Most succulent plants need suitable soil, fitting climate (within the limits of their adaptability), and a fitting pot. Like many succulent varieties, one can easily over-water jade plants, especially when they have little experience with succulent growing. And that’s what basically explains a short answer to the question.
Jade plants do need pots or containers with drainage holes. The drainage system keeps them safe from over-watering. What’s more, it helps with aeration in soil, which is again important for a healthy growth of a Jade Plant.
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Drainage hole is not the only thing your Jade Plant needs
Aside from pots or drainage holes, jade plants need just the right soil. Perfect soil for jade plants has a great mixture of coarse components such as ground bark and pumice. These ingredients help increase aeration thus keep the plant safe from rotting (as a result of excessive moisture in the soil).
The best thing about jade plants is that they can grow with minimal or almost no care. As long as they get their needs, they are good to go. If you want to grow jade plants on almost autopilot, I suggest that you add a few pebbles in the bottom of the soil. In addition, make sure that you give them the right soil.
Related Article: Jade Plant Drooping: Here’s What to Do
Terracotta pots are fantastic for jade plants
To achieve the very best results with your plants, you should put the perfect soil into a perfect pot. One of the best pots you can try for your jade plants is the old terra cotta. The reason why I recommend this material is that these pots are porous and provide a fast drying process for the jade plants. These pots are safer for the plants than plastic or ceramic pots. You can also check my favorite terracotta pot on Amazon.
If you are living in a humid area, however, where the rainy season lasts longer than you like, then using the orchid pot is a good idea. Orchid pots are perfect because they have a lot of openings that provide a better draining system for the plant, even better than the terracotta pots.
Another thing that you should consider is the size of the pot or container. Smaller plants, of course, may only need smaller pots or containers. Let them grow in such a small environment until they are big enough to re-pot.
How to tell if a Jade plant needs water?
When your jade plant starts losing leaves or develops spots on the leaves, it is a clear sign that you aren’t watering it enough.
When this happens, you know that the jade plant needs water. a secondary indication is a really dry soil. Not only on the surface though. You enter a finger in it and see it is really dry even few centimeters below the surface. That’s a clear sign it needs watering.
How to tell if a Jade plants has root rot?
Jade plants, like other succulent varieties, have sac-like structures that serve as a water reservoir. These microscopic structures make the plant drought-resistant. However, the same feature makes jade plants vulnerable to over-watering. Because water is already stored in the plant’s system, giving the plant too much water will cause rotting.
But how do you know that the jade plant has already developed root rot? All succulents have similar over-watering symptoms. The common sign is the development of white spots on the leaves. This problem usually occurs during cold seasons such as winter or cloudy weather. If you are living in humid areas, it is important to take the amount of water you are giving to your jade plant into consideration. Too much water will cause rotting something that you don’t want to happen.
When should you move a jade plant to a larger pot?
As jade plants grow bigger and bigger, you cannot keep them in small pots. The roots and stems can become bigger over time. In this case, you can transfer the plant to the larger pot.
But the best time to move the jade plant to a larger pot is when its root system is too large for the pot. In a technical term, this is called root-bound. When the jade plant reaches this point, you can re-pot it. After doing that, the plant should grow faster and healthier in the larger pot.
In some cases, though, jade plants can manage to further grow in a small pot. People have different opinions on this matter. It means that you can implement your strategies here. As long as how you don’t kill the plants, you’ll be okay.
Repotting a large jade plant
Sometimes the jade plant grows too large. We neglected repotting it, and now it seems it is almost too late already. What can you do in this case? I suggest you to cut down some branches to light the weight of the plant. Cut out the bigger branches. Then, you can replant the jade plant in the bigger pot.
The branches you just cut from the main plant can also be planted and fill new pots with them. But before planting, it is a good practice to dry the cuttings for a day or two. This process allows you to grow more plants without actually buying from the nursery.
Final thoughts
Jade plants are much like other succulent varieties – they need drainage. These plants grow well in pots with drainage holes. Drainage holes are helpful in allowing the excess water to exit from the pot. The excess water if not drained well will cause root rotting of the plants.
That said, it is very important to bear in mind that success in growing jade plants depends on choosing the perfect soil mix, pots, and watering techniques. I hope that this post helps you in growing your jade plants successfully. For more information like this, you can read my ultimate guide on How to Grow Succulents. Thank you!
