Plant records · Direct sun
Jade plant: the winter rest that most indoor growers skip
Crassula ovata is a South African succulent that grows on dry, sunny slopes, and it expects a seasonal rhythm: a wet, bright summer growing season and a dry, cool winter rest. Indoors it almost never gets the second half, and that is why so many jade plants are leggy, pale, and prone to collapsing.
Crassula ovata · Crassulaceae
| Botanical name | Crassula ovataCrassulaceae |
|---|---|
| Light | 2,000-8,000 lxDirect sun |
| Humidity | 30-45% |
| Watering | Every 17 days |
| Drainage | Gritty succulent mix: 40% cactus compost, 30% perlite, 30% coarse grit. It should be possible to water the pot and have it drain through in seconds. |
| Mature height | 100 cm |
| Growth rate | Slow: 5-15 cm per year. A plant bought at 15 cm takes eight to ten years to reach 60 cm, which is why large specimens are expensive. |
| Propagation | Leaf or stem cuttings. Lay a single leaf on dry gritty mix, do not water, and roots appear in two to three weeks. Let both leaves and stem cuttings callus for three days before they touch any moisture. |
| Pet safety | toxicMildly toxic to cats and dogs — vomiting and lethargy if a quantity of leaves is eaten. Not usually serious, but a determined chewer can eat enough to need a vet visit. |
presentationWhat you are seeing
- A stem or branch that suddenly drops off, leaving a clean scar, often on a plant that otherwise looks fine. The dropped branch may be heavy with leaves and appear healthy.
- Leaves that go pale and lose their red margin, with wide gaps between leaves along a thin, stretching stem.
- The whole plant softening at the base and toppling, or a root system that has visibly shrunk away from the pot wall.
aetiologyWhy it happens
- Branches dropping off is usually root or stem rot at the junction, caused by water sitting where the branch meets the trunk. This plant's stems are heavy and the junction is a natural place for moisture to collect, especially after overhead watering.
- Pale leaves and long gaps between them mean the plant is being pushed to grow for light. A jade at 500 lx in winter is stretching. It is also a sign of too much water in winter, which drives soft growth that cannot support itself.
- Whole-plant collapse from the base means the roots have been wet through a winter rest period. Crassula ovata roots are fine and are adapted to drying out completely between rain.
managementWhat to do
- Give it direct sun. A south or west windowsill with three to four hours of direct sun in summer, or outdoors in full sun from May to September once acclimated. This is not a plant for a shaded corner.
- Water thoroughly and then let the mix dry completely — every 17 days or so in summer for a 15 cm pot. In winter, cut back to every five to six weeks, and if the plant is somewhere cool (10-13 C), to once every eight weeks.
- Never water overhead. Water the mix at the rim of the pot and keep the trunk and branch junctions dry.
- If a branch drops, inspect the wound. If the tissue at the junction is brown and soft, cut back into clean green tissue, dust with sulphur, and keep the plant dry for two weeks.
- Move the plant outdoors in summer if you can. Jade plants that spend the summer outside in full sun are dramatically more compact, better coloured and more rot-resistant than plants kept indoors year-round.
The winter rest, explained properly
In habitat, Crassula ovata grows in summer rainfall areas of the Eastern Cape and receives almost no water in winter. The plant responds to winter rain by producing soft, weak growth at exactly the time it cannot photosynthesise enough to support it.
Indoors, a dry winter rest means: stop feeding from October to February, reduce watering to every five to six weeks, and keep the plant as cool as you reasonably can without frost — 10-13 C is ideal, and a cool porch or an unheated but frost-free room works.
The reward is visible in spring: a plant that has rested properly produces a dense flush of new leaves with red margins. A plant that has been watered and fed through winter produces long, pale, weak growth that flops.
- March-September: water every 14-21 days, feed monthly
- October-February: water every 5-6 weeks, no feed
- Ideal winter temperature: 10-13 C
- Never below 5 C — frost kills the plant outright
- Outdoors May-September in full sun: best growth of the year
Getting the red margin
The red edge that makes a jade plant look healthy is a stress pigment, anthocyanin. It appears when the plant receives strong light and a cool night, and it disappears under glass or in a warm, dim room.
You cannot feed a jade plant into colour. You can only give it more light. Plants that spend summer outdoors develop the strongest margins; indoor plants at a south window get a moderate version; a plant 3 m back from a north window stays plain green.
Choosing the pot
Jade plants are top-heavy and shallow-rooted. A wide, heavy, shallow pot is right; a tall narrow pot is wrong, because it holds a column of wet mix that the shallow roots never reach. A 1 m jade in a 30 cm pot is normal — the plant does not need a large volume of root space.
Terracotta is a good choice for this species because it wicks moisture out through the walls, which makes the crucial dry-out between waterings much easier to achieve.
Sheets that reference this plant
| Pale or white new growth | New growth coming through pale is either a light problem or a nutrient problem, and the two look nothing alike once you know the pattern. Etiolation… |
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Troubleshooting
My jade plant has never flowered. What does it need?
The leaves are covered in a white powdery film. Is that mildew?
Can I keep it in a north-facing room?
CaveatCare information only. Mildly toxic to pets if eaten — contact a veterinarian for suspected ingestion rather than relying on this page.
Published2026-09-28 ·