Jade Plant Care: Growing A Healthy Crassula Ovata
The jade plant is a great indoor plant for homes, offices, and dorm rooms. This succulent has fleshy leaves with pointed tips that are green in color. It produces white flowers during the summertime which attract butterflies to your home or office space.
The jade plant can grow up to 18 inches tall indoors if it’s given enough light. But there are some conditions that you’ll need to keep an eye on if you want yours to grow and be healthy.
We may earn an affiliate commission for purchases using our links at no added cost to you. Learn more.
Basics About The Jade Plant
The jade plant is a succulent that originates from South Africa and Mozambique. There are many different species of these plants including Crassula Ovata (Jade plant), Crassula Argentea, and Crassula Perfoliata.
The jade plant is a slow-growing, low-maintenance houseplant that can be grown indoors or outdoors with very little effort. It can go well in most indoor light settings where it receives indirect natural sun during the day such as through an east-facing window.
If you’re looking for more of a challenge, it can even be grown in your office space with artificial light. The jade plant is hardy and can be grown in zones nine through twelve, depending on the species.
How To Care For Your Jade Plant
Lighting Conditions
In terms of lighting, the Jade plants prefer a mix of direct sun and bright indirect light. Allow at least four to six hours of direct sunlight, even if they are grown indoors. You can place them in a south or east-facing window that receives at least four hours of bright light.
If you don’t have a window in this position, try placing it in front of an east-facing window that receives the same amount of bright light hours during the day and remove any other plants from its space to provide for maximum growth.
Watering
Watering a Jade plant is easy as long as you follow some simple rules. There are many opinions on how frequently to water, but the one that has been most successful for me is when I notice leaves starting to shrivel or roots seem dry.
You can always tell if the plant needs watering by looking at it closely or placing your hand over the pot and feeling for moisture in the soil.
As long as there is no standing water left on top of the soil after you water, the plant should be fine.
It is very important not to let the soil dry out too much because when this happens the leaves will start turning brown and fall off. This means that you have been watering your plant on a regular basis but it was just getting too dried out between waterings.
Humidity and Temperature
These plants prefer dry conditions and are tolerant of higher humidity. If you have a low light area in your home, make sure there is good air circulation and keep the jade plant away from heat sources like fireplaces or vents.
The ideal indoor temperatures are around 65-75 degrees Fahrenheit during the day with nighttime temps no lower than 55 degrees Fahrenheit. You want to avoid any extremes in the temperature as this will surely stress your plant.
Fertilization
This plant does not need much feeding, however, in early to mid-spring use organic fertilizer and do the same thing in the summer. Fertilize using a half-strength mixture of fertilizer with water. Mix in the pot and then pour it around the base of the plant so that you do not burn its roots.
Toxicity Warning
When it comes to toxicity, it is mildly toxic to humans causing stomach issues if consumed. It’s mildly to highly toxic to cats and dogs so make sure that you keep this plant out of reach for your animal.
Pot Requirements
This plant requires a container that provides adequate drainage for its roots. Clay pots are best because the porous material helps prevent root rot and is lightweight, making it easy to move when you want to reposition your plant.
If using ceramic or plastic pots, make sure they have at least one hole in the bottom of the pot where water can drain out.
Propagation
You can propagate this plant by breaking off a stem from the mother plant and sticking it into potting soil. You will want to make sure that there is at least an inch of space between the broken-off bottom end of the stem which you are rooting and then cover with potting soil leaving one or two inches below ground level.
Then, keep the soil consistently moist and wait for your Jade plant to sprout. This can take anywhere from a few weeks to months depending on how old the stem you are rooting is.
Pruning
Jade plants should be pruned after flowering. Early in the spring, trim off any brown leaves and stems that have died back from winter.
As your jade plant grows you will notice it starts to form multiple shoots with a few succulent-looking green leaves at each node on the stem. If these don’t die back naturally as they grow, they can be trimmed off at the base of the stem.
The only other time to prune your plant is if it starts to outgrow its container and there are roots that start showing on top of the soil. When this happens, you can trim back some or all of these shoots in order for them to grow into a new pot.
In general, you want to prune this plant in order to keep it at a manageable size and shape. If left unchecked it can get quite large with long stringy stems that are difficult to manage.
Foliage
The leaves are thick and glossy, dark green in color that can vary to bluish-green. This is because of the different levels or quantities of photosynthesis needed for growth. The leaf has a white underside with some variegation which can be either yellow, red, or pink depending on cultivar variety.
Potting Soil
The best potting mix for the money tree is one that’s well-drained and has an equal part of peat moss, perlite or sand. Make sure you use a small container because this will help with drainage when watering your plant.
Repotting
This is a plant that likes to be somewhat pot-bound, so repotting should typically only happen every few years. The best time to repot is during the spring. When you do repot, stick to a pot that is only a little larger.
Pests
The most common pest that often attacks the Jade plant include aphids, thrips, and spider mites. In order to deal with these pests, the first thing that you need to do is rinse off the foliage of your Jade plant with water and then, spray it with a solution of dish detergent, rubbing alcohol, and water.
Where Can You Grow Jade Plants
Jade plants are quite hardy, but they do require some special care. The best place to grow them is indoors near an outdoor window or outdoors on the patio during warm months. They also like moist soil that drains well and should water them every day in the summer and only once a week during winter.
Jade Plant Common Issues and Troubleshooting
These plants very are popular indoor houseplants because they have an attractive appearance and come in many different sizes, with the smallest growing to just a foot tall.
The most common problem that jade plant owners will experience is overwatering or underwatering. The leaves will turn brown if you water too much, and become soft if you water too little.
If the plant is in a pot, you can solve this by simply repotting into a larger container and adding fresh soil with adequate drainage so that there is room for excess moisture to escape from the bottom of the root ball during watering.
If your jade plant doesn’t have its own pot, you may want to put it into a small pot so that you can keep the soil around the roots moist and not let it dry out.
Conclusion
The jade plant is one of the best plants to have in your indoor garden. It’s easy to care for and it grows well indoors or outside, which makes them a great houseplant choice.
