The jade plants produce some of the most beautiful flowers you have ever seen but they are quite difficult to get to bloom. They require adequate moisture, bright days, and cooler nights to grow buds and form flowers.
This article will try to explain the perfect way of growing jade plants to ensure their beautiful blossoms. Let us dive into this together.
1. Provide Adequate Sunlight
Jade plants love sunlight and need it to bloom. But the sunlight should be in the appropriate amount. They might need around six hours of sunlight each day, however, intense sunlight might harm them by burning their leaves. Some of them grow well in partial shade.
Inadequate sunlight might stunt their growth or cause the plant to grow thin, and the leaves might discolor, curl, and/or drop. In contrast, scorching sunlight might form brown spots in the leaves.
How To Fix:
During hot and dry climatic conditions, you can place the jade plant in indirect sunlight and make sure you adjust the position of the pot as the plant requires more than four hours of sunlight.
In the winter, try to find warm places like your patio which can ensure some degree of sunlight to your jade plant.
2. Appropriate Temperature
The optimum temperature for jade plants is around 18°C to 24°C. However, they need much cooler temperatures at night, around 10°C, as night temperature is critical for their growth and flowering.
Although they grow well in cooler temperatures, they might not thrive well in winter conditions.
How To Fix:
Jade plants might get frostbite in the winter. Therefore you need to trim off the frostbiten areas with a clean and sharp object. If you have a jade plant indoors, you might want to face the pot towards the south. This will ensure that the plant will get adequate sunlight.
If the temperature is high, the plant might get dry and sometimes get rotten. In such intense temperatures, try to provide artificial shade to your jade.
3. Fertilize Regularly
You need to use fertilizers at least once a year during the growing season of jade, ideally between spring to fall. The appropriate proportion of fertilizers is essential for the jade plant to grow and bloom. Make sure you water the jade plant after fertilization.
How To Fix:
Jade plants need the right proportion of water-soluble nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium, in a ratio of 10-10-10. Make sure to follow the instructions written on the bags of the fertilizers. You should not use fertilizers with high nitrogen content.
You can also choose organic fertilizers instead of the inorganic ones. Organic fertilizers like worm casting, decayed organic materials, or compost will aid in the growth and flowering of the jade plants and also increase soil health as they contain useful microbes and bacteria.
As jade plants can store water in their leaves they do not require regular water supply. You can water them infrequently and be certain not to overwater or underwater them. You can water the jade plant once a week or once every two weeks.
If you overwater the jade plant, blister-like structures are formed on the leaves. Thus, it will be easier for you when to watch the frequency and amount of water you add to the plant.
How To Fix:
If you have a jade plant planted in a pot and placed on your patio or balcony, you need to be careful during the rainy season as the rain might accumulate in the pot and increase the risk of your plant rotting.
In addition, the hot and dry period requires more watering as the rate of evapotranspiration is high in the jade plant and more moisture is lost. In contrast, comparatively lesser watering is required. Let the soil dry before watering again.
Jade plants cannot grow in water-logged soil. So, you ensure there is a proper hole near or at the bottom of the pot for draining the accumulated water from the water. The waterlogged in the pot will rot the roots of the jade plant ultimately killing the plant.
How To Fix:
Always buy pots with drainage holes and check the holes from time to time to see if there is any blockage on them.
You can also keep a saucer plate beneath the pot which will collect the drained water, but make sure you remove that water frequently, which will otherwise cause some implications in the roots.
6. Humidity
Jade plant grows in dry places outdoors. So, they are not a fan of humidity. However, they can thrive in an environment with humidity below 60% but higher humidity increases the spread of fungal diseases in jade plants.
How To Fix:
If it is too hot and dry you might use a humidifier or spray the plant with water. This will help to clean dust from the plant's leaves as well. If it is too humid you can use a dehumidifier or place the plant near the heater.
You can just place the plant near the window or open the doorway if you live in a dry region. This way, your jade plant will get the required dry air.
7. Prune The Dead Parts
Pruning is crucial to ensure the regrowth of the jade plant. When the dead parts of the jade plant are not removed, the plant will spend a considerable amount of energy on their maintenance. Therefore, you need to prune those parts so that the plant can redirect its energy into producing new buds and flowers.
How To Fix:
You can use clean and sharp pruners to remove dead and dying parts of the jade plant. Make sure that the object is sterile and rust-free to prevent infections at the parts that are cut down.
You should not use these parts as compost or mulch. You need to get rid of such parts immediately as these dead parts are where pests and diseases thrive. Getting rid of them reduces the risk of their spreading.
8. Repot When Needed
Although jade does not require repotting that often, you need to consider it if the root bounding condition arises. When the pot is small, the roots will be too large for the pot, and tight roots intertwined with each other will harm the jade plant causing stunt growth in the plant.
Jade plant grows in well-drained soil, however, the excessive growth of roots in a small pot will compact the soil. In addition, the increase in the size of the roots in a small pot might cause the plant to slip off from the pot.
How To Fix:
You can repot your jade plant once every three or four years, and the best time for repotting might be in the spring or early summer. You need to select a pot that is neither too big nor too small. Make sure your pot has a drainage hole in it.
You need to trim or shake off the excess root materials and repot the plant in well-drained soil. Avoid repotting frequently as this might harm their growth and blooming. Only repot when your jade plant is not blooming in several years.
9. Check For The Pest And Diseases
Healthy jade plants often produce flowers. If the plant fails to bloom, one of the reasons might be because of diseases or pests. Therefore, you need to check for the presence of pests and the early symptoms of various diseases.
Some of the most common pests of jade plants are mealybugs, aphids, spider mites, etc. These pests affect the plant's growth and their flowering. Additionally, jade might suffer from fungal infection, bacterial rotting, etc. Thus, closely look for such pests and the signs of diseases.
How To Fix:
You can get rid of most of the pests with homemade remedies like soap water or neem oil. This will repel such pests for some time. Likewise, if there are signs of fungal infection, you can cut off the infected parts or use fungicides.
10. Good Air Circulation
Like most plants, jade plants also need proper air circulation for growing and maintaining their health. A good circulation of air maintains the health of the plant and makes it strong and resilient, consequently aiding the plant to blossom.
If the air gets stagnant around the jade plant for a long time, it will harbor pests and bacteria. The plant will suffer from diseases like fungal infection. Ensuring good air circulation makes the plant unattractive for pests and bacteria and helps to keep the plant dry and disease-free.
How To Fix:
You can cut the foliage of the jade plant if there is a situation of crowding as crowding prevents the air from effectively penetrating and reaching the trunk and interior branches. Placing the pot near the window can also provide them with the airflow that they need.
Likewise, using a fan to circulate air around the plant might be a decent idea.
11. Quality of Soil
Jade plants are succulent and can hold water in the leaves, so they do not prefer soil that is moist most of the time. They flourish in well-drained soil which consists of soil, sand, and perlite.
When growing jade plants, you need to use soil that does not retain water and can easily drain out of the drainage hole. Soil that holds moisture for a long time can cause rotting, molding, and other diseases in the plants.
How To Fix:
You can mix potting soil with coarse sand or perlite and pumice in a 2:1:1 ratio. This will drain the soil easily and prevent the accumulation of water in the soil reducing the risk of rotting of roots and molds.
12. Consider pH
Jade plants favor slightly acidic soil and the optimum pH for their growth would be around 6 to 6.5. A higher pH level than this would not create an ideal environment for their growth. The alkaline condition will disrupt the nutrient absorption capability of jade plants and might stunt growth in them.
Use a pH meter to check and monitor the pH level in the pot.
How To Fix:
You to check the label of the succulent to know its acidity. If the mix is acid, adding a small amount of lime into the soil might increase the pH, consequently making it alkaline. In contrast, adding sulfur to the pot lowers the pH level of the soil making it acidic.
Placing peat moss can also increase the acidity of the soil, however, it has a high water retention capacity which is not good for your jade plant as it grows in well-drained soil.
Jade plants are one of the most common plants in our household and belong to the family Crassulaceae. There are more than 300 species of jade plants under this family and half of them are native to South Africa. They grow in warmer climates and are sometimes called friendship plants or silver dollar plants.
They have a cultural significance, especially in Eastern culture, and are believed to bring prosperity and good luck in people's lives. They also act as a natural air purifier to remove toxins, volatile organic compounds, and other pollutants from the air. This makes them really good indoor plants.
Flowers: The Jade plants produce star-shaped flowers that are white or pink. The flower emits a sweet fragrance that is attractive to bees, butterflies, and different other insects. Adequate sunlight, fertilizers, and water in a good proportion will encourage its blooming.
Growth Habit: Jade plants grow in dry soil. They are a slow grower, with approximate growth of one or two inches each year. It is easy to propagate jade them too. They can be propagated by clipping or with their stray leaves.
Leaves: The leaves are oval, egg-shaped, rounded, and smooth and grow in a pair. Each pair of leaves lies at the right angle to the next pair. The leaves are green in color and are fleshy. Intense sunlight will burn these leaves and consequently fall them. Frost and cold weather can also damage them.
Stem: Although the mature stem of the jade plant is brown in color and woody, the young stem is green and succulent, just like their leaves.
Roots: The roots of jade plants are short and shallow and are spread out instead of going deeper into the soil. So, smaller flower pots can easily accommodate them. Having a larger pot might cause overwatering them and are susceptible to rotting from it.
When Does Jade Flower Bloom?
Different species of jade plants might look a little bit different from each other in size and structure and might bloom at different times. Here, we will be looking into some of the most common types of jade plants in our households and their blooming period. Let us discuss this in brief.
Common Jade Plant (Crassula ovata)
This is the most common jade that you see in your neighborhood. They have green and oval leaves just like a coin and this might be the reason why they are called coin plants or money plants.
They can grow in full or partial sunlight and usually bloom from late winter to early spring where they produce small star-shaped white or light pink colored flowers.
Gollum jade is a type of Crassula ovata but is significantly shorter than the common jade plant. Gollum Jade can be identified by its tubular leaves which have circular tips with a reddish color tint.
Like common jade, gollum jade also grows in full to partial sun and blooms between late winter to spring producing white or light pink colored flowers.
Hobbit Jade (Crassula ovata 'Hobbit')
Hobbit jade is almost similar to gollum jade and is of similar height. However, the key to differentiating them is through their leaves.
Gollum jade has tubular leaves, while the leaves of hobbit jade are spoon-shaped. Hobbit jade blooms in late winter or early spring and produces a cluster of pale pink or winter flowers.
Crassula red coral jade plants are very bright like corals and are usually red and yellow. They too bloom between late winter and early spring producing white-colored flowers with fragrance.
Silver Dollar Jade (Crassula arborescens)
The leaves of a silver dollar jade are round with blue or gray color and look like a silver coin. The color of leaves might change when the intensity of sunlight is altered and might produce red color edges in bright sunlight.
Silver dollar jade blooms between late winter and early spring producing a cluster of red or orange-colored flowers.
Propeller Plant (Crassula perfoliata var. falcata)
The propeller plant is another species of the family Crassulaceae. This plant has slightly gray leaves and blooms in the summer, between June to August, and produces bright red or orange colored flowers. Although their flowers emerge slowly, the bloom lasts for around a month or more.
Miniature Pine Tree (Crassula tetragona)
Miniature pine trees have needle-like leaves like that of pine trees and are the most sought-after type of jade because of their unique foliage and structure. This plant blooms between late winter and early spring and produces a dense cluster of star-shaped flowers which are creamy white.
Watch chain plant has tightly packed leaves near the stem resembling a chain. They bloom in between late spring and early summer and produce tiny star-shaped yellow flowers.
Swamp Stonecrop (Crassula helmsii)
Swamp stonecrop is a semi-terrestrial or aquatic plant that has become an invasive species in some parts of the world. It has small, round leaves that grow in a whorl around the stem. Swamp stonecrops often bloom in summer and produce white flowers.
Variegated Trailing Jade (Crassula sarmentosa)
Variegated trailing jade shows cascading growth, so it is often planted in a hanging pot. This plant blooms between late spring and early summer with yellow or light pink flowers.
Baby’s Necklace Jade (Crassula rupestris var. marnieriana)
Baby's necklace jade grows upright, with leaves stacked on its stem. They are green in color, however, they can be reddish or purplish during the sunlight. This plant blooms in between late summer and early fall with clusters of yellow or light pink flowers.
Fairy jade (Crassula multicava)
The mature fairy jade plant has a woody stem with oval or spoon-like leaves. This plant usually blooms from late spring to early summer and produces tiny pink buds that will grow into white flowers.
