Nice looking jade

by Andrew S.
(Ithaca, NY)

The other day my friend gave me this little plant. She had gotten it from Lowe's (a hardware store that also sells plants) for about $.50.

I think it looks amazing, but I wasn't sure if I should move it to a bigger container, or if it would be fine in this one for now. This pot is about 4" across.


Drought Smart Plants reply;
Hi Andrew - your collection must be getting huge!

Your new Jade looks great! My only worry is that the greenhouses and nurseries that grow huge quantities of plants for box stores sometimes sacrifice quality for quantity.

The risk here is that you'll buy the plant right at its peak of health, and as you can't possibly know what conditions it was kept in, or emulate them even if you did know, it will soon go downhill.

The danger of a big healthy plant being left in that tiny pot is that it will topple over - as you may already know, I recommend using terracotta clay pots or other heavy containers, which prevent the plant from tipping.

I would certainly go ahead and repot it.

Use a potting mix with extra aggregate in it, or add your own pumice, crushed lava rock, scoria or other similar drainage material, or even medium sized gravel or sand - make sure there are no 'fines' in the sand, as this will clog the pores of the soil, leading to disaster.

Happy Succulent Growing!
Jacki


See also these pages for more;

Succulent Soil

Crassula

Crassula Bonsai