Jade plants are pretty easy to grow, grow fast and are inexpensive. All of this makes them popular house plants.
Like most succulents Jade plants want bright sunny windows. The more sun the better. Jades prefer temperatures between 55′-75′ so keep them indoors even in the summer. Also keep them away from drafty windows.
Soil should be kept wet. But do not allow this plant to sit in water. The best way to water Jade plants is to stick them in the kitchen sink, spray the leaves and let the water run into the soil. After they drain put them back in the window. Since these plants grow so large so fast this is not always possible.
Use a cactus mix soil 50% with regular potting soil making up the other 50%. Or if you’ve sand handy mix half sand and half potting soil.
Happy Jade plants will flower for you. The leaves should be a medium green with red tips. Too much red means too much sun, no red edge means the Jade requires more sun, especially if you want to have it flower.
To propagate a jade plant trim off a branch and place in a pot with soil and keep damp. You’ll find they root painlessly.
See also:
Cactus and Succulents
A little known way to save a jade from rot
Credits:
Jade Leaf photo
Jade stem photo
6 responses so far ↓
1 oregonwoman45 // May 4, 2007 at 11:53 pm
i need help with my jade plant, it droops, leafs fall, the stems droop, like it almost has dry rot on the stems. i have gave it miracle grow, but it still droops, i have it in my liv room not to sunny, but not to cool either.
oregonwoman45@yahoo.com
2 herself // May 5, 2007 at 11:33 pm
It sounds like it needs less water and more sun. But check:
If the leaves are darker on yours than the ones in the pictures more sun is needed.
If the leaves are the same color as in the picture and you have slightly red edges like in the picture but not that red. Then the sun is fine it has too much or too little water.
I can’t tell whether it is over or under watering the symptoms are often the same. If you’ve been keeping the soil damp, let it go a little longer between waterings. If you’ve been letting it go dry like cactus, water it more frequently.
Try giving it some Shultz fertilizer with rooting hormone.
I’ve had very good luck with that. It comes in a yellow plastic bottle and you can find it at most large stores that sell plants and supplies.
And be sure to post back on what works because I’m sure others will be grateful for your advise.
3 sloanebad // May 15, 2007 at 10:47 am
I’m having trouble with my Jade plant as well–it is definitely rotting away, even though it has not been watered in 8-plus weeks. It’s about 3.5 feet tall in a cement pot and used to have two big trunks. Now one has rotted down to the base and we’re worried that the rot will spread to the other trunk next.
We’re in Boston, and it’s in between two east-facing windows.Can it be saved? Thanks for any advice. pics here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/51039822@N00/
4 herself // May 15, 2007 at 3:04 pm
That is probably too long to go with out water for a jade plant.
Is the soil damp? You want to be able to stick your finger in the dirt and the dirt be dry about an inch down between waterings.
The first thing I’d do is take it out of the pot, dump the dirt and re-pot it with new dirt. Very often that’s enough. When you re-pot it, remove all the old soil from the roots and rinse them off really well before re-potting.
If the roots look good then re-potting may be enough to save it.
If the roots do not look good fertilize with some Shultz fertilizer with rooting hormone. It does wonderful things for plants that are in trouble.
In Boston, especially over the winter it is difficult to get plants the amount of light they need.
It is more likely a lack of light is hurting the plant. The fluorescent bulbs you can buy as replacements for incandescent lights do wonders for house plants.
Put a fluorescent bulb in a lamp near the plant and leave it on several hours a day.
Many sick plants I had at home in the winter when I lived in Boston thrived once I sent them to work with DH. The fluorescent office lights made up for the lack of sunlight up north.
Jades will re-root from stem cuttings so re-potting, more light, fluorescent especially, will usually fix them right up.
* Update: 2/1/08
If a bacterial infection has set in and that is likely when the plant is mushy you can try a fungicide that contains copper. Sometimes that helps.
Your best option is to remove the mushy part to keep the bacteria from spreading to the rest of the plant. Wipe down the area with alcohol to keep from spreading bacteria. Remove the mushy part, plus a buffer zone with a sharp sterile instrument. This will often save the plant.
You still need to re-pot it and get it into clean, drier soil.
5 sloanebad // May 16, 2007 at 2:50 pm
Thanks so much for your advice. The plant was delivered in a concrete pot with several inches of rocks on top, so it’s always been difficult to check the soil.
The plant began rotting from the top down, losing branches as it went. We tried to cut out the rot, but it kept spreading.
Repotting will be a challenge as the plant/pot/rocks weigh a TON, but it sounds like it may be necessary at this point.
Thanks again.
6 herself // May 18, 2007 at 2:43 pm
Good luck, it is a beautiful plant.
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