Big strong jade again

by Andrew S.
(West Henrietta, NY)

This is my Jade plant that I've previously asked for advice about. I chopped off a lot of leaves, re-planted them (which are all growing in their own little containers).

I think it's looking great but considering it's size I think I should probably replant it. It is currently about 16 inches tall (40cm) and it is only in a 4in. pot. I wasn't sure if maybe the pot was restricting it from growing more, or what.

Wow, that guy put on some growth! I would say that if possible, you should be giving it more light. The reason I say this is first of all because it's so tall; more light from when it was smaller would have allowed it to grow in a much more compact form.

Those lower leaves tell me the same thing; drooping down like that means that it's not bright enough.

It also would benefit from repotting into a bigger pot; however, don't go too much bigger. Each time you repot, just go to the next size, so if this is a 4" pot, use a 5" or 6".

The big mistake that a lot of people make is to pot a plant like this into a gigantic pot, in the hopes that it will grow into it.

Generally, the plant requires something to stop the roots, like the sides of the pot to force it to grow upwards and outwards.

Being too restricted will stop it from growing; the biggest problem is that with only a small pot, it's going to be top heavy, and tend to fall over. Repot before that happens, as these plants are so juicy that they can be damaged by falling off the table for instance.

Aren't these great plants? You can have so much fun with them, and they bounce back from the most dramatic of treatment.

Hope that helps,
Jacki