Jade plants are very easy to grow if you follow these simple rules.
1) Use a porous clay pot, with a hole in the bottom, and a saucer. Jade plants are easily killed if they are left in moist soil for many days. Using a clay pot will ensure that the soil will dry out quickly after watering. Sand and pebbles can be added to potting soil for jade plants to enhance drainage.
2) Do not water the plant if it is still moist from the last watering. If there is water left in the saucer 30 minutes after watering, pour that water out. Jade plants are killed easily from root rot in moist soil. The soil of a jade plant should be dry within a few days after watering.
3) Jade plants like plenty of water as long as you follow rule 2 above. If a plant is outside in the summertime, it can be watered every other day. In the wintertime, small waterings, each week is sufficient.
4) Jade plants like full sun, but the more sun they get the happier they will be. They can be shocked and killed after moving them from a dark room to a sunny porch in the middle of summer. As with all living things, try to make changes in environment incremental.
5) It isn't too hard to get a jade plant to flower, but there are some things that you have to do. In the summertime, once nighttime temps are consistently in the 50s, put the plant outside in a sunny spot. Water it a couple times each week if there is no rain, and give it plenty of fertilizer. It should grow many times faster outside than inside if it is happy. In the fall, bring the plant inside when night temperatures go below 45 degrees. There should be flower buds developing when you bring it inside. Large plants are more likely to flower as are plants that are somewhat rootbound.
6) Mealybugs are a big problem for some jade plants. The most effective treatment for mealybugs on a jade plant is 91% rubbing alcohol (isopropanol) out of a spray bottle. If I see any evidence of meally bugs, I cover the whole plant with alcohol from the spray bottle every other day for a week or two. The plants to do not mind and those mealy bugs that get drowned in isopropanol die. This usually takes care of the problem, but I have to do it every year after bringing the plants inside. Ethanol does not work in place of isopropanol in this application.
