Jade plant is easy to root from stem cuttings or from stem pieces that have broken off, as well as from the leaves. Allow stem pieces to dry before inserting in rooting medium or succulent soil. With leaves, lay them on top of moist soil until they develop roots and grow plantlets.

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I grow my Jade plant outdoors all year round. I potted it with cactus soil and added a good amount of perlite to make sure it has good drainage. Typically it gets watered once a week during cool season. Can go longer, just have to feel the soil. But during winter, I just let Mother Nature water it. During summer time, it will appreciate stepped-up watering, maybe twice a week, especially if the weather is very dry and hot like ours. We do not get any rain in summer, so the plant is dependent on my watering during that time. Like most succulents, it can take the cold temps, but not the combination of wet and cold. If the plant is mature enough, it can easily recover when warmer weather returns. If your plant is still very young, best to keep it indoors during winter.

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Jade plant, a popular houseplant, is an evergreen succulent with thick branches and smooth rounded leaves that will attain red edges when grown in high light. New stem growth is green, turning to brown as the plant ages. The plant produces small pink or white blooms in early spring when grown well.

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Grow Jade tree (crassula ovata) in a bright location, and pot in standard houseplant soil. Keep the soil somewhat dry all year. Interestingly, more plants can be be easily obtained by propagating from leaf cuttings.

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Large, common shrub from South Africa with succulent stems and leaves, and abundant white or pinkish flowers in winter. Extremely common and durable in cultivation. Leaves develop attractive red marginal highlights in strong light, and this color may be generally viewed as a sign of sufficient light. Provide good drainage, though this particular succulent tends to be more tolerant than average of wet feet. An ideal beginner's succulent for a bright, mild location.

The jade does very well in containers and can be kept long term as a house plant, provided it receives a lot of light (it should see the sun for hours a day year round) and gets good air flow. Low light conditions promote stretched, weak, stemmy growth that will inevitably collapse under the weight of the succulence on top of it, given time. The only solution in this case is to remove the stretched growth and provide more light to the parts that remain. There are plenty of stretched plants in the photos above, as well as a few growing in the sun to compare.

Strong light is also very important for flowering (indoor plants will not flower if they don't get enough, outdoor plants in the shade may not flower), as is short day length.

Jades can be pruned radically and will come back from a nub, if they're in good shape to start with. These plants can be shaped in a variety of ways, including bonsai, and are incredibly easy to start from cuttings. Jade bonsais in small pots with extra chunky stems are usually started from wide-stemmed cuttings of plants previously growing in large pots or the ground. Limiting root space will result in less branching with very short internodes (leaves spaced very close along the stem) and shorter stems, especially so in small pots and in full sun.

As a landscape plant the common jade will grow to about 4-5 feet tall (sometimes more) and nearly as wide. It is incredibly drought tolerant--a zero irrigation plant in our climate with 4-10 inches of annual rainfall, none occurring in summer. It does not tolerate extreme heat, especially when it does not cool down at night, and it is also sensitive to frost.

A number of named varieties and cultivars of Crassula ovata exist in cultivation. Among the most common is the monstrose 'Gollum', with suction cup-like tips on its leaves. It may be confused with 'Hobbit' and 'Ogre Ears'. Other cultivars differ in their coloration (including variegation) and size.

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I don't do well with Jade Plants -- too little water, they drop their leaves; too much water, they drop their leaves. When I've had one, it's usually been bald.. On the other hand, Reynolda Gardens (in Winston-Salem NC) has a huge one in their greenhouse, easily 4 feet tall with a main trunk that's over 2 inches in diameter.

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Don't grow in soil, this mix is half turface MVP and half perlite. The grittier the better for this plant.

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