Information abounds about the "Jade Dragon", most of it conflicting.

This plant is often seen as 'Gyo kuryu' or 'Gyoku ryu' both incorrect. Gyoku means jade in Japanese and Ryu means dragon but there are no spaces between words so 'Gyokuryu' would be correct.

Information about mature size and shape of 'Gyokuryu' also conflicts greatly. 'Gyokuryu' has a nesting habit when young and attains height very slowly growing only 2-3 inches per year. Eventually vertical shoots with elongated internodal length appear from the top of the plant that grow much faster, 12-18 inches per year. If left unchecked this plant can reach 15 to 20 feet quite easily. However, if the gardener wishes to keep the plant small, pruning the vertical shoots from the top of 'Gyokuryu' once or twice a year is all that is necessary to maintain a small beautiful rounded plant.

Taking cuttings from the lateral branches produces a slow growing plant that will stay smaller about 3 to 4 feet in ten years or until the vertical growth appears. Growers taking their cuttings off the top vertical shoots produce plants that skip the nesting stage and grow straight up with much larger internodal separation. These plants can grow 10 feet or more in ten years creating a plant more like the species that can be used for screening. Either way the dark foliage is beautiful.

'Gyokuryu' does not bronze in winter in most climates and grows wonderfully in full sun or heavy shade.

10 year size:   Height: 4-10 Feet   Width: 4-6 Feet