Potting Jade Cuttings

This summer I had the opportunity to visit California for a few days. The last time I was there I was a pre-teen who didn’t care about plants. Returning as a gardening addict, sometimes adult, I was completely floored by a lot of things about California, most of them plant related. In particular I couldn't believe the succulents growing in my aunt’s garden. I’m accustomed to seeing Jade plants of various sizes, but I’ve never seen them in person growing as shrubs before. Knowing succulent plants were easy to propagate from cuttings, I brought back a few cuttings with me from one of the shrubs. Unfortunately, I forgot about them once I arrived back home until just the other day when I found the Jade cuttings in a bag.

When you’re propagating succulents you have to make sure you allow the cut end to dry for a few days and callous over before potting them up. If you don’t let the cuts dry you may end up with rotted stems or leaves. No problems here as these cuttings were from August and it is now December.

With little to no help from propagators succulent plants will sent out new roots in search of soil and moisture. Here you see the roots growing on a piece of one of the cuttings. The root development is pretty good; too bad they’re forming on a branch and not at the base of the stem.

Although one of the cuttings has about three roots emerging from the cut end that I wanted them to root from. The roots are tiny and I had to make sure I didn’t damage them in the potting process of potting them up.

Jade Plant Soil. 

The soil you use to pot your cuttings is very important. Houseplant potting mixes and even commercial cacti and succulent potting soil mixes contain too much organic matter. Succulents need a coarse, fast draining soil. If you are using a bagged soil available commercial you want to cut it with coarse sand or a bonsai soil mix.

Jade Plant Pot.

The stems, or trunks, are pretty thick, tall and top heavy. I chose small terracotta pots a couple of inches wider than the stems are thick. Terracotta because it absorbs excess water and breathes and is heavier than plastic. Plastic pots work fine for succulents, but they’re too light for heavy plants and cuttings like these Jades. Anything larger is just a waste of space and potting soil at this point. Until the Jade plants start growing roots they will not be taking advantage of the moisture in the soil. 

Potting the Cutting.

To pot the Jade cuttings up all you have to do is set them in the soil, provide warmth, sunlight and water. Keep the cuttings out of direct sunlight until they are actively growing roots. You’ll see the stems and leaves start to plump when this happens. The cuttings have to be set in a spot where they will not be bothered by people touching or knocking them over. If you move a cutting around while it is developing roots you’re liable to break the roots you’re trying to grow.

Have you ever noticed how newly planted trees are tied to stakes around them? This is done for stability, allowing the tree to form roots that will anchor it into the soil. The same thing applies here. You can stabilize your cutting using some chopsticks and string. I like to use rubber bands to hold them in place like so to keep them from falling over.

Once you've placed your cutting in a good location and anchored it give it a good drink of water. I’ll water my Jade cuttings about once a week, keeping the soil lightly moist without it getting soggy.

Here are the three Jades plant cuttings all potted up.

Notice how the leaves of these cuttings all are pointing in one direction? That's because they were laying flat inside a bag and were reaching up towards the light. I'll have to place them with the bare side facing the window to get them to straighten out.

The best time to propagate Jade plants in the spring when they are actively growing. Had I just taken a minute to insert my cuttings in soil when I came home in August I would have a trio of little trees to show you. Since they bloom around this time of year in my area I might have had some nice blooms to share.

Jades grow like weeds with minimal care and root very easily. You can even propagate a Jade tree from a single leaf  like with Echeverias.  The biggest obstacle you’ll encounter growing Jades is giving it more water than it needs and not enough light. Shriveled leaves and stems are signs of a plant that needs a drink of water. Mushy leaves and stems on a Jade mean the plant is rotting. Jades that don’t get enough sun often have a sickly color to the leaves, along with spindly stems and wide leaves. A Jade getting enough sun should have shiny green leaves that are small to medium sized depending on the variety.