What Is Ripple Jade?
Ripple jade is not true jade, but it is still an attractive succulent that makes a nice houseplant.
Ripple jade ( Crassula ovata ) also called friendship tree or lucky plant is a South African native. It has become popular as both a landscape and indoor plant in the U.S. The compact shrub grows to only 3 feet tall and spreads to 3 feet wide with fleshy stems covered with small oval leaves that are green on top and silver underneath.
Tiny white flowers grow on slender stalks at branch tips about once a year after bloom each winter. They are followed by red berries that attract birds and make nice holiday decorations for indoors or out.
Ripple Jade Care & Maintenance:
The plant likes light shade in the summer and bright, indirect light in winter. Remove faded flowers immediately to avoid attracting pests into your home.
Living Ripple Jade Plants: The easiest way to grow ripple jade or friendship tree is from a living potted plant purchased at your local nursery or garden store. The plants usually have several stems each topped with several small round leaves, commonly referred to as ‘Doll’s eyes.’ Before bringing it indoors for the winter be sure it has been grown outside for one season so that it will acclimate better when brought inside. This also helps prevent pests and disease issues by allowing beneficial insects time to settle on the plant before bringing it indoors.
Light Requirements:
Bright Light, but not direct sun. Bright indirect light is best for the winter and southern exposure with filtered light in spring and summer.
Outdoors in full sun during the summer; filtered light (bright indirect sun) year-round indoors. Full Sun to Partial Shade
Water Requirements:
Allow soil to dry out between waterings. Over-watering is the biggest killer of houseplants. Ripple jade needs a lot of light but the plant does not need frequent watering in order to bloom; therefore, it should only be watered when the top 1 inch of soil becomes dry. It’s better to evenly moisten a pot once or twice than to overdo it with liberal amounts of water.
If you have forgotten about your plants for a while and they are looking very dried out and stressed, check another source for watering instructions because you may need more than one inch of water per week (depending on temperature). If too much water is given at one time puddles will
Soil Requirements:
Well-draining soil mix.
Container Size:
Ripple Jade can be grown in a wide range of containers, but an 8″ pot will allow the plant to grow wider than tall, which is preferred for this type of plant. A standard 10″ pot provides plenty of room for roots and growth.
Growing Ripple jade from seed is more difficult (and therefore possibly unsuccessful) than growing it from a living potted plant or stem cutting.
It takes at least two years for a new ripple jade to produce blooms; many say closer to three years. Time once again is dependent on how quickly your plant develops. Plants develop slowly when they are younger, so plants you purchase as young seedlings may take longer than mature plants.
Temperature and Humidity Requirements:
You can maintain ripple jade at any indoor temperature. However, it will grow well between 65 and 75 degrees F (18-24C). If temperatures fall much below 50F(10C), protect the plant from frostbite by moving it to a warmer location during cold spells.
Specially formulated houseplant fertilizer works fine for Ripple Jade, or you may use a water-soluble houseplant food that is mixed according to label instructions.
Keep in mind that feeding your plants more often than every couple of weeks will not produce better blooms but instead can cause yellowing of leaves as well as inducing stem and root growth at the expense of bloom production.
Potted plants are relatively easy to feed: simply add diluted fertilizer solution to the soil at a rate of one-half the recommended dilution for outdoor plants. Some experts suggest that you water your jade plant first before fertilizing to help the fertilizer go straight into the roots and not just flow through to drainage.
Flowering:
Ripple Jade blooms both indoors and outdoors; however, by providing special care you will be rewarded with more frequent bloom cycles. Provide plenty of light (full sun or bright indirect light) and make sure your plant is healthy when you bring it inside in late fall/early winter so it will produce flowers next season.
During cold weather, protect from freezing temperatures by moving potted plants under lights for warmth but do not move back outdoors until springtime after all danger
Fertilizing Requirements:
As mentioned in the “Flowering” section, do not fertilize your plant when bringing it indoors and allow the soil to dry out for a few days. If you have been giving your plant food regularly over the summer, gradually cut back on how often you feed it during the winter months.
Rinse thoroughly with tepid water after feeding. Avoid getting fertilizer solution on leaves because any salt residue will cause leaf burn, though this is not likely if common sense is used when applying detergent or fertilizer solutions to your plants. Peppers are strongly sensitive to salinity: even small amounts of mineral salts can be harmful when absorbed by their roots!
Pest Problems:
Ants should be wiped off the leaves with cotton swabs or a soft cloth, and mealybugs can be washed off with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol. If ants are a problem you can try using ant stakes placed near the plant.
Container Pests:
Leaf miners attack leaves of potted plants and are seen as fine green, black or brown lines on the undersides of leaves (inside). These insects have piercing/sucking mouthparts and will rob your plant of essential fluids.
Wash off with soapy water or by placing the affected areas under running water to encourage them to move out of hiding. Neem oil also works well.
Stones in container soil cause blockages that prevent oxygen from reaching roots, which kills them, causing stunted growth resulting in smaller leaves than normal. Remove any stones you find if your ripple jade is showing signs of stunting and not growing properly.
Caterpillars are the larvae stage of butterflies and moths and can be found feeding on your plant leaves. Their bites leave tiny holes or notches in leaf edges, while skeletonizer caterpillars chew entire green tissue leaving only the veins for support.
Handpick to remove these pests from your plants. If they are particularly bad you can use a whitish pyrethrum spray that is sold at garden centers to control them.
Mealybugs are common houseplant pests that suck juices out of plant stems causing discoloration and eventually death if it is severe enough. They also excrete honeydew which causes sooty mold to grow on the infested areas as well as attracting ants that protect them from predators.
Potting and repotting Requirements:
You can find many vendors selling potting mixes for jade plants, but it is possible to grow them in other types of soil. Just make sure the soil drains well and does not get soggy or remain wet for long periods of time.
The use of container/potting mix allows your plant to thrive with less frequent watering because the growing media holds on to moisture longer than if you were to grow it directly in a pot filled with regular garden soil.
Jade plants will resprout from their nodes when they are repotted, so you can place a new section of stem still attached to its leaves into your new container with no roots and the plant will eventually form its own roots as long as enough of the stem remains intact.
Ripple Jade Propagation info:
Ripple Jades can be propagated in two ways, both of which are very easy.
A) Old leaving behind brown sections of the stem that are attached to leaves when repotting the plant will form roots in a new container.
B) It is also possible to simply slice off a healthy section of stem with at least 2-3 sets of leaves and place this piece into your new container (growth side up preferably). Roots should form within three months if you keep it warm and make sure there is good drainage.
Make sure the growing tip has no cuts or other damage so all energy goes toward growth rather than healing. Also be sure that any rooting hormone used does not compromise the structure of the plant by dissolving it.
Any treatment used should also be approved for food plants and not contain any harmful chemicals that will leach out with watering so the soil medium does not come in contact with the plant cuttings..
If you are growing your ripple jade in a container and want to propagate a new plant without having to wait three months, this can be done by rooting stem section pieces directly into regular potting soil or even straight into place in your garden as long as they are below the soil line (more difficult).
Ripple Jade Problems:
Ripple Jades are usually problem-free if the plant is healthy and growing under the right conditions. Other than spider mites, mealybugs and caterpillars that feed on its leaves, they do not typically suffer from many pests or diseases. The most common disease is root rot caused by overwatering which causes plants to form brown patches on their leaves from tissue death.
Some growers believe this will eventually kill your plant so it’s best to let the soil dry out between waterings when possible.
Mulching: Your jade can be mulched with sphagnum moss or fir bark chips, pine needles work as well but don’t look as attractive in containers. Use 1-2 inches deep over soil surface trapping in moisture and retaining nutrients.
This also protects the soil from erosion caused by watering or heavy rain. As the plant grows it will push mulch away from its base encouraging a more bushy look than if you just left the soil uncovered.
Be careful not to use hay, straw, or other materials that may contain seeds of weeds as these may germinate making a mess in your garden. Do not use black plastic sheeting (burying in-ground) as this stunts growth, makes roots weak, and causes yellowing of leaves over time due to lack of oxygen reaching roots.
Water thoroughly after adding mulch so it settles around the plant and does not settle against the trunk/stem causing damage from the weight.
The plant needs good drainage to grow properly. If you grow it in regular garden soil which retains moisture more than potting mix it is best to keep an eye on the soil so it does not stay constantly wet.
Your plant will suffer root rot from overwatering if left soaking in water for too long causing yellowing and eventually brown or even dying leaves.
