If you are a busy person, yet you want to make your home look fabulous, try displaying a jade plant.
It will help you incorporate a natural element into space without the hassle.
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Jade Plant: Overview
The jade plant, Crassula ovata, is native to South Africa and Mozambique. Some people call it the money tree or lucky plant.
This plant is eminently popular among avid gardeners because it requires low maintenance, is not fussy, and can grow in most indoor conditions.
The money tree can even survive in poor sandy soil. Importantly, this variety much time to water it every day.
Despite the minimal care, it can thrive for decades.
Jade plants can grow in zones 10 and 11, meaning they are quite hardy. Surprisingly, they can put up with lower temperatures of 45 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter.
Jade Plant Care
The most important thing to determine the jade plant’s success is the soil.
Jade plant soil has to be loose and rocky because it can provide good drainage. If it does not drain well, it can trap excess moisture, which may rot out the entire plant.
If you want to grow jade plants, make sure you are using a potting mix soil for succulents and cactus because it contains a special formula.
An all-purpose potting soil will not work well with this plant. In fact, it will not make your succulent thrive.
When it comes to growing jade plants, make sure the soil is slightly acidic, which is around pH 6.0. Slightly alkaline soil will work like a charm.
Like many other succulents, jade plants will not thrive if they sit in constantly moist soil. Therefore, you should be careful about watering them.
For growing indoors, you can try to water the plant once every 2 or 3 weeks. Do not worry! This succulent is drought tolerant.
The jade plants require full sun to thrive. Otherwise, they will become leggy and stunted.
Since this succulent loves full sun, it can do well in daytime temperatures, which are around 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
Jade plants are not heavy feeders. Therefore, you can fertilize them once every six months.
Always use a balanced water-soluble fertilizer. Do not fertilize the succulents if the soil is completely dry because it can damage their roots.
Jade Plant Types
Jade plants have a wide array of varieties. They are all unique and exquisite. Check out their popular species on the following list.
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Crassula Ovata Hobbit
Crassula ovata Hobbit, also known as the bonsai jade plant, is famous for its small size, which is perfect for adorning your console table or side table.
It features red tips on its fleshy green leaves. In early winter, you can see pink-white flowers emerging from the plant.
This jade plant variety can grow not larger than 12 inches. It means you can display this succulent in a container to suit the interior design.
You can explore your imagination and creativity by mixing it with other succulents in a bowl.
If you want to make it look bolder, try planting it on its own in a container.
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Crassula Arborescens
Crassula arborescence, also known as the Silver Dollar Jade or the Blue Buddha Bush, has silvery-blue leaves with burgundy edges.
The Silver Dollar is a type of slow-growing succulent shrub. It bears flowers from its tips during autumn and winter, and they are long-lasting.
You can control the growth of Silver Dollar Jade by growing it in a container. Still, you do not need to worry about that because this variety can only grow up to 23 inches.
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Crassula Argentea Gollum
If you are looking for a unique and beautiful variety that will make an excellent accessory for your desk, Lady Fingers will be your safe bet.
Crassula Agentea Gollum, also known as Lady Fingers, features glossy green foliage protruding from the stems.
It is cylindrical and looks like fingers, hence the name.
The tips of each leaf are red. During autumn and winter, they bloom pinkish-white flowers.
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Crassula Arborescens Blue Bird Variegata
Just like many other jade plant varieties, the Crassula Arborescens Blue Bird Variegata is a kind of slow-growing shrub.
Therefore, it can make a great houseplant.
However, you might find this variety is a bit different due to the leaf coloration. The leaves come in a mixture of green, cream, aqua, and red, which makes them pretty.
Blue Bird Money Plant can grow up to 20 inches. Still, you can control its growth through containerization.
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Crassula Ovata
The Crassula Ovata becomes the most common variety. It also known as the friendship plant, the money tree, and the Lucky Jade.
While many varieties are slow growers, the Crassula ovata can grow quickly. It is even the fastest-growing type and extremely hardy.
Unlike many jade plant varieties, the Crassula ovata can grow up to 2 meters. Therefore, people usually plant it near coastal areas.
They also grow it as a divider or display in the garden because it bears beautiful pinkish-white flowers emerging from the tips during winter.
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Crassula Arborescens Undulatifolia
The Crassula Arborescens Undulatifolia or the Ripple Jade Plant came to the market in 1974.
They usually use it for decorative purposes due to the exquisite ripple blue-green leaves.
Although it can reach 4 feet tall, you can still use it as a houseplant. When grown indoors, it will look like a bonsai with standout waxy leaves.
Another good thing about this variety is it is easy to propagate. Just start cutting the stems. Then, let them dry for 24 or 48 hours before planting.
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Crassula Ovata Botany Bay
The Botany Bay variety is rather new because it came to the market in 2011. This type can grow up to 40 inches over five years if planted in ideal environments.
Even though this plant can grow quite big, it can still make a pretty good houseplant. You can even control its bushy shape and growth by confining it in a container.
During dry conditions, especially winter, the foliage will develop a red blush, which makes it look beautiful.
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Crassula Ovata Hummel’s Sunset
The Hummel’s Sunset is one of the most popular Jade plant types due to its striking foliage.
Also, the Royal Horticultural Society even awarded it as the prestigious Garden Merit in 1993.
This variety features a thick bonsai-styled trunk. The foliage is exceptionally beautiful as it grows from green to red and gold.
When winter comes, it will become more beautiful.
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Crassula Ovata Harbour Lights
Unlike many other jade plant varieties that usually bear green foliage, the Harbor Lights features conspicuously red leaves.
They are even smaller than the Crassula Ovata.
During winter, the Harbor Lights will be extremely red. You will find pinkish-white flowers during autumn ad early winters, which perfect the look of this variety.
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Crassula Ovata Little Jade Tree
As the name suggests, the Crassula Ovata Little Jade Tree tends to be young and small.
Jan Morgan, an avid gardener from the Glenfield Wholesale Nursery Picton site, found this jade plant variety by chance and introduced it to the market in 2015.
This variety is compact and small. It can only reach 15 inches, so it is great for a houseplant.
Besides, people use it as a party favor or a wedding gift. They grow it in small dish gardens as well sometimes.
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Crassula Ovata Pink
Are you looking for a jade plant type that bears a lot of beautiful flowers? Do not worry! The Crassula Ovata Pink is for you.
This variety gets its name due to the bushy exterior and some beautiful flowers blooming every year.
When it is in dry conditions, the leaves will develop a red blush too. This plant can grow as large as 40 inches in approximately five years.
In early winter and late autumn, it will show so many small pink flowers emerging on the tips that they fill the exterior of this plant.
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Portulacaria Afra Aurea
The Afra Aurea changes its colors throughout its growth. People also called the Yellow Elephant’s Food or the Yellow Rainbow Bush.
Its age and the amount of water it gets to affect the shades. The use of fertilizer also plays an essential role in forming the hues.
This variety can grow well in light shade and full sunlight. Unlike many types, it hardly shows whitish-pink flowers.
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Crassula Ovata Minima
People also call it the Miniature Jade or the Baby Jade. However, this plant differs from the Little Jade Tree.
The tips usually huddle together or even branch out and create a bushy look in your small container.
Due to its tiny size, it can make a great centerpiece for a tabletop or a party favor.
Being a drought-tolerant succulent, jade plant is not fussy at all. You do not have to water it frequently, which is perfect for those who do not have much time for gardening.