Caption
Jade can make a great houseplant, especially in a classic ceramic or terracotta pot.
Image Credit:
Olga Miltsova/Shutterstock
Botanical Name
Crassula argentea, Crassula ovata
Sun Exposure
Soil pH
Bloom Time
Flower Color
Plant Type
Planting
How to Plant Jade Plants
- Choose a wide and sturdy pot with a moderate depth, as jade plants tend to grow top-heavy and fall over.
- Use soil that will drain thoroughly, as excessive moisture may promote fungal diseases like root rot. An all-purpose potting mix will work, though you will want to mix in additional perlite to improve drainage. A 2:1 ratio of potting mix to perlite is great. Alternatively, use a premade succulent or cacti potting mix.
- After planting a jade plant, don’t water it right away. Waiting anywhere from several days to a week before watering lets the roots settle and recover from any damage.
Photo by trambler58/Shutterstock.
How to Start a Jade Plant From a Leaf or a Stem Cutting
As a succulent, jade plants are very easy to start from single leaves or cuttings. A stem cutting is a great method when a branch of your jade plant happens to fall off. Just put that cutting in the soil, and you have a new baby plant or a gift plant! If you have time, however, you can propagate from a single leaf!
Propagate before the weather gets cool. And make sure you start with a well-established plant.
- For a stem cutting, ensure you’re using clean clippers or scissors to take your cutting, which must be 3 to 4 inches long. If you’re using a leaf, it must be the complete leaf, which includes the small pointy bit that breaks off from the stem.
- Once you have your leaf or cutting, allow it to sit for several days in a warm place; a callus will form over the cut area, helping to prevent rot and encourage rooting.
- Gather your pot and a well-draining potting mix. Use soil that is slightly moist but not wet.
- Lay the leaf on top of the soil horizontally, covering the cut end with some of the soil. If you have a stem cutting, place it upright in the soil (prop it up with a few small rocks or toothpicks if it won’t stand on its own).
- Place the pot in a warm place with bright, indirect light. Do not water.
- After a week or two, the leaf or cutting will start sending out roots. Give the plant a gentle poke or tug a week or so after that to see if it has rooted itself in place. If it hasn’t, wait a bit longer, testing it (gently!) every few days.
- Once the plant seems to be firmly rooted, water it deeply and carefully. Use something like a turkey baster to gently water the plant without disturbing the roots too much. Make sure that you don’t just get the surface layer of the soil wet, as you want to encourage the roots to grow downward for water, not toward the surface.
- Let the soil dry out between waterings and keep the plant out of intense direct sunlight until it is well established.
Growing
How to Care for Jade Plants
Lighting
- Jade plants should receive at least 6 hours of bright light each day. Young plants should be kept in bright, indirect sunlight; large, well-established jade plants can handle more direct sunlight.
- Kitchens and offices with south-facing windows are typically great spots with just enough light, as are western-facing windows.
- Jade plants that are kept in low light can become leggy and top-heavy, making them susceptible to damage if they fall over or become unable to support their own branches!
Temperature
- Jade plants grow best at room temperature (65° to 75°F / 18° to 24°C), but prefer slightly cooler temperatures at night and in the winter (down to 55°F / 13°C).
- Note: Jade plants are not frost tolerant, so if you keep yours outdoors during the summer, be sure to bring it inside once temperatures fall to around 50°F (10°C) in autumn.
- During winter, move jade plants away from cold windows and keep them out of drafty areas. If exposed to cold temps, jade plants may drop their leaves.
Watering
- Watering jade plants correctly is very important! Improper watering is the number one issue that most people experience with their jade plants.
- When the plant is actively growing in the spring and summer, it will require more water than at other times of the year. Water jade plants deeply (meaning that the soil gets sufficiently moistened throughout—not just at the surface), then wait until the soil has mostly dried out before you water it again. This means that you could end up watering it once a week or once a month—it depends entirely on how quickly the soil dries out in the environment where you keep your plant.
- The plant may go dormant in the fall and winter, causing it to slow or pause growth entirely. During this time, it won’t need much water. Water it less often than in the spring and summer, allowing the soil to dry out fully between waterings. Large, well-established jades may not need more than one or two waterings throughout their entire dormancy period.
- Try to avoid splashing water on the leaves while watering, as this can expose them to rot in a humid environment.
- Jade plants can be sensitive to salts in tap water, so water with filtered or distilled water if your tap water is not ideal.
- If the plant starts to drop its leaves, if the leaves look shriveled, or if brown spots appear on the leaves, it indicates that the plant needs MORE water.
- If leaves become squishy and waterlogged, the plant is getting TOO MUCH water.
Read more about how to water plants for healthy growth.
Fertilizing
- Jade plants don’t require high levels of nutrients and should be fed sparingly. Use a diluted mix of a standard liquid houseplant fertilizer or a fertilizer made for cacti and succulents.
If you prefer using your own fertilizer, you can use our homemade Organic Plant Fertilizer.
Repotting Jade Plants
- Jade plants don’t mind being root-bound in a small pot. In fact, keeping them root-bound will keep the jade smaller and more manageable.
- Repot young jade plants once every 2 to 3 years to encourage growth. With older jade, repot once every 4 to 5 years or as necessary.
- Transplant in the early spring, just before the growing season begins.
- After repotting, don’t water the plant for a week or so. Wait at least a month before fertilizing so as not to burn fresh roots accidentally.
Photo by Mauricio Acosta Rojas/Shutterstock.
Types
There are many types of jade plants available—from the standard, green-leafed jade to a number of variegated varieties. Here are a few exciting jades to keep an eye out for:
- ‘ET’s Fingers’ has tubular leaves with red tips. An oddity!
- ‘Hummel’s Sunset’ has beautiful yellow- and red-tipped leaves.
- ‘Tricolor’ has leaves variegated with white and cream.
More Like This
I have a 10 yr old jade plant that was planted in a plastic tub with cactus/succulent mix and has been kept in a east facing landing outdoors all year in S. Florida, getting mostly morning sun, watered as needed based on leaf firmness. The plant branched at the soil line and on one half of the plant all the leaves turned greyish green and became thin and wrinkled, but remained on the plant. Fearing some sort of infection, I cut the plant into two, and after checking the roots for rot, re-potted the unaffected part in fresh soil mix and a new pot. I made cuttings from the affected parts and left them in the sun for 2 weeks, but they never developed air roots, but neither did they drop their leaves. Any attempts to root these cuttings has so far failed. The repotted unaffected section has done well in the last month, but now I just noticed one leave near the top has gone pale and wrinkled, similar to the prior problem. I am at a lose as to what might be affecting this plant. The roots,stems and trunk seem fine.
I've had my jade plant for several years now but it grows out not up. How do I fix this and get it to grow correctly, upwards?
Hi, Berg: It's a long process, but the trick is to carefully and systematically prune/trim the tops of outer growth, so that the plant's energy is focused inward. Remember, too, that the plant will grow toward the light, so whatever you can do to limit light on the sides will in the long run help and strengthen the middle. Good luck!
Hi there! My husband bought me a big (about a foot high) jade plant for our anniversary (about two months ago) and I am terrified about killing it!
We had a younger house guest for awhile who kept accidentally pulling/knocking leaves and branches off of it too, which didn't help, but mostly I am worried because, while it continues to make new leaves, I feel like I keep seeing parts of it wither into a crystaline looking dark green... dead bit. Is it normal for some of that to happen or am I doing something wrong??
Read our planting and care sections above about sunlight and watering. If the leaves seem to dry up you may need to give the plant a bit more water but be careful not to overwater. Jade plants are usually easy to take care and hopefully your plant will rebound.
I have a large jade that has white worms in the soil that move fairly fast. The plants been suffering a little with some of the leaves on some of the branches (not all branch's) showing wilted/yellowing leaves. I suspect a root eater in the soil, leaves don't appear to have common pests to the Jade. I've used knatrol (sp) a few years ago for a soil pest. I let it dry completely before watering. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Mark
Mark- I realize this was posted last year but it sounds like you might have fungus gnats. The adults gnats lay eggs in moist soil and their larvae (the white worms you're seeing) feed on root systems. I've got a dual approach to dealing with them- try watering from the bottom of the plant (through the saucer) instead of the top so there is no moist topsoil in which to lay eggs, and at the same time leave out a cup (or two or three in different spots near your plants) with a squirt of dish detergent and a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to catch the adults.
About 3 years ago I rescued a large, potted Jade from the front yard of a home being demolished. It was going to be trashed also. I brought it home & put it in the ground, but, over time, I think that caused what's happening now. Branches are shriveling; they fall off easily & are orange & spongey inside. I've hesitated removing all of the shriveled branches, but I now realize, after reading all these posts, that I've done the Jade great harm (and I feel terrible about it!).
There are quite a few very healthy branches. If the main trunk isn't affected, should I cut off all dying branches back to the trunk? If the main trunk isn't affected, but those dying branches, when cut at the trunk, leave some spongey, orange flesh, should I cut into the trunk until I reach healthy flesh? And, should I take what's left after 'surgery' and remove it from the ground because I can't keep that area from getting/staying wet? It's not always wet, but I now realize it's at a low point in the yard. The plant's also covered with spider webs, but I can't see the spiders. I tried an insecticidal soap (which I later thought caused the current problem), but the webs return.
I hope you can help us. Rescuing this jade made me so happy but now I'm miserable thinking I've been killing it.
Thank you.
I'm sure some of you know this, but you can root the cuttings in water. I accidentally broke off a piece of mine and placed it in water and it rooted well! I've done this with a lot of my plants just so I have a backup in case the "mother" plant dies for some reason.
You can prune fairly heavily and it won't hurt the jade, but your plant will be much happier if you transplant it into a pot. Jade plants like to have their roots a little crowded--but not overcrowded. Try a clay pot with drainage holes and use a soil mix that drains well. A cactus mix with some organic matter would be perfect. It should be moist, nevery dry but not wet. Take the plant out of the ground and shake off as much soil as possible. Check the roots and cut off any roots that are brown or black. Leave the plant out in the air for a day to let the root ends heal over and then pot it.
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