I have no success with crassula ovata

[milindsaraswala]

I bought crassula ovata twice but it die after 6-7 months. I want to know what I am doing wrong.

But in same condition in terms of tempreature and water my phothos thrive very well.

Now I am going to buy crassula ovata again but this I want thrive it, So please let me what i do to care for it. Hope some experience guys will help me

 

[Marck]

Greetings, welcome to the Forums.

Jade Plant (Crassula ovata) wil grow well with standard succulent care. Light can vary between full sun and bright shade.
Soil should have good drainage and be left to partly dry out before the next irrigation. If grown in a container or very sandy soil, an occasional application of a complete liquid fertilizer will help supply the plant with necessary nutrients. In colder climates the plant must be protected from frost.

I'm not certain what your care regiment was, but I would pay special attention to water and drainage. Overly wet soil kills more succulents than any other cause.

 

[milindsaraswala]

Thank you

 

[Hedgewitch]

Pothos like to be moist but succulents don't. Water it once it's dried out completely and then leave it for a day or two.

 

[cpp gardener]

Also, give it as much light as you possibly can. It does best with some direct sun during part of the day.

 

[Marck]

Jade Plant is quite shade tolerant. It is often grown in shady entrance ways to good effect.

 

[Low Altitude]

Jade Plant is quite shade tolerant. It is often grown in shady entrance ways to good effect.

Indeed.

Marck, Please cast your eye over this photo:

B and C were propagated from leaf 'cuttings' (drop-offs) from plant A
Y and 'early nursery' Z were propagated from leaf 'cuttings' (drop-offs) from plant X

A was one of about six bedraggled stems that I 'rescued' from a friend in 2019 and was lucky to revive; the other stems went back to the owner.
X was a healthy-looking plant that I bought a few weeks later. Clearly it is no longer healthy-looking. I am ashamed.

I don't know if it's clear from the photo, but the young plants – C, Z, Y – all have deep green leaves with good luster. The older plants – A, B, X – are much paler (etiolated?) and as you can see, have suffered from 'flop'. Here's X as it was in 2020 before I ruined it:

BUT I've experimented with watering intervals and I'm perplexed. After one piece of advice, I extended the interval so that the soil became bone dry (testing with a probe-style moisture meter) and stayed that way for 3 days. The plants tolerate that, but there's no evidence so far that it either stiffens the stems or addresses the etiolation.

Likewise, full-on sun on a south-facing windowsill doesn't help color or improve woodening of the stems. A, B, X all only get indirect light now. Which would suggest, given the etiolations and as intuition and basic horti knowledge would suggest, that they could use a bit more sunlight. Okay, but the more sunlight they get the shorter the watering interval has to be and is over-watering causeing the flop? Feels like a fine balancing act, but i have no idea what I'm doing. Aaaaaargh.....

Any idea what my problem(s) is/are? Temperature is pretty constant with these houseplants, I'm sure they care minimally about humidity, so that leaves light, water and food.

What am i doing wrong?

Thanks....!

 

[Marck]

Overall, your Jade Plants (Crassula ovata cvs.) look healthy. Stems that arch or flop are only a product of time, growth, and gravity. You can always take cuttings to start a new plant that will be more upright, at least at first.

Jade plants can be grown in any light from full sun to bright shade. More sun will bring out more red colors in the leaves and the plants will generally grow tighter, with relatively short internodes and smaller leaves.
Plants grown in shade will be greener with larger leaves and will have more of a tendency to 'flop' with time.

Important Note: If you are moving plants from less light to more light, do it gradually or during cool, overcast weather.
Even plants that can take full sun will scorch if moved suddenly, without time for natural sunscreens to build up in their leaves.

Of course, always supply Jade Plants with good drainage and allow soil to partly dry before the next irrigation.

 

[Low Altitude]

Marck,

Thanks – you manage to be both concise and comprehensive at the same time, again.

So now i have a plan: I'll move the paler guys into more sun, but do it gradually, thanks, great.

And since the old growth on the big guy X that's flopped won't un-flop and looks a bit sad, I should probably prune and make cuttings. I've had good success with leaves. Anything unexpected about doing stem cuttings?

Oh, and I remember what I meant to ask – I read somewhere online (can't find it now) that crassula ovata can benefit from magnesium in the feed, administered as modents amounts of Epsom salts in the water. I was skeptical, but what do I know? Any idea on that one?

 

[Marck]

Rooting stem cuttings for most succulents is straight forward. Give the cuttings care similar to that of a rooted plant:
bright light and moderate water with excellent drainage.

Magnesium is a plant nutrient. It will be included in a complete fertilizer along with all other necessary nutrients. I would go that route rather than giving only one nutrient by itself.

 

[Low Altitude]

Will do on both counts, thanks.

As an example for the stem cuttings, I'd maybe cut at the length of the arrow in the pic below, remove that single leaf closest to the cut, and bury the stem leaving an inch or so above the soil at to the first node with two leaves. Or would you remove more leaves and plant deeper?

 

[Marck]

As you suggest sounds fine. Succulent cuttings will work well in many different sizes and shapes.

 

[Nasir]

Crassula Ovata (Lucky Plant) Care Guide​

A Beginner's Guide on Growing Crassula ovata (Jade Plant) in a Pot

Crassula Ovata (Lucky Plant) Care Guide - Brainy Gardener

Everything you need to know about the Jade Plant (Crassula ovata), including its care requirements, ideal growing environment, and how to propagate it.

brainygardener.com