Splitting a Jade

by Andrew S.
(Ithaca, NY)

My friend recently gave me a little jade plant. It has 3-4 different stems and is about 4" or so tall, lots of leaves, and seems very crowded.

I wanted to split this plant up, keep some for myself, and give some to my mommie. What is the best way to do this? I am always nervous about the roots, I don't want to do any (or too much) damage, so I don't really know how to break them apart.


Drought Smart Plants reply:
As Jade (Crassula) are succulent and can create roots out of thin air on a single leaf, your fears of doing permanent damage are unfounded. These plants can survive, even without roots, so the small amount of damage that you'll do separating them is minimal.

There are two schools of thought about how to do the severing: First of all, determine if these are actually joined and not just a small clump of individual plants which can just be gently pulled apart.

If they actually are one root stock, you can (once some of the soil is removed) see where they join, and using a sharp knife or razor blade (a craft knife works well) that you can clean with alcohol to sterilize, slice between the stems, to give each a portion of roots.

The other system is to start the cut to direct it, then tear the root apart by hand, carefully. The thinking here is that this will tear between cells, leaving most of them intact (think small balloons here) instead of popping lots of them which will happen if you cut it with a knife.

I've never found that it makes a whole lot of difference in the survival of the cutting or divided plant - the next step is the most important - leave the cut parts to dry, overnight or even longer. Then pot them as usual into well drained, sterilized potting soil. There you go, more plants!

Have fun with your succulent collection!
Jacki