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.
When should I water my jade plant?
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.
Does Jade require the sun’s rays?
Crassula ovata, Crassula argentea are their botanical names. Needs light: full sun, partial sun Sandy soil is preferred. Jade prefers moist soil—not wet—during the growing season (spring and summer), drier soil during the dormant season since it is less drought-tolerant than other succulent species (fall and winter). pH of the soil: zero Cold hardiness: If you keep Jade outside on your porch or patio, make sure it has access to the indoors when the temperature drops to 50 degrees or below. Cold hardiness is not one of Jade’s numerous talents.
Should my jade plant be misted?
Knowing a plant’s origins fulfills more than just idly curious. It is simple to understand why your begonias won’t be content put out in full, hot sunlight if you know that their parents flourished on a moist, shady, tropical rain forest floor. On the other hand, a cactus that is indigenous to Mexico’s hot, dry regions won’t survive in your misted shadehouse.
Knowing that your jade plant, that venerable workhorse of a house plant, is native to South Africa’s bright, arid regions will help you understand some of its requirements. The thick, fleshy stems, leaves, and trunk are also trying to communicate with you that overwatering must be carefully avoided because they store a lot of moisture.
Although the jade plant, Crassula arborescens, is regarded as an easy-to-grow species, it can encounter difficulties in South Florida’s humid climate, where mildew and root rot are frequent concerns. Avoid soaking the foliage, which is usually advised for indoor plants; instead, use a damp cloth to remove dust from the glossy leaves. Water sparingly, thoroughly saturating the soil each time, and then wait until the earth is completely dry once again.
In the spring and summer, apply any well balanced plant food every six weeks; in the winter, do not apply any. The multibranched plant should be planted in a broad, shallow, durable container because it can become top heavy. The soil should be fast-draining, and the bottom of the container should be covered with gravel or broken pottery for drainage and additional support.
Temperate climates are ideal for the plant. Place it in a bright area away from the sun. The thick leaves will shrivel in intense heat. But if you keep the plant outside, bring it inside when it’s predicted that the temperature will go below 40 F.
Even while jade plants are typically thought of as foliage plants, with proper care, a mature jade plant may eventually reward you with clusters of tiny pinkish-white flowers. Even while an old plant can grow to such an astounding size, it will never reach its original habitat where it can grow up to 10 feet tall.
Does watering jade plants from the bottom suit them?
Use filtered or distilled water for the best results to avoid the salt that can be in tap water, as jade plants are sensitive to salt. To prevent wetting the leaves, water the plant from the bottom up. When the soil is dry, give it a good soak in water.
How can I tell whether my jade plant is content?
If you squeeze a jade plant and the leaves feel mushy, your initial assumption is generally that the plant is dehydrated and needs more water. However, this is not always the case, so wait a while before watering it.
Jade plants have thick, robust leaves that feel water-filled to the touch. Your jade plant may be receiving too much water if its leaves are more floppy and “squishy” than they are stiff.
When the jade plant has root rot, which is directly brought on by over watering, soft leaves frequently appear. However, you might not be mistaken if you initially believed that because soft leaves can also be a sign of underwatering or dehydration.
Examining the roots and soil is the best approach to figure out whether the leaves are soft due to overwatering or underwatering.
Proper Temperature for Jade Plants
With the exception of freezing temperatures, jade plants can withstand most temperature variations.
It thrives in temperatures of 50 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit at night and 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit (18 to 24 degrees Celsius) during the day (10 to 13 degrees Celsius).
Location
Your jade plant may dry out very rapidly if the air in your home isn’t very humid.
You might just need to water your plants once every other week or less if you reside in a more humid area.
If you believe your jade plant might benefit from increased humidity, I advise spraying the leaves in the morning so they have time to dry out before it gets chilly at night.
Fertilizing Your Jade Plant
It is advised to fertilize your jade plant with an organic substance seldom, ideally once every six months.
Only apply fertilizer to succulent plants while the soil is moist since dry dirt can harm the plant.
In the meantime, over fertilization can cause salts to accumulate in the soil, which can also cause a jade plant to burn.
We just experimented with this pre-measured, slow-releasing fertilizer.
This eliminates the need to consider how much or when to give, which is why we think it’s wonderful.
Simply apply this succulent fertilizer to your plant, and boom—the fertilizer will begin to work on its own.