Jade Plant

The jade plant is a popular succulent grown both outdoors and indoors. It is a hardy evergreen plant native of South Africa with smooth, rounded, fleshly leaves which grow in opposing pairs. The colour of the leaves are jade and new branches start off jade that develop into a brown colour as it ages, hence its name.

Jade plants are known to grow fast and over two metres in height. Attractive white flowers of this plant also grow in early spring, but jade plants may go years without growing flowers at all.

Some varieties are known to develop a red tinge on the edges of leaves when exposed to high levels of sunlight and when growing a jade plant over-watering can be told as the leaves will become yellow and start to rot. Jade plants should only be watered when the leaves start to develop a wrinkled texture where in winter it can mean only watering such a plant every two to three weeks.

Jade plants can also be grown from even a single leaf of another, with cuttings being able to be taken at any time of the year and should be put in sandy and well-drained soil.

As a bonsai, the jade plant makes a great plant to choose from for anyone, especially those who are beginners with bonsai. It can be either an indoor or outdoor bonsai. With being an indoor bonsai it is suggested that the bonsai should be by a window where it’ll get plenty of sunlight, but it isn’t needed to be done.

Jade plants themselves can be styled into any bonsai form, and notably are fantastic for full cascade style as horizontal branches tend to droop due to their own weight. Forest is another good bonsai style for this plant due to the small amount of water needed.

The jade plant itself is becoming popular in use for Feng Shui. The southeast of a home is the area for wealth and prosperity, which is where one would place a jade plant due to this plants symbolism of prosperity.