Image - Wikimedia / Forest & Kim Starr
La jade plant it is one of the best known succulents in the world. It is easily found in nurseries and garden stores, and it is one of the wonders that you can have at home without having to worry too much about watering, as it is one of the most recommended for beginners.
Although it grows to a maximum height of two meters, it has a slow growth rate and, in addition, its roots are not invasive at all, so it can be potted throughout its life. Let us know how it is and what its cares are.
Jade plant characteristics
Image - Wikimedia / The Titou
Our protagonist is a crass plant native to South Africa whose scientific name is Crassula ovata. A succulent evergreen shrub with thick, fleshy leaves which usually have a reddish margin of 3 to 7 centimeters. It produces flowers in clusters composed of five white petals during the fall and winter.
It is a plant that can be had both indoors and outdoors protected from frost, but we will see it in more detail below.
How do you take care of Crassula ovata?
If you have purchased a jade plant and want to give it the best care, here is a guide that may be useful to you:
Location
- Body exterior:: in full sun whenever possible, but you should know that it lives well in semi-shade. For this reason, it can be had for example in bright entrances, or in a patio where, although the sun does not come directly, it looks good without having to turn on any light during the day.
- Interior: If you have it indoors, it must be in a very bright room, the more the better, otherwise its leaves will lose strength and the plant will hardly grow.
Earth
- Flower pot: it must have good drainage. You can put black peat mixed with perlite in equal parts.
- Garden: grows on sandy-type soils, capable of draining water quickly. If your soil is rather compact, make a large planting hole, 1m x 1m, and fill it with pumice or fine gravel (1-3mm thick) when you go to plant your jade plant. In this way, in case it rains in a torrential way from time to time, it will be quite protected.
Irrigation
Generally, the soil or substrate must be allowed to dry before watering again. Now, if the summer is being especially warm, that is, that for days and weeks the temperatures remain between 25 and 40 or more degrees Celsius and it does not rain, if you have your plant outside, water it a couple of times per week so you don't get dehydrated.
When you go to water, moisten all the soil / substrate well. In the event that you see that said soil is not capable of absorbing water, you have to do the following:
- Garden: take a knife or scissors and drive them around the plant several times. Then water.
- Pot: put it in a basin of water, so that the pot is more or less half submerged. Leave it like this for about 30 minutes.
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For a correct development, it is highly recommended to fertilize the jade plant from early spring to late summer with a specific fertilizer for cacti and succulents following the indications specified on the package. Even if you live in an area where the climate is mild and / or where there are no frosts, you can continue to fertilize until autumn.
Of course, when the temperature drops below 15ºC, the fertilizer is suspended, since at these temperatures growth is minimal and, therefore, nutritional needs are lower than the rest of the year.
Planting or transplanting time
Whether you are going to plant in the garden or if you are going to move it to a larger pot, you have to do it in spring. If it is in a container, it has to be transplanted when you see roots coming out of the drainage holes, or if it has not been changed for more than three years.
In any case, you have to do it with care not to manipulate its root system too much.
Multiplication
The jade plant multiplies by seeds and stem cuttings in spring-summer:
Seeds
The seeds They must be sown in pots with universal substrate mixed with perlite in equal parts. They have to be as far apart as possible, and they have to be covered a little with substrate (mostly so that they are not exposed).
Then the seedbed is watered and placed outside, or near a heat source. Water 2-3 times a week; this way they will germinate in about 7-10 days.
Stem cuttings
The easiest and fastest way to get new specimens is by multiplying it with stem cuttings. For it, You just have to cut a branch, let the wound dry for about 5 days in a place protected from direct sun, and then plant it (do not nail it) in a pot with, for example, pumice.
Placing the pot outside, in semi-shade, and keeping the substrate slightly damp, it will begin to root after a week or ten days.
Plagues and diseases
It is quite resistant, but you have to be careful with snails. These can be kept away by casting diatomaceous earth around the plant for example.
Rusticity
Withstands cold and frost up to -2ºC.
Image - Wikimedia / Aniol
Where to buy?
You can get it here.
So you can grow healthy.
The jades plants are very beautiful as is their care.
Hello Jenny.
Yes is very beautiful. The article explains how to take care of them.
A greeting.
Hello Monica!! They gave me a jade plant and it seems to me that I gave it too much water .. because the leaves are soft .. What do I have to do ??? Might you help me??
Hi Malen.
I recommend you take it out of the pot and wrap its root ball (earth bread) with absorbent paper. Leave it like this for one night, and the next day plant it again in a pot. Don't water it for a week.
So little by little it will recover.
A greeting.
Hello, thank you very much for the article Monica, it will be of great help to me, greetings 🙂
Thanks to you, Diego 🙂
Hello, my jade plant had a lot of rain and its leaves all fell off, the point is that since the earth was too wet it occurred to me to take it out of the pot I wrapped its roots in paper and left it for 2 days and at the same time I took the potting soil to dry the moisture a bit, the point is that I already placed it back in the pot and I wanted to know how long should I wait to know if my jade was saved? Thanks I await your answer
Hi Maritza.
When new leaves start to come out 🙂. It can be a week, it can be two.
You have to be patient.
A greeting.
Hello Monica
Should I water the leaves or the ground?
Hello Felipe.
The land, always. Otherwise the plants will rot quickly.
A greeting.
My cat is pawing at my jade plant and I don't know what to do. How do I raise it? I put pepper on it but it's the same as nothing.
Hello Daniela.
Use better repellants for cats that are sold in nurseries and garden stores. Or if not, put citrus peels (oranges, lemons, etc.), since cats do not like the smell.
A greeting.
Good morning, I have a jade plant, well actually there are three planted together, but they are a little crooked, leaves continue to grow, although very few, the ones they have are "chubby" so I don't think it's a lack of water, but the stem looks puny and I had to put a "guide" on them to hold them. Is this situation normal? Thanks in advance.
Hello Lola.
Do you have them in the sun or in semi-shade?
I am telling you about it because in the sun the trunk becomes very strong, and the branches grow well. So if they don't get sunlight for at least 5 direct hours a day, I recommend moving them around.
A greeting.
Hello, I have a Jade plant and when I bought it in bonsai size it was beautiful. Now he apparently has "bugs" and the leaves are falling off very fast. At first they belonged to the old ladies and now the chubby and green ones too. I think it's because of the bugs, do you know how I get rid of them? They have told me about soapy water or detergent or vinegar ... but I don't want him to be hurt by ignorance. I stay tuned
Hi, Diana.
You can clean it with a small brush soaked in pharmacy rubbing alcohol. Being a rather small plant it can be done well 🙂
A greeting.
When some appear as whitish bites and the plant becomes stunted.
To do.
Thanks. Glory
Hello, Gloria.
Those spots, will they go away if you run your finger over them? If so, it is powdery mildew, a fungus.
Can you remove them with your fingernail? So they are mealybugs.
And if they don't go away either way, I'd also bet they're mushrooms. Although they could be cold damage (it is common for them to appear after a hailstorm).
Fungi are treated with fungicides containing copper. And mealybugs can be removed by hand.
Anyway, how often do you water it? Does the sun shine on you? If you want, write us via Facebook also sending some photos.
Greetings.
Good Morning.
Can the stem be planted directly in the ground when it has been 5 days since I have removed it from the mother plant? Without having previously rooted in a glass of water? Thank you
Hi Josep.
Yes, without problem. In fact, that is exactly what you have to do: leave it for a few days to dry the wound, and then plant it in a pot with growing medium.
Regards!