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 don't think it was an insect. We don't have anything that looks like that here. I've had jade bloom before, but I'd never seen anything like this before. I hope it happens again next year so I can take pictures and hopefully see how it resolves itself.
I repotted a very beautiful jade plant within the last 6 months and relocated it to another place in my residence. After a few weeks, I noticed the main stems started to fall over, then it started losing its leaves except for a few on the ends of the smaller branches, and all of the branches have fallen over and have gotten twisted around in weird directions. I also noticed the surviving leaves appear to be shriveled as well. I do water it about every 1/1/2 weeks long with my other plants, and haven't had a problem with it until after I repotted it. I moved it back to its original place, but this doesn't seem to help. Do you have any suggestions about what to do? I've considered taking some cuttings from it, but am not sure they'll survive. It used to look like a small tree, but now it looks weird.
How soon after repotting did you water the plant? After repotting, jades should be allowed some time (a week or two) to settle in and heal damaged roots before being watered again. Especially if the soil you used to repot it with was already moist, any extra water could have led to root rot.
However: dropped leaves and shriveled, prune-like leaves indicate that the plant is thirsty, so I suspect that your plant wasn't getting enough water. When you water it, make sure that you're watering it deeply—meaning that water reaches down to the roots and doesn't just saturate the surface soil. Water should run out the bottom of the pot, and you can let the plant sit in the excess water for a little while to soak it up. Once it stops soaking up water, be sure to dump out the excess. Then, allow the plant to dry out quite a bit before watering again.
I would recommend taking a couple leaves and laying them on top of dry soil. They should produce roots soon enough and will then begin to grow into new plants.
My Jade plant is getting so big I have to stake the stems to keep them from falling over and
maybe breaking off. Is it possible to trim some of the stems back and will new growth appear in time - or will plant die????
My indoor jade plants have a tendency to get a bit spindly and top heavy causing them to droop from the weight. I suggest you trim them back a bit and that encourages the main trunks and branches to get thicker and stronger. Use the cuttings to start new jade plants.
Greetings,
Your article covers many topics and it is mostly to the point, though it is kind of thorough approach but an accurate one.
You should include one or two paragraphs of toxicity of jade plants like, is crassula family toxic to pets or human?
Thanks for reading my comment.
Hi, I have a multi stem jade which is maybe 40 years old. It has survived moves and several near deaths. Recently it has looked very vigorous, but today two of the major stems have fallen sideways. I did water it recently and that may be the problem. I did turn it to get more even sun. Are the stems likely to go back up to the previous positions or should I try to support the stems?
If they're thick, heavy stems, they're not likely to be able to return to their upright positions alone, so it would be wise to provide some support. Once supported, they may be able to re-solidify and hold themselves upright. Let it mostly dry out before watering again, and keep it in bright light (but watch that it doesn't get burnt by too much direct sun).
i got my jade 5 days back in online. after 2 days its getting leaves falling. only stem is remained. whats can i do now. i got that for my office desk. is that alive or died. give me some tips to grow my jade and food for that.
Your jade watering information is absolutely & utterly incorrect. Jade are one of the, if not the, most drought tolerant non-cactus succulent species. I personally consider it the most drought tolerant. You should never have moist soil. Ever. Jade should dry out at least 50% between watering. They can go a very long time without water. The thirstier they get, the thinner & more puckered the leaves become. A good watering & they will swell overnight. If you have a very large jade with a thick trunk, they should not be watered at all in the winter in cooler climates as they go dormant. I have three jade bonsai that stand 3' tall each. I do not water any of them for 6 months out of the year, from fall until spring when the growing season begins. One I didn't water for 9 months. It wasn't even in soil. The leaves were very puckered & soft but last weekend I soaked it overnight & it was instantly plump & healthy. I also have two large cuttings I sawed off of a jade last Christmas & they still have not been planted. Again, the leaves are wrinkled but absolutely nothing has died. None of these cuttings have roots. I own a plant shop & the reason I know of your article is a woman came to me yesterday in tears because she kept the soil of her gigantic inherited jade moist based on this article & it had completely rotted within two weeks. I helped her, taught her, & salvaged some cuttings. Please revise your article with correct information & facts. I do not know where you got the watering information from but I cannot stress how incorrect it is. If you read literally any other article in books or online, it will tell you to not let your jade soil be moist.
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