How do you grow a jade plant into a full, overflowing pot? Master these 5 tips and that's all you need

As contemporary people's love for gardening and pursuit of a slow life grows, all kinds of rare potted plants have entered the public eye, so today let's talk about how to grow the succulent shrub jade plant (Portulacaria afra). Learn these 5 tips below well and you won't have to worry about it not overflowing its pot!

1. A brief introduction to the jade plant

1. The jade plant does not refer to the children of nobles mentioned in ancient times, but to a plant in nature belonging to the Portulacaceae family, with the Chinese scientific name Portulacaria afra, also called elephant bush. It is mainly distributed in the arid regions of South Africa, and is now cultivated in some parts of our country.

2. The jade plant is a perennial succulent shrub; its stems are fleshy and range from purplish-brown to light brown. New branches turn purplish-red under sufficient sunlight, while they appear green if the light is insufficient, which is quite interesting.

3. Besides its good ornamental value, the stems and leaves of the jade plant can also be used as medicine. Its taste is sweet and sour, its nature is cold, and it enters the heart, dry, spleen, and large intestine meridians; it has a good effect of clearing heat and detoxifying and cooling blood to stop bleeding. It has a certain auxiliary effect on treating male heat strangury and female red and white vaginal discharge, dry or loose stool, toxic sores and eczema, and bloody stool and hemorrhoids bleeding. Here everyone should be reminded that using the jade plant as medicine still requires consulting a doctor, and you should not use it casually to avoid delaying or worsening the condition.

2. How do you grow a jade plant that overflows its pot?

The propagation methods of the jade plant include cuttings and seed propagation, and cuttings are generally used most often. For cuttings, you should choose robust, lushly growing branches during its peak growing season; the branch used for cuttings only needs to keep the upper leaves, and the lower leaves can be removed. After drying for a few days, once the wound on the branch is dry, it can be planted as a cutting. After completion, place it in a semi-shaded spot for care; during this process, just keep the soil moist. After two months, apply diluted fertilizer to the jade plant about every ten days to promote growth. This basically completes the cultivation of the jade plant, so next let's focus on the 5 key growing points for making a jade plant overflow its pot.

1. The jade plant is a green plant that likes a warm, dry, and sunny environment, so it is best to grow it outdoors, such as on a balcony or windowsill; in this way, the jade plant gets sufficient light and will be more glossy and lush. Of course, in summer under strong sun and high temperatures, be sure to shade it to avoid too-rapid water evaporation and scorched leaves.

2. The soil for growing the jade plant is best as fertile, loose sandy soil with good drainage; sufficient fertility can ensure its nutrition, and good drainage can avoid root rot caused by water accumulation.

3. During the peak growing season of the jade plant (June-August), be sure to water it enough, but do not let water accumulate; just keep the soil moist. In spring and summer, water once every three or four days, but in summer watering should be done in the morning and evening; in autumn and winter, water the jade plant once a week, and when the winter temperature is too low, keep its soil slightly dry, which achieves a heat-preserving effect.

4. The jade plant grows relatively fast, so to ensure the potted plant's shape is attractive and lush, prune it regularly; the pruning shape is decided by personal preference. However, branches and leaves that are too messy, dense, diseased, or weak must be cut off, so as to ensure its overall beauty.

5. Finally, remember to repot the jade plant every one or two years; according to its growth, change to a larger pot, and also prune away dead and diseased roots. In addition, the jade plant is prone to anthracnose, and at this time you can use carbendazim mixed with water at 1:1000 and spray it. Other pests such as whiteflies and scale insects can be controlled by spraying with the corresponding medicines.

The above are some methods and techniques for how to grow the jade plant. I hope that after learning them well, everyone can make the jade plants at home overflow their pots!