Crassula Ovata Guide How to Grow & Care for the “Jade Plant”

Want a lovely and easy to grow succulent houseplant? The Jade Plant is what your home needs!

Jade Plants are the most well-known species from the Crassula genus of succulent plants. They are commonly known as money plants and, in some cultures, people believe that these trees attract financial energies.

Jade Plants are also believed to produce positive vibrations that bring prosperity to the owner of the house or business. What’s more, when these plants flower, it is believed that the owner has great friendships, luck, and prosperity. We’ll leave that up to the individual beliefs and focus on the more practical aspects of growing Crassula Ovata succulents.

Besides being a plant that is thought to attract only good things to the owner, Jade Plant is a lovely succulent that is quite resilient, easy to grow indoors, and lives for a long time, often being passed down from generation to generation.

About Jade Plant

• Jade Plants belong to the Crassula family, a large genus of succulent plants with over 350 species. The botanical name of the Jade Plant is Crassula Ovata. This plant is also referred to as the money plant, friendship plant, and silver dollar plant.
• Jade Plants grow natively in South Africa and Mozambique.
• These plants have a miniature tree-like appearance which makes them very appealing to use as decorative houseplants. They are perfect for indoor environments and can be great ornamental plants in both home and office spaces. Jade plants look amazing in classic terracotta pots.
• Crassula ovata succulents thrive in warm and dry conditions, found in most interior environments. They prefer temperatures around 60-75°F (15.5-24°C). These plants can survive temperatures down to 50°F (10°C) in the cold months.
• These plants, like most succulents, prefer to have a lot of light, but they don’t like the scorching sun. We recommend placing your Jade Plant in a sunny spot of your home where it gets a few hours of sunshine a day, but partial shade in the afternoon.
• Like most succulents, Jade Plants don’t like wet feet and are prone to root rot. So, it’s important to avoid overwatering your plant. We recommend allowing the top two inches of the soil to dry between waterings. How much time the soil will need to dry highly depends on the season and how much humidity and amount of sunlight your plant is getting.
• Since they don’t like wet feet, Jade plants need well-draining soil to allow excess water to pass through it. We recommend using a sandy or a light potting mix that allows good drainage.
• Jade Plants have few pests but are particularly vulnerable to mealybugs and spider mites. You can wipe off these insects with a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol. If you want to use insecticides to remove the pests from your Jade Plant, we recommend using them with caution, in small amounts, as these substances can cause phytotoxicity to your plant’s leaves.
• Jade Plants are mildly toxic to pets and humans. It’s still unknown what substance in these plants causes toxicity. So, if you grow your Jade Plant indoors, we recommend you to place it in a spot out of your kids’ or pets’ reach. Symptoms of intoxication include nausea, vomiting, and lethargy.

Jade Plant Features: An Overview

• Jade Plants are well-branched, compact, rounded, evergreen shrubs. They have a miniature tree-like appearance, which makes them fantastic decorative houseplants.
• These plants can grow up to 6 feet (1.80 m) in their native habitat. When grown indoors, they can reach up to 3 feet (91cm) long or even more when provided with the ideal growing conditions.
• Jade Plants have thick, fleshy, and glossy heart-shaped leaves that have a deep green color, which can have red shades when the plant is exposed to direct or full sunlight. The leaves grow in opposite pairs.
• In late spring to early summer, Jade Plants grow tight, rounded clusters of small white or pink star-shaped flowers. The flowers produced by Crassula ovata have a faint sweet scent, which makes them very attractive to bees, wasps, flies, and butterflies.

Growing Jade Plant

Like most succulents, Crassula ovata a.k.a. Jade Plants have an easy-going nature, which makes them really easy to grow, even for novice growers.

First, it’s important to consider the lighting requirements of your Jade Plant. You should place your plant in a sunny spot of your home where it gets a few hours of bright light a day (at least 5-6 hours), but partial shade in the afternoon. You need to keep your plant in the shade in the afternoon because, like most succulents, Jade Plants are prone to sunburn.

If your plant isn’t getting enough light, you’ll know. How? Jade Plants that are not getting adequate light tend to maintain a deep, emerald, or dark green color on their leaves. What’s more, the plants also stretch towards the sun and become long and leggy. If it looks like your plant is stretching, move it to a spot of your home or office where it gets more light.

Jade Plants are adaptable to all types of conditions, and they survive well even if you neglect them. They might not necessarily need to be fertilized, but we recommend doing it. Feeding your plant will help it grow healthy and encourage blooms. What fertilizer to use for your Jade Plant? We recommend using compost or fertilizer blends that are specially formulated for cacti and succulents.

Live Indoor Jade Succulent Plant, From Amazon

How to Plant Crassula Ovata

Planting Crassula ovata isn’t more complicated than it is with other succulents. They have the same typical needs, such as well-draining soil and lots of bright light.

If you plan to keep your Jade Plant indoors, plant it in a wide and sturdy pot that has moderate depth because Jade Plants tend to grow top-heavy and fall over. Remember to use soil that provides good drainage because these plants don’t like wet feet and are prone to fungal diseases like root rot.

Another essential thing to keep in mind when planting your Jade Plant is not to water it right away. After planting it in a pot, wait for a few days to a week before watering it to allow its roots to settle and recover from any damage.

When planting your Jade Plant, keep in mind the temperatures it thrives best it. Jade Plants prefer average summer temperatures, up to 75°F (24°C) and the lowest temperature it can survive is 50°F (10°C). So, if you live in an area with freezing temperatures during the cold season, it’s best to plant it in a pot and keep it indoors during the cold months.

Watering Jade Plant

Jade Plants have the same typical watering needs as most succulents. They don’t like wet feet, and they are resistant to drought. The best way to kill your Jade Plant is to overwater it.

How to make sure you are not overwatering your Jade Plant? It’s actually really simple.

There isn’t a set schedule for when to water your plant. The watering schedule can depend on several factors, including the climate you live in, the season, how much humidity, and the amount of light your plant gets. The best way to make sure that you are not overwatering your Jade Plant is to allow the top two inches of the soil to dry between waterings.

During the hot summer months, you’re probably going to water your Jade Plant as often as every 7 to 10 days. During the cold season, you should cut back on water because the plat typically goes dormant and it won’t need that much water. During the winter, water your Jade Plant even less often than in the spring and summer.

If you happen to overwater your Jade Plant, you can easily solve this situation on the spot. Pour off any excess water after a few minutes. Why leave it for a few minutes? Because this will allow your plant to take as much water as it needs and store it in its leaves, stems, and roots.

Propagating Jade Plant

Want more Jade Plants in your home? The good news is that these plants are really easy to propagate. Like most succulents, Jade Plants propagate via stem cuttings or single leaves. However, propagating your plant from leaves might be a more time-consuming process than propagating it from stem cuttings.

How to propagate a stem? Remove it from your mature Jade Plant and allow the cutting to dry in a warm place for a few hours or even a day. This will allow the cutting to heal and the warmth will encourage rooting.

Next, place the cutting in a well-draining potting mix and place the pot in a warm place with bright but indirect light. Do not water the new plant for a few weeks. After the plant seems to be firmly rooted, you can start watering it but gently so that you don’t disturb the roots too much.

You’re all done! As the new plant starts to grow, you can continue to care for it just like you do with your mature Jade Plant.

In Conclusion

Jade Plants make fantastic ornamental houseplants and gifts that can last a lifetime and can be passed from generation to generation.

Does your family grow Crassula ovata? Share your experience with us in the comments!