I would love to hear about Soviet pomegranates! I'm in Pittsburgh PA (zone 6b) and last year planted some hybrids developed by a Russian grower (Gregory something?) that are supposedly adapted to the temperatures up here. I've been curious ever since! TBD whether they overwinter but I'm really hoping, they're very charming little shrubby fellows.
Yes, that is totally right! Gregory Levin, a man who survived the worst of the 20th century and devoted his entire life to studying pomegranates in a remote outpost in what is now Turkmenistan. Very late in his life, this woman in Sonoma County here in Northern California tracked him down, befriended him, and published his memoir. I will almost certainly write a whole post about it at some point soon!
My neighborhood has a large elderly demographic of Asian neighbors and jade plants are quite common in their yards. My adjacent house got bought last month and my brand new asian neighbors are planting brand new jade plants. They offered me some cutting and told me its a sign of money coming your way to plant them.
Thank you for the list of events to check out. I never know of them and find out a month after they pass with much regret. So thank you.
I grew up in Sacramento and giant jade bushes were the main thing I remember being carefully tended by my folks, maintaining a border with our typical suburban lawn. Jade is a staple gift for Chinese people, store openings and such, so that’s one way it has spread far and wide, by choice and not neglect. And when my father died, my family potted up tiny cuttings from dad’s plant to offer at the funeral. Mine is on my porch and inspired my thesis on crafted memorials.
I love that! I would also love to trace how the South African plant became a suburban Chinese standby. That would be the most fascinating thing to read. I'm assuming that it is largely a Chinese-American phenomenon? Tho maybe not! And that would be an even more fascinating story.
There were few things more satisfying to my 12 year old self than snapping a large leaf off my granddad's jade plant out back in the alley, curling my pointer finger around it, and throwing it with a motion similar to skipping a stone. Those little leaves can /FLY/
Re cuttings & Bonnie Ora Sherk: Harrell Fletcher curated a show about art and farming at the Museum of Craft and Folk Art in SF in 2012, and there's a nice conversation between two people who lived and worked at the Farm in the catalogue: https://harrellfletcher.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/MOCFA__Only_.pdf
I inherited a few huge jade plants from my parents. They had been received as gifts in the 1970s, a time when (in Australia) the plants were associated with a legend of attracting wealth …these two survived a bushfire (they weee in pots on a paved area) and were later planted out…one is now six feet tall and six feet wide. A very beautiful specimen.
Enjoyed your description of that "plant mania" in the mid70s and recognized how I had been swept up in it too. Ha! And it was about then I met my first jade plant. But in the Midwest, they are indoor plants. Cool to think about them in yards.
I would love to hear about Soviet pomegranates! I'm in Pittsburgh PA (zone 6b) and last year planted some hybrids developed by a Russian grower (Gregory something?) that are supposedly adapted to the temperatures up here. I've been curious ever since! TBD whether they overwinter but I'm really hoping, they're very charming little shrubby fellows.
Yes, that is totally right! Gregory Levin, a man who survived the worst of the 20th century and devoted his entire life to studying pomegranates in a remote outpost in what is now Turkmenistan. Very late in his life, this woman in Sonoma County here in Northern California tracked him down, befriended him, and published his memoir. I will almost certainly write a whole post about it at some point soon!
The 70s plant mania must have migrated to my house near Seattle. It’s like living in a terrarium here. Cant imagine a home environ without them.
Loved this post.
My neighborhood has a large elderly demographic of Asian neighbors and jade plants are quite common in their yards. My adjacent house got bought last month and my brand new asian neighbors are planting brand new jade plants. They offered me some cutting and told me its a sign of money coming your way to plant them.
Thank you for the list of events to check out. I never know of them and find out a month after they pass with much regret. So thank you.
So interesting! Thanks, Neela. I'm poking around how jade plants came to be used in Asian American communities, given that the botanical literature indicates they do not have roots in Asia (see, e.g. https://digital.csic.es/bitstream/10261/129733/1/Crassula-ovata-a-new-alien-plant-for-mainland-China-Lopez-Pujol-Jordi-2015.pdf)
I grew up in Sacramento and giant jade bushes were the main thing I remember being carefully tended by my folks, maintaining a border with our typical suburban lawn. Jade is a staple gift for Chinese people, store openings and such, so that’s one way it has spread far and wide, by choice and not neglect. And when my father died, my family potted up tiny cuttings from dad’s plant to offer at the funeral. Mine is on my porch and inspired my thesis on crafted memorials.
I love that! I would also love to trace how the South African plant became a suburban Chinese standby. That would be the most fascinating thing to read. I'm assuming that it is largely a Chinese-American phenomenon? Tho maybe not! And that would be an even more fascinating story.
There were few things more satisfying to my 12 year old self than snapping a large leaf off my granddad's jade plant out back in the alley, curling my pointer finger around it, and throwing it with a motion similar to skipping a stone. Those little leaves can /FLY/
Oh man, I gotta try this (with apologies to all jade plants) 😬
Re cuttings & Bonnie Ora Sherk: Harrell Fletcher curated a show about art and farming at the Museum of Craft and Folk Art in SF in 2012, and there's a nice conversation between two people who lived and worked at the Farm in the catalogue: https://harrellfletcher.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/MOCFA__Only_.pdf
A hot tip! Thank you, Eliza
Soviet pomegranates please
I never knew jades were outdoor plants until I moved to this area, and to learn that they bloom is a happy surprise!
I inherited a few huge jade plants from my parents. They had been received as gifts in the 1970s, a time when (in Australia) the plants were associated with a legend of attracting wealth …these two survived a bushfire (they weee in pots on a paved area) and were later planted out…one is now six feet tall and six feet wide. A very beautiful specimen.
Heirlooms!
I loved that you connected to Herman Hesse's writing on trees. A wonderful book on trees is a slender one written by the fiction writer John Fowles : The Tree: https://www.amazon.com/Tree-John-Fowles/dp/0061997773/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1706741908&sr=1-1
Purchased!
I think it will really speak to you!
Yes! Soviet pomegranates please!
Yes please on soviet pomegranates!
Thanks to this kind piece, I'm not quite the jade plant hater I was 10 minutes ago : ).
Enjoyed your description of that "plant mania" in the mid70s and recognized how I had been swept up in it too. Ha! And it was about then I met my first jade plant. But in the Midwest, they are indoor plants. Cool to think about them in yards.
Every block would blow your mind!
And now I cannot wait. I shall research Soviet Pomegranates on my own! 😏