Jade can make a great houseplant, especially in a classic ceramic or terracotta pot.
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Growing Jade Plants: Lighting, Watering, Repotting, Propogation, and Pests
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鈥檛 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 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鈥檙e using clean clippers or scissors to take your cutting, which must be 3 to 4 inches long. If you鈥檙e using a leaf, it must be the complete leaf, that 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 callous 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鈥檛 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鈥檛, 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鈥檛 just get the surface layer of the soil wet, as you want to encourage the roots to grow downward for water, not towards 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掳 to 75掳F / 18掳 to 24掳C), but prefer slightly cooler temperatures at night and in the winter (down to 55掳F / 13掳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掳F (10掳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鈥攏ot 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鈥攊t 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鈥檛 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鈥檛 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 Organic Homemade Plant Fertilizer.
Repotting Jade Plants
- Jade plants don鈥檛 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鈥檛 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.
Catherine Boeckmann
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I just brought a piece of a jade plant home, how do I get it started?
Place the leaf or stem cutting in a small pot with a well-draining potting mix (such as a succulent mix). Do not water. After a few weeks, when you pull gently on the leaf, you should feel some resistance. This means that the plant has put down roots. At this point, you can water it. Do not water again until the top inch or so of soil is dry. Jade plants take a while to really get going, so be patient!
I've had my jade plant for about 2 maybe 3 years now and it is an indoor plant lately I noticed the stems look like it's drying up or withering and the leaves are dropping off. after reading the few of the Articles below I think I may be over water in it but what do I do now
I just bought a baby jade plant. How long do I wait to start trying to make it start branching?
I just bought a Jade plant (around 5 inches tall) from Home Depot 1 week which is potted in a standard plastic pot with drainage holes. It is doing well in a sunny west facing window, but I would like to repot it - is it safe to do so or would it shock the plant too much?
Just received small 7" x 6" Jade bonsai tree in a water wick container. Needless to say I am concerned since it seems too wet. Came with Bonsai care instructions saying the water wick works like a straw a lets your plant drink water when it want.........what is your thought?
My pastor has a Jade plant. I brought it home and plan to repot it. Is it normal to have just one long stem? Thanks.
Hi, Kathy: This can be normal, yes. Just 鈥減inch off鈥 the top, and two new branches will start. You can continue to do this on successive branches once they are robust enough, if you wish. If left alone, the plant will do this itself; you are just helping it along. Thanks for asking!
The leaves now have red along the edges of the leaves and the leave are very spongy?? Aren't the leaves suppose to be green and firm ??
I was given a cutting of a Jade plant about a year ago now.. it's grown nicely in that time. I always let the soil dry out before watering and keep it near a window for a couple of hours sunshine and daylight.
Recently, it's been dropping leaves.. they haven't discoloured or gone rotten looking, just dropping off?? I've also noticed that the very base of the main stem feels very damp to touch, it's even a darker colour than the rest of the stem because of the damp feeling. The soil always dries out in between watering so I'm not sure what to do?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I love this little plant and really want it to survive. Thanks so much.
