Family: Apocynaceae
Common name: Dragon jade, Dragon jade bubbles, Dragon Jade Dischidia, Dischidia nummularia bubbles
Dragon jade or Dischidia nummularia bubble is a stunningly beautiful ornamental plant that can be grown in pots or hanging baskets. It is a collector’s plant since they are rare and eye-catching, with their trailing vines covered with succulent, bubble-shaped leaves.
Plant Characteristics
Dragon jade plants can grow 80-100 cm long with trailing vines that have epiphytic roots arising from them. The roots are fibrous to absorb moisture and nutrients from the atmosphere, which is typical of all epiphytic plants.
The stem of the Dragon jade plant is light green, succulent, growing long and trailing down the sides of the pot. Hence they look beautiful in hanging pots or baskets where the stems can trail down gracefully.
Leaves of the Dragon jade are unique – bubble-like projections along the length of the stem, almost covering the stem fully.
They are round and fleshy like small bubbles or pop-its, giving the plant its name Dragon Jade Bubbles. Leaves are jade green as the name suggests, about 1-2 cm in diameter.
They are thick and succulent helping them store water for drought-like situations. They are smooth and waxy to touch, like most succulent plants.
These plants do not produce flowers or fruits in garden plants, hence propagation is done vegetatively.
Gardening Tips
Dragon jade plants are a good combination of succulents and epiphytes, making them a beautiful addition to your garden. The long trailing stems make them ideal for shallow pots where the stems can hang over the edges. They also make excellent hanging plants.
These plants need partial, filtered, or dappled sunlight as harsh sunlight can scorch the leaves. Too much shade can make the plants long and leggy.
They prefer a warm, tropical environment with good moisture in the air. This moisture is absorbed by the epiphytic roots, which would also love occasional misting in warm, dry weather.
Dragon jade plants do not like wet, waterlogged, or clayey soil. So plant them in loose, porous soil with some charcoal pieces, logs of wood, perlite, and other substrates where the epiphytic roots can take hold.
Do not overwater since this can lead to root and stem rot. They are light feeders and need to be fertilized only once in 2-3 months. During cold weather, these plants go into a dormant phase when they do not need any fertilization.
Pruning can remove any diseased or extra-long stems that look unhealthy. Otherwise, you can just let the plant be and it can grow long, trailing dragon-scale-like stems.
Uses of Dragon Jade
These plants are grown as ornamentals in pots or hanging baskets. They can also be grown in logs of wood that are hollowed out to accommodate the plant roots.
Their succulent leaves make them ideal for low-water gardening, since these plants do not need regular watering. But make sure you mist the plant to provide adequate humidity.
Propagation
Propagation is through stem cuttings.
Since Dragon jade plants do not produce flowers or fruits, propagation is done vegetatively through stem cuttings.
Cut a healthy piece of stem with a few nodes, using a sharp, clean knife. Let the cutting dry out for a day or two so that it produces a dry callous at the cut end. This can then the planted in well-drained soil or placed in water to root.
The soil should be porous and should have perlite, bark, cocopeat, and pieces of charcoal to ensure quick drainage of water.
Photographed at: Thrissur, Kerala
