The optimal conditions for jade plant growth are in a loose, well-draining growing medium. This substrate should have a pH between 6.0 and 7.0, slightly on the acidic side. A 2:2:1 mixture of coarse sand, perlite, or pumice, houseplant or cactus potting soil, and these three ingredients is the best soil combination for a jade plant.
The best soil for jade plants is what kind?
Succulent houseplants like jade plants are remarkably hardy and simple to grow indoors.
In addition, they can live a very long time with the right care! Find out how to take care of your jade plant.
About Jade Plants
Jade plants have a tiny, tree-like appearance with their thick, woody stems and oval-shaped leaves that makes them highly tempting for use as a decorative houseplant. When planted indoors, they can grow to a height of three feet or more and survive a very long period, frequently being passed down from generation to generation.
Jade plants thrive in the warm, dry environments seen in most homes. During the growing season (spring and summer), the plant must be kept moist, and during the dormant season, it must be kept dry (fall, winter). Jade is extremely prone to rot, thus the soil should be allowed to completely dry out between waterings even throughout the growing season.
In locations with a mild, dry climate all year round, jade plants can be grown outdoors as landscape plants (typically Zone 10 and warmer). It is preferable to grow jade in containers and bring them inside when the temperature drops below 50F because they are quite sensitive to cold damage (10C).
How to Plant Jade Plants
- Because jade plants have a propensity to become top-heavy and topple over, choose a broad, sturdy pot with a modest depth.
- Use a soil that can drain well since too much moisture might encourage fungi that cause diseases like root rot. You can use a general-purpose potting mix, but you should add more perlite to it to improve drainage. The ideal potting mix to perlite ratio is 2:1. Alternately, use a pre-made potting mix for cacti or succulents.
- Don’t water a jade plant right away after planting it. The roots can settle and heal from any damage by delaying watering for a few days to a week.
A thick, scaly trunk that gives older jade plants its iconic tree-like look may emerge. Trambler58/Shutterstock provided the image.
How to Start a Jade Plant from a Leaf or Stem Cutting
Jade plants are succulents, making them incredibly simple to grow from solitary leaves or cuttings. This is how:
- Take a stem cutting or a leaf from an established plant. A 23-inch stem cutting that has at least two leaf pairs would be considered ideal. The callous that forms over the cut region will assist to avoid rot and promote rooted. Once you have your leaf or cutting, let it sit for a few days in a warm environment.
- Get a pot and some potting soil that drains properly. Use fairly moist, but not soggy, soil.
- Lay the leaf horizontally on top of the dirt, burying the cut end partially in the soil. If you have a stem cutting, plant it upright in the ground (if it won’t stand on its own, support it with a few small rocks or toothpicks).
- Put the pot in a cozy location with strong, filtered light. Avoid watering.
- The leaf or cutting will begin putting out roots within a week or two. Give the plant a light poke or tug a week or two later to check if it has roots itself. Wait a little longer and test it (gently!) every few days if it hasn’t already.
- Water the plant well and gently after it appears to have taken root. To water the plant delicately without significantly upsetting the roots, use a tool similar to a turkey baster. You want to encourage the roots to grow downward for water, not towards the surface, so make sure you don’t only soak the top layer of the soil.
- Once the plant is well-established, keep it out of direct sunlight and let the soil dry out between waterings.
Lighting
- At least six hours of bright light per day should be provided for jade plants. Large, established jade plants may tolerate more direct sunshine; young plants should be kept in bright, indirect sunlight.
- Kitchens and offices with south-facing windows are frequently fantastic places with just the right amount of light, as are windows with a western orientation.
- Low light conditions can cause jade plants to grow lanky and top heavy, making them vulnerable to injury if they topple over or lose the ability to hold their own branches.
Temperature
- Jade plants like somewhat cooler temperatures at night and in the winter (down to 55F / 13C), but they grow best at room temperature (65 to 75F / 18 to 24C).
- It should be noted that jade are not frost tolerant, so if you leave yours outside during the summer, bring it inside as soon as the temperature drops to about 50F (10C) in the fall.
- Jade plants should be kept out of drafty locations and away from cold windows throughout the winter. Jade plants may lose their leaves if exposed to freezing temperatures.
Watering
- It’s crucial to properly water jade plants. The main problem that most people have with their jade plants is improper watering.
- The plant will need more water in the spring and summer when it is actively growing than at other times of the year. Jade plants should be deeply watered (enough moisture should be absorbed into the soil, not only at the surface), followed by a wait period during which the soil should largely dry out before you water it once more. This implies that depending on how rapidly the soil dries out in the location where you keep your plant, you can end up watering it once a week or once a month.
- The plant may go dormant in the fall and winter, which will cause it to stall or stop growing altogether. It won’t require much water during this time. Water it even less frequently than you would in the spring and summer, letting the soil completely dry out in between. Large, mature jades may only require one or two waterings during their whole dormant season.
- When watering, try to avoid sprinkling water on the leaves because this might cause rot in a humid atmosphere.
- If your tap water is not perfect, you should use distilled or filtered water to water jade plants because they can be sensitive to minerals in tap water.
- It is a sign that the plant needs MORE water if it begins to drop its leaves, shrivels up, or develops brown spots on its leaves.
- The plant is receiving TOO MUCH water if the leaves start to wilt and become soggy.
Fertilizing
- Jade plants shouldn’t be fed frequently, as they don’t need a lot of nutrients. Use a diluted mixture of a typical liquid houseplant fertilizer or a cactus and succulent fertilizer.
Repotting Jade Plants
- Being root-bound in a small pot doesn’t bother jade plants. In actuality, keeping them tied to their roots will make the jade smaller and easier to handle.
- Every two to three years, repot young jade plants to promote growth. Repot older jade as necessary or once per four or five years.
- Early in the spring, right before the growth season starts, transplant.
- Don’t water the plant for about a week after repotting. Before fertilizing, you should wait at least a month to avoid unintentionally burning new roots.
If exposed to enough light, some jade cultivars can grow crimson leaf tips. Mauricio Acosta Rojas/Shutterstock photo
There are numerous varieties of jade plants, ranging from the common, green-leafed jade to several variegated species. Some intriguing jades to look out for include the following:
- The lovely leaves of “Hummel’s Sunset” have yellow and crimson tips.
- ‘Tricolor’ has leaves with white and cream variegation.
- The tubular leaves of “ET’s Fingers” have red tips. a peculiarity
- The leaves of mature plants can be used to create new jade plants. For more information, see the Planting section (above).
- Keep a jade plant root-bound in a tiny pot and withhold water to induce flowering. Wintertime temperatures that are cooler also encourage blossoming.
- Some people consider jade plants to be a symbol of luck and fortune; they are one of numerous plants known as the “money plant.”
- Jade plants make excellent gifts that can last a lifetime and be passed down from generation to generation due to their long lifespans and resilience.
- Under stems and leaves, mealybugs or scale may be hidden. Use a spray bottle of water to get rid of the pests, or gently wipe them off with some rubbing alcohol and a paper towel or cotton swab. The bugs’ offspring must be eliminated through repeated sprays. It could be preferable to take a clean cutting from the plant and start over if it is overly infested.
Making potting soil for a jade plant: how to?
Recipe for Jade Plant Soil Mix
- 3 components of potting soil
- coarse sand in two pieces (or substitue with turface or poultry grit)
- Perlite, one part (or use pumice instead)
Should you plant succulents in cactus soil?
Because cacti are a form of succulent, you can use cactus soil for succulents. When it comes to soil, what works for cactus can also work for other varieties of succulents. Cactus soil provides a well-draining, airy growing medium that is ideal for succulents and cacti.
A succulent can grow well in good quality cactus soil because it has air pockets, excellent drainage, and great nutrient retention capabilities. Ingredients including coco coir, peat moss, gritty sand, pumice, and perlite are used in several cactus mixtures.
Cactus soil—is it suitable for other plants?
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Most gardeners frequently ponder whether or not cactus soil is suitable for other plants as well. How can it be different from conventional soil when it is a sort of soil?
The typical cactus soil is devoid of nutrients and is typically dry, mimicking the cactus’ dry and barren environment. Other succulents and indoor plants that don’t need moisture and water may thrive in this soil type. These plants don’t always require damp soil because their roots are thin and weak. The plant will suffer if their soil is left damp.
When you start utilizing the cactus soil, you will notice a lot of differences.
A jade plant: Cactus or not?
Overwatering is the biggest threat to potted jade plants, and having them placed in the wrong kind of potting soil can make it much worse. Commercial potting mixes that are moist and water-retentive are typically hazardous for the roots of a succulent like the jade plant. The risk of developing “wet feet,” which can result in fungus illnesses and root rot, wilting of the stems and leaves, and black circles at the leaf joints, increases if the soil retains too much moisture. Despite the fact that cacti may be this plant’s near relatives, the jade plant is a tropical succulent and should not be confused with one. The jade plant must have regular irrigation, and the soil must always be just slightly moist. Otherwise, the plant will start to shrivel from dehydration. In light of this, the best soil to use for a tropical succulent is one that holds just the correct amount of moisture.
Selecting a soil mixture with a loose, granular texture that won’t clump or become damp is essential if you want to see your jade plant live and grow appropriately. The above-mentioned Cactus and Succulent Imperial Blend is a free-draining mix that succulents adore. Check out our Jade Plant Imperial Succulent Mix if you want to particularly repot a jade plant.
How frequently ought jade to be watered?
Because jade plants are succulents (they store water in their leaves), they do better when their top 1 to 2 inches of soil are allowed to dry out between waterings. Watering once every two to three weeks will probably be necessary indoors, but make sure to check often! The plants are receiving too much water, therefore reduce the frequency and amount of watering if you notice blisters appearing on the leaves.
If you’ve put your jade plants outside for the summer, bring them inside if it’s predicted to rain continuously for more than a few days straight to prevent them from becoming waterlogged. You can do this beneath the porch or in the garage. Jade plants will develop more slowly in the winter and may require less frequent watering.
Does jade prefer small pots?
There are a variety of houseplants available, and a person considering buying and caring for a houseplant might base their decision on these factors. The jade plant is a well-known and popular houseplant that many people have chosen to own and maintain throughout history and in the present.
Jade plants resemble little pots. To be precise, the container you keep a jade plant in should have a top diameter that is no more than one inch larger than the diameter of that particular jade plant’s stalk.
Jade should be replanted when?
If your jade plants have stopped growing or seem overcrowded, you might consider repotting them. Although it doesn’t harm the plant, being overcrowded in the container does prevent further growth. Jade plants frequently grow to a height of three feet depending on their root structure.
Small jade plants should be replanted every two to three years, according to experts, while larger plants can wait four to five years. With each repotting, enlarge the container. Going up a size is usually recommended.
How can a jade plant be made to bloom?
The main characteristic of jade plants is their succulent, glossy, and thick leaf pads. There are many different kinds of jade, but the Crassula ovata and Crassula argentea are the most common indoor varieties. These succulents can blossom and generate seed in addition to vegetative reproduction. We frequently hear, “My jade plant won’t bloom,” and we work to answer this question by describing potential causes of jade plant non-flowering as well as techniques for encouraging blossoms in resistant plants.
For several years, jade plants grow without blooming. The plants must reach a fairly advanced stage of development before flowering, even in their natural habitat. An arid atmosphere is one of the numerous criteria for jade plant blossoming. Frequently, interior humidity levels are too high for the plant to develop buds.
You must relocate a jade plant to a dry area, stop watering it, and expose it to colder nighttime temperatures in order to get it to bloom. Of course, for your plant to blossom, it needs to be an older species; otherwise, you won’t see a single flower. If the conditions are appropriate, a jade plant’s failure to flower could be due to the fact that it is still too young to reproduce.