When selecting the ideal pot for a jade plant, there are various factors to consider. This plant can have strong, woody stems and plump, copious leaves, for starters. As new shoots and leaves sprout and stems thicken with growth, the plant may become top-heavy after a period, despite its modest growth. Furthermore, because the plant cannot accept “wet feet” or water accumulating at the base of the pot, it is critical to supply a container with sufficient drainage to avoid this condition, which can lead to root rot. Because of these factors, the jade plant thrives in a pot with a wide, solid base that can hold the plant’s weight as it grows new stems and leaves over time, as well as one that allows for optimal drainage.
Given these factors, a ceramic container or a robust plastic pot with excellent drainage, which keeps the soil and roots from becoming too wet, is the ideal choice for a jade plant. Both types of pots will keep your plant happy and healthy if you use a free draining mix. Only slightly larger than the diameter of the plant, the pot should be. So, if your new plant is roughly 4″ in diameter, a 5″ pot will last about a year and a half.
Does Jade need a deep pot?
- Because jade plants have a tendency to grow top-heavy and topple over, choose a broad, durable pot with a moderate depth.
- Use a soil that drains well, as too much moisture can lead to fungal illnesses like root rot. You can use any all-purpose potting mix, but you’ll need to add more perlite to promote drainage. A 2:1 potting mix to perlite ratio is ideal. Use a pre-made succulent or cactus potting mix instead.
- Don’t water a jade plant right away after it’s been planted. Allowing the roots to settle and heal from any damage can take anywhere from a few days to a week before watering.
Jade plants that are older may have a thick, scaly trunk, giving them a tree-like look. trambler58/Shutterstock photo
How to Start a Jade Plant from a Leaf or Stem Cutting
Jade plants are easy to grow from single leaves or cuttings as a succulent. Here’s how to do it:
- Take a stem cutting or a leaf from a well-established plant. A perfect stem cutting would be 23 inches long and have two pairs of leaves. Allow your leaf or cutting to sit in a warm place for several days; a callous will grow over the cut region, preventing decay and encouraging roots.
- Collect your pot and a potting mix that drains properly. Use a fairly damp, but not soggy, soil.
- Take the leaf and set it horizontally on top of the soil, covering the cut end with some soil. Place a stem cutting upright in the soil (if it won’t stand on its own, prop it up with a few small rocks or toothpicks).
- The leaf or cutting will begin to send out roots within a week or two. Give the plant a gentle poke or tug after a week or so to determine whether it has roots itself in situ. If it hasn’t, give it a few more days and test it (gently!) every few days.
- Water the plant deeply and carefully after it appears to be well planted. Gently water the plant with something like a turkey baster to avoid disturbing the roots too much. You want to encourage the roots to grow downward for water, not towards the surface, so make sure you don’t only wet the top layer of the soil.
- Allow the soil to dry between waterings and keep the plant away from direct sunshine until it has established itself.
Do jade plants like big or small pots?
The root systems of jade plants are tiny and shallow. They prefer a smaller container, and a huge pot with a lot of soil mass could easily be overwatered. As your Jade grows in size and weight, it will require a “heavy” pot as a base. I’ve seen 3 Jades flourish in 16 ceramic pots.
Jades don’t need to be repotted as often as other plants because of their smaller root systems. For the next five years, I won’t consider repotting the one you see here and in the video. Because the root ball was small in comparison to the plant’s size, it had lots of room to expand.
How deep should a pot be for a jade plant?
Jade Plant Potting and Repotting It is not required to repot your jade plant on a regular basis; smaller plants should be repotted every two to three years, while larger plants should be repotted every four to five years. For medium grown jade plants, a 4-inch or 6-inch pot is usually sufficient.
When should I move my jade plant to a bigger pot?
If your jade plants have stopped growing or look to be overcrowded, you should consider repotting them. Overcrowding in the container isn’t harmful to the plant, but it does restrict its ability to flourish. Jade plants can grow up to three feet in length depending on the extent of their root system.
Small jade plants should be repotted every two to three years, according to experts, while larger plants can wait four to five years. With each repotting, increase the container size. In most cases, stepping up a size is a good idea.
What is the best potting soil for jade plants?
Growth jade plants in a loose, well-draining growing medium is ideal. Within a pH range of 6.0 to 7.0, this substrate should be slightly acidic. A 2:2:1 mixture of houseplant or cactus potting mix, gritty sand, and perlite or pumice is the best soil combination for a Jade plant.
Which Colour pot is best for jade plant?
An unglazed, unpainted, and untreated in any other manner terracotta pot with a drainage hole at the bottom is the very finest pot for all succulents and cacti, including the common jade plant.
Let’s begin by explaining the importance of the drainage hole, then go on to the benefits of using a terracotta/clay pot.
The Importance of the Drainage Hole in the Pot
When growing jade in containers like pots (whether outside or inside), the drainage hole is very significant since it allows excess water to flow directly out of the pot rather than sitting and collecting at the bottom of the planter.
Allowing water to collect at the bottom of a potted succulent’s roots will almost certainly cause the roots to rot, and the plant may even absorb too much water, slowly dying.
Succulents are drought-tolerant plants that aren’t accustomed to receiving water on a regular basis in the wild. They usually dwell in areas where water comes in bursts that is, there will be no rain for several days, then when it rains, it will rain heavily.
As a result, when succulents like jade plants are given water, they take in as much as they can, as soon as they can, just in case they won’t have access to it again for a long time.
What does this entail for a jade plant under your care that is no longer subject to nature’s whims?
If you give a jade plant without a drainage hole even a little too much water, or if you water too frequently, not allowing enough time for water at the bottom of the plant to evaporate and instead allowing it to collect at the bottom of the plant pot, these two forms of over-watering can easily kill the plant over time.
The extra water runs out the bottom, your plant receives the amount of water it requires, and the rest evaporates, allowing your succulent time to use up the water it has stored rather than taking in too much.
The best method to obtain good drainage is to have that drainage hole in the bottom of the container, and the best way to get good drainage is to have that drainage hole in the bottom of the container.
Do you intend to keep your jade as an indoor plant? You’ll need a plant saucer, a tray, or a plate to go beneath the pot – but if you have one of these, remember to spill out any extra water that collects in the saucer once you’ve finished watering your jade plant.
You don’t want water to collect here because it’ll be almost identical to letting the water pool at the bottom of the pot.
Spilling away the water that collects in the saucer cuts down on the amount of time the crassula ovata roots have to sit in water, lowering the risk of root rot, which can kill your plant.
Now, I’ll admit that there are methods to avoid having a drainage hole; there are ways to get by without one, but it’s not ideal. The drainage hole rule is one that should be avoided at all costs.
If you’re new to succulent keeping, or if you’ve ever had a succulent die and didn’t know why, or suspected it was due to over-watering, I strongly suggest you to avoid using a pot without a drainage hole.
You can get by without one, and I’ll explain how later in this article if you’re interested, but it’s ideal.
Let’s speak about the role of unfinished terracotta clay now that we’ve spoken about how the drainage hole of a pot plays a crucial role in keeping your jade plant happy!
The Advantage of the Unfinished Terracotta Clay Pot Material
There’s a reason why unfinished terracotta works better for succulent plant pots than any other material.
When you water or it rains, water drains quickly and easily out of the soil and through the hole, just like it does in a standard pot with a drainage hole at the bottom.
However, you get a second drying effect with unfinished terracotta because the clay wicks water away from the soil, absorbing it into the material, and then allowing that water to evaporate rapidly due to the terracotta being exposed to air, wind, and sun on the exterior.
While this effect is beneficial to many plants, as it allows more airflow to the roots, reducing the risk of root rot and soil disease, desert and drought-tolerant plants, such as cacti and other succulents, including the jade plant, are much more susceptible to root rot, so this benefit is especially important to them.
Then there’s the second advantage of terracotta, which is often required for jade succulent plants in particular: it’s relatively hefty, at least heavy enough to keep crassula ovata from tumbling over.
There are heavier pots out there – cement pots, for example but larger sizes make pots more difficult to lift up and move around, so the benefit of terracotta is that it’s not too heavy to be a problem if you prefer to move pots around every now and then, or even on a regular basis.
Unglazed, unfinished clay pots are widely accessible, particularly if you’re seeking for a traditional-style terracotta planter.
They usually come with a drainage hole or a printout of one that you can chip away at with a nail and hammer to make one yourself.
If you don’t like the look of traditional terracotta pots, or if you prefer variety in your outdoor succulent pot collection, like I do, there are a plethora of options in terms of different styles clay pots come in from cylindrical and square shaped containers to tall, thin-lipped or lip-less planter pots that typically look a lot more modern than traditional thick-lipped planters.
Even if you just use terracotta pots, I’ve provided a few suggestions for diversifying your pot collection.
How big can a jade plant get?
Because jade plants can reach heights of up to five feet, they may become top-heavy with time. It’s possible that you’ll need to move the plant from its current pot to one that can better handle its growth. During the summer, it is best to repot jade plants.
How to get the feng shui right?
The major reason for having this plant at home is to bring good luck. You may have noticed potted jades at Chinese restaurant entrances. Jade plants, by the same rationale, should be placed as close to your home’s entrance as possible. Furthermore, the southeast is the ideal direction for this plant to grow. However, make sure it’s in the southeast corner of your living room; it won’t do you any good if it’s in your bedroom or bathroom.
How to choose a healthy jade plant for your home?
Only a robust and healthy plant can assist you in improving your financial situation. As a result, it’s critical to start with a plant that appears to be healthy.
- Tap the plant to see how strong the leaves are; if the leaves fall off easily, the plant is weak.
- Jade is a succulent that does not flourish in moist settings, so don’t buy elaborate terrariums of it.
Light
If feasible, give a jade plant 12 hours of sunlight. If you have a sun-drenched balcony or porch, use it to sunbathe. If not, place it near a window that receives the most light in your home.
Water
Jade requires extremely little water because it is a succulent. Watering your jade does not have to be done on a regular basis. When the soil is completely dry, you can water it. Before you water, check this with your fingertips. Also, simply irrigate the earth rather than spraying water on the jade leaves. If you moisten the leaves, they may fall off.
Soil
Jade plants require a soil that drains quickly and does not keep rainwater for long periods of time. Their roots decay if they are planted in soil with a high clay component. As a result, make sure your soil contains enough of sand and gravel. A watering hole must also be included beneath the pot to allow excess water to escape.
Nourishment
Jade is a plant that doesn’t require a lot of attention. It usually grows with the correct quantity of sunlight and water. As a result, you don’t have to worry about them. It may take a long time to grow as a houseplant. The rate of growth is also determined by the size of your pot. It will expand if given enough space to do so. Alternatively, you can promote growth using supplements such as Lazy Gardener’s Greenstix.
Pruning
Pruning jade plants is not necessary on a regular basis. If your plant is growing too quickly, you can prune it to keep it at a manageable size. In fact, the cuttings you create during trimming can be used to propagate new plants and fill all of the tabletops!
What not to do with the jade plant
#1: If you’re not sure, don’t water. The majority of jade plants die due to over watering rather than insufficient hydration.
#3: Jade plants require well-draining soil and should not be grown in closed potting systems such as terrariums.
#4: Don’t fuss with jade plants; they take their low-maintenance reputation extremely seriously!
How do you pot a jade plant?
The composition of the soil is critical to the success of the jade plant. Jade plants, like other succulents, prefer a loose, rocky, well-draining soil. Too much moisture can create damp feet and damage your entire plant, so proper drainage is essential.
- Use a potting mix designed specifically for succulents and cactus plants, then put in a pot with drainage holes in the bottom.
- Growing jade plants does not necessitate a lot of soil. They’re an excellent choice for dish gardens.
- Plants that grow jade thrive in slightly acidic soil with a pH of around 6.0. Succulent plants are susceptible to the effects of alkaline soil.