow from the aereole on the outer edge of the stems.

• Rhipsalidopsis gaertneri has smaller flat stems (leaves) which come in sections. The edges of the stems are rounder and the flowers grow from the tip of the stems. The bright coloured blooms are star shaped and they are closed at night and will open up when exposed to the sunlight during the day.This is why it is also named Sunrise cactus.

• Zygocactus has claw like stems (leaves) which grow in sections. The flowers that grow from the tip of the stems are irregular/ asymmetrical in shape and come in many different colours such as red, pink, salmon, white, mauve or purple. 

The easiest way to differentiate these three plants is by looking at the shape of the leaves. They are hardy and easy to grow in warmer areas. The smaller varieties are suitable to grow in hanging pots for a beautiful display of flowers.

Happy Gardening!

November 13, 2009

Photo update of the pink Epiphyllum hybrid.  Now in full bloom………….

Saya tiba dinegeri Kangguru ini, tepatnya di Melbourne pada awal bulan September 1983. Seingat saya, waktu itu hawa terasa dingin sekali walaupun September adalah musim semi disini. Memang tidak turun salju  dimusim winter (kecuali didaerah pegunungan), tapi temperatur bisa turun dibawah nol derajat C.

 Waktu itu, 26 tahun yang lalu, tidak banyak orang orang  asing (migrants) seperti sekarang. Di-suburb dimana saya tinggal hanya ada dua atau tiga Asian/Chinese shop dan itu juga tak banyak sayur mayur serta buah buahan Asia  dijual. Kebanyakan orang Asia waktu itu adalah berasal dari Cina, Vietnam, Kamboja atau India.

Saya masih ingat kenalan kami yang orang Kamboja mengajak saya untuk kerja memetik buah strawberry. Waktu itu diawal tahun 1984 dan hanya suami saya yang kerja. Jadi pikir pikir dari pada iseng  sendirian dirumah, saya memutuskan untuk pergi bersama mereka ke Officer yang terletak tak jauh dari kota Pakenham. Perjalanan kami tempuh dengan kereta api yang memakan kira kira 20 menit sampai ditujuan.

Mengingat pengalaman ini masih membuat saya tertawa sampai sekarang. Seharian berjongkok memetik buah strawberry dan maklum karena saya tidak punya pengalaman kerja seperti itu….. saya hanya mendapat $20 hari itu. Sedang teman saya yang orang Kamboja itu bersama suaminya berdua bisa mendapat sekitar $ 80. Waktu itu pembayaran adalah secara tunai tanpa dipotong tax dan langsung bayar hari itu juga.  Pikir pikir waktu itu apa kata mama kalau saya cerita tentang pengalaman ini. Di Indonesia saya anaknya boss disini di Australia saya kerja buruh tani memetik strawberry.

Saya hanya tahan kerja 2 hari dan suami saya yang orang bule bilang lebih baik saya cari kerja yang lainnya kalau memangnya saya ingin kerja.

Jadilah saya pergi ke kantor CES (Commonwealth Employment Service) yang sekarang adalah Centrelink namanya. Hari itu juga mereka carikan kerjaan yang kira kira cocok buat saya. Saya tidak punya keahlian tertentu dan pengalaman kerja saya di Indonesia adalah kerja di kantor membantu administrasi dan pembukuan.  Sedihnya pengalaman saya ini tidak bisa banyak menolong disini karena kebanyakan kerjaan kantor menggunakan komputer dan saya waktu itu tidak mengerti komputer sama sekali dan bahasa Inggris saya waktu itu masih dianggap kurang memadai untuk bisa kerja di kantor.

Akhirnya mereka bertanya apakah saya mau kerja di pabrik yang membuat gasket mobil. Kerjaannya adalah memotong gasket dengan mesin. Mereka akan training saya dan kerjaan ini akan merupakan kerjaan penuh dan gajinya cukup bagus. Esok harinya saya datang keperusahaan gasket tersebut  di Noble Park untuk interview. Ternyata diterima dan esoknya langsung mulai kerja.

Ternyata kerjaan ini cukup mudah dan ringan walaupun kerjanya rutin dan membosankan.  Tidak banyak yang kerja disitu hanya kira kira 20 orang (termasuk orang orang kantor). Ada dua orang Asia disitu yaitu saya sendiri dan seorang ibu dari Srilangka. Saya hanya kerja disini kira kira 6 bulan karena saya mulai hamil dan kemudian memutuskan untuk sepenuhnya  menjadi ibu rumah tangga  dan ibu untuk anak kami.

Dibandingkan dengan sekarang,  lebih dari 25 tahun kemudian, kehidupan dulu dan sekarang itu masing masing ada enak dan tidak enaknya.

Segi positifnya dari zaman dahulu diawal tahun 80-an adalah mudahnya mencari kerjaan. Waktu itu umumnya kerjaan di Australia adalah kerjaan penuh/full time dan statusnya kerja tetap. Dibandingkan dengan sekarang, semakin lebih banyak kerjaan yang ada adalah bersifat casual atau bahasa Jawanya kerjaan pocokan. Kalau dibutuhkan ya akan kerja tapi kalau tak dibutuhkan ya melongo saja tak dapat duit. Juga sekarang sulit sekali mencari kerjaan karena banyaknya pendatang baru di negeri ini yang saling bersaing untuk mencari kerja. Khusus untuk tahun ini dimana resesi melanda dunia, kesulitan mencari kerjaan lebih terasa lagi.

Segi negatifnya dizaman dahulu adalah tidak banyaknya makanan Asia/Indonesia didapatkan. Sekarang sayur mayur dan buah buahan Asia melimpah. Kebanyakan sayur dan buah buahan Indonesia bisa dibeli disini. Mulai dari kangkung, bayam, cabai , kecipir, oyong dan kacang panjang. Sedang untuk buah, mulai dari rambutan, kelengkeng, mangga, jambu, durian dsb. Yang tidak ada adalah daun singkong, daun papaya, salak dan duku.

Untung sekali saya tinggal didaerah yang merupakan “The Melting Pot” , dimana penduduknya adalah multi cultural dari berbagai bangsa dan negara dari seluruh dunia. Pusat Perbelanjaan didaerah saya  90 persen adalah merupakan Asian business yang kebanyakan dijalankan oleh orang Cina, Vietnam atau Kamboja.

Salah satu segi positif tinggal didaerah Melting Pot ini adalah perasaan seakan akan saya tinggal di Indonesia/Asia………

One day my hubby said that I should trim the fat plants along the driveway. Ha….. fat plants? I had no idea what he was talking about. Actually, he was talking about Jade plants. Why? He reckoned because it had rounded fleshy leaves and thick fat soft trunks.

Jade plant is also commonly known as lucky plant, money plant, friendship tree and the botanical nama is Crassula ovata (or Crassula arborescens, Crassula argentea, Crassula portulacea). Native to South Africa, this big succulent plant can grow higher than 1 m. It is very easy to grow and to propagate by cutting the branch/stem or leaf cutting. Most species of C. ovata will bear pinkish white small starry flowers that cover the plant twice a year during late winter/early spring and autumn. It has few different varieties: jade green colour or variegated ( double colour of green and creamy yellow, green and orange red or tri colour of green, creamy yellow and red). There is also dwarf variation which has smaller leaves. I notice that the colour of jade foliage can change according to the season. In the heat of summer they tend to be more colourful with more prominent red margin.

To flower fully, it has to be grown in full sun. If grown in shady area it tends to grow very green with less or no flowers at all, while in full sun the foliage will be slightly yellow with red margin/tinge around the edges.

As Jade plant has attractive folliage and thick shapely trunks, it is very suitable for Bonsai. To make the jade bonsai nice and compact, it is important to pinch the new leaves during the growing season to create new branches to develop.

Growing jade plant is very easy and versatile for any garden with warmer climate. If grown on the ground and once established, they will prefer to be left alone and no need to water. Only if it is grown in containers, it will need water once the soil is becoming dry and it will need a little fertilizer to make it grow better.

Many Asian people believe that putting jade trees near the door way will bring good luck and more money. I’m not really sure about it, only if you sell plants for a living then I believe that it can be true as you can easily propagate this plant, easier than any other plants that I know. When I trim our jade trees along the drive way, I also stick them in pots and later when they have grown, I just give them away to family and friends or anyone who are interested

Happy Gardening!!