Jade can make a great houseplant, especially in a classic ceramic or terracotta pot.
Growing Jade Plants: Lighting, Watering, Repotting, Propogation, and Pests
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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 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, 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’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 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° 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 Organic Homemade 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:
- ‘Hummel’s Sunset’ has beautiful yellow- and red-tipped leaves.
- ‘Tricolor’ has leaves variegated with white and cream.
- ’ET’s Fingers’ has tubular leaves with red tips. An oddity!
Catherine Boeckmann
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It sounds like you are doing everything you can! Leave the branches tied up and care for the plant as you had been previously. Hopefully, the plant will become strong enough to hold its branches up again, though they may be too heavy at this point and could always need support. To give the plant an extra boost, feed it with a liquid cacti and succulent fertilizer, following the dosage instructions on the packaging.
Thanks for replying, happy to hear that I was on the right track. :)
When I lived in Southern California I had a Jade plant outside on the north side. My Basset Hound slept under it while we were at work. It was over 15 years old with very little care when we moved. I hope it is still doing well. It was 5 feet tall and wide, Very attractice and easy to care for,
I watered my jade plant but after a day the leaf starts to fall or drop what is the cause of falling.
I noticed my other jade plant leaf is thin and starts to look like wrinkles or like a light crumpled paper,but also the cause.Please help and teach me how to make my jade plants healthy.
Jade plants are landscaping plants here (San Diego)! Throw trimmings on the ground, hit them with a bit of water, and stand back. Once they root, there's no need for supplemental watering, even in our multi-year drought.
I have this sunset Jade plant which have been growing pretty well. I have placed it in my patio and it gets 2-3 hours of sun. From a week time, there is lot of black/Brown spot appear on the leaves. Water shouldn't be an issue, as mentioned in this article. I wish I could attach a picture here. I don't know what's causing this. Please advise. Thanks!
Succulents prefer a certain pH. Are those black spots, tiny furry bugs? Or just black spots? Vinegar water will make the soil more acidic, and the tiny bugs fall off. But you might want to check what oh level your succulent likes.
My jade plant is growing well & looks healthy but it has never stood on its own..had it for several years but branches curve every which way and i have several stakes in pot to hold up each branch..i see pictures of plants standing upright and trimmed like a bonsai but i can't even move mine without it falling over..help
Jade plants can get top heavy if they do not develop a large or deep enough root system. To encourage yours to put down deeper roots, try watering only from the bottom of the pot. This will encourage the roots to reach deeper for water.
Jades may also get too leggy (and thus, top-heavy) if they are not exposed to enough light. If it’s not already getting full sun for most of the day, try putting yours in a place with more light.
Hello, my jade plant seems to be dropping leaves quite frequently. I water it every other day by sprinkling the top layer with water, to prevent from overwatering. I am not sure if I am overwatering or underwatering it. Thanks!
