I awkwardly acquired a jade plant about a year and a half ago. Long story, that I won’t get into here. But the previous owner had done a fantastic job maintaining this plant. It was full and green and just wonderful to look at.
When transferring ownership of said plant, I was told that they are super easy to care fore and need little to no watering to survive. In my head a slight cheer goes off.
Cool. I can totally do this.
Before the doubts set in.
But didn’t Payal get you this gorgeous orchid 3 years ago that never flowered again? Oh well… that was an orchid and they say they are hard to care for. Yes, that’s right. Then Cindy got you one too…
Nevertheless I have had this jade plant for a while and then I noticed it. A lot of the leaves have shriveled from their previously plump appearance and now look like how your fingers look like if you’ve spent too long a time in the pool or bath, except I’m pretty sure that the cause is the reverse. I have under watered this jade plant. Is that even possible?
Instead I drag said plan home and put it on my bar as something to be “dealt” with later. Another month goes by… did I water you jade? I can’t remember! Here’s a splash of my Smartwater. If it’s really so smart it should perk you up.
Another month and this past Sunday. Oh noes, you look smaller than you were. I need to consult my plant expert friend Google, he always knows the answers to my problems. Google points me to Martha and I’m on my way.
1. Firstly it was still in this hideous purchased pot.
2. I would be replacing it with the slightly bigger and more lovely glass see through pot.
3. The pot needs drainage since the jade plant originates from Africa and behaves more like a cactus. It needs less water in general. So instead of drilling a hole in my glass vase I added about and inch and a half of pebbles to the base.
4. The next step is to remove the plant from the existing container. Super easy to do since my plant was so dry. Then brush off all the dried brown roots and excess dirt. Fresh roots will be a white color. I also did this in a garbage bag as to not make a mess and had on gloves.
5. Mix your soil. Ideally it should be a mix of 1 part peat moss, 1 part organic matter (compost) and 3 parts course sand. Here I messed up and had to remix the soil since I made it via layers instead of actually mixing them. Add 1 generous scoop of the soil mixture to the container and then a sprinkling of Omsocote, a time-release plant food.
7. Fill in the remaining area around the plant with the rest of your soil mixture.
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8. Finish by adding a little water to help the soil compress and get stable.
9. Jade plants do well in sunny conditions in a Southern window or in partially sunny areas, unlike where I had it previously. Dark corners of the house will not work.
Good luck.
