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| The Jade Plant |
Jade plant care indoors, outside and in winter | Jade plant leaves falling off, droopy leaves
Cut a stem from a healthy jade plant. The cutting must be thin, at least two three inches long. Remove the lower leaves from the stem, keeping only two leaves. The smaller cuttings are easier to root, but the plant takes longer to grow big. However, you can start with larger cuttings without any difficulty, if you take proper care for planting, soil type and watering.
The first important point for success is to leave the stem cuttings and leaves in shade for a couple of days to allow to form callus at the cut points to prevent rotting.
Soil For Jade Plant Propagation
The soil for jade plant propagation should be free-draining. Mix potting mix, cow manure or compost (how to make compost at home) and river sand in equal amount. The cow manure will make the soil fertile, while the sand makes the soil porous.Growing Jade Plant From a Single Leaf
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| Jade Plant Propagation From Single Leaf |
Take a small pot having many drainage holes at its bottom and fill it with the soil and water very lightly to make it moist.
Make a small hole in the soil and put the leaf in it and press soil around. Keep the pot in a warm place in shade. Do not water for next ten days.
The new growth will emerge in a few weeks. After the plant is rooted, water only when the soil becomes dry.
Growing Jade Plant From Stem Cuttings in Soil
Cut a small 2-3 inch stem from a healthy jade plant and remove all of its leaves except 2 leaves. Leave the cutting in a warm place for a couple days to form a callous around the cut end. This will save the cutting from rotting when planted in soil.Take a medium size pot having many drainage holes at its bottom and fill it with the soil mixture and moist the soil. Make a hole in the soil and put the cutting in it and press the soil around. Keep the pot in a warm shade. Do not water for next ten days. The new growth will emerge in a few weeks. New growth will begin in a few weeks, then water every two weeks or when the soil becomes dry.
Growing Jade Plant From Cuttings in Water
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| Jade Plant Propagation From Stem in Water |
Take a narrow mouth bottle, fill it half with water and insert the cutting in the bottle and place in shade.
Change the water every three to four days until roots are grown. Change the water every two weeks after the new growth.
Now which is it better way to propagate a jade plant in water or soil? The jade plant stem cuttings is prone to rot in water. It is better to propagate jade cutting in soil than in water.
How To Care For Jade Plant
The jade plants can live up to 100 years outdoors and for many decades indoors, if you care it properly. Following are the basic instructions on how to care for jade plant.To Branch Out Jade Plant
Pinch the tips of the growing branches back to the leaf node of the jade plant to encourage it to form new branches.Where To Plant : Sunlight Requirements
- Jade plant flourishes in full sun, at least 4-5 hours of sun daily.
- As a house plant, place the plant indoors in a south facing spot. If they do not have full sun, they may become leggy or dull colour. In your home, place your jade plant in a bright location.
- Jade plants kept as houseplants should be moved outdoors in sun during summer.
- If your jade plant gets good sunlight, the tips of the leaves will turn into beautifully red colour, but its stem will grow thick, becoming woody.
Temperature
The ideal temperature for a jade plant is 15.5° - 24° (60°- 75°F). The plant can tolerate low temperatures of winter to 10°C (50°F).The Pot Size
The roots of the jade plant like to be crowded, so keep your plant in a small pot, no need to transfer it to the larger pot quite often. However, while selecting the pot for your jade plant, keep in mind that as your plant matures, its top becomes heavy. So choose a heavy pot so that it does not fall down otherwise due to light base and heavy top.Jade Plant Soil
A free draining nutrition rich soil is needed for growing a jade plant. if the soil is water retaining, then the roots can rot and plant can be killed. To make the soil free-draining, mix coarse river sand in the garden soil. Mix lots of compost or cow manure to make the soil nutrient rich. You can also add a general purpose fertilizer. You can buy cacti and succulents soil from the garden shop.Watering Jade Plant
How much water a jade plant requires?
As jade plant is a succulent plant, it stores water in its leaves. The plant does not need much water and excessive water will cause the root rot and death of the plant. When watering your jade plant, ensure that the soil is dry to touch. Also see that the saucer underneath the pot is always empty. The jade plant leaves may drop prematurely if the soil is too wet or too dry. Lack of sunlight or insufficient nitrogen in the soil can also drop leaves.Indoor jade plant may suffer due to air-conditioning, water misting may be useful.
Jade Plant Flowers
The matured jade plants produce white or pink flowers under right conditions in winter. Often the jade plant fails to flower. A few hours of sun during the day and complete darkness during the night from the end of summer may produce flowers. A regular liquid fertilizer in summer may help.The Best Place to keep jade Plant in Home and Office
- There is a belief that the Jade plant brings wealth and good luck if placed in home, so this plant is considered to be a good housewarming gift.
- In China, green jade is considered good to attract both wealth and harmony.
- According to Feng Shui, place the Jade plant indoors in the south east direction of your living room or drawing room for wealth luck.
- At home, place the Jade plant in the east direction for good health and harmony. Place it in west direction to promote creativity and children's luck.
- In office, place the Jade plant in the east direction for thriving business.
- Keeping it either in the southeast corner of the room or your desk is highly favourable and auspicious.