What to Do When a Jade Plant Grows Aerial Roots: A Few Simple Tips to Solve It Easily

The jade plant (Crassula ovata) is a flower that many people love very much. It likes a warm, dry environment with plenty of light, its leaves are rather thick and fleshy, and it stays evergreen all year round. Placing it on a balcony or a south-facing windowsill works very well. But many people, when growing a jade plant, find that as they care for it, it grows white aerial roots, and its leaves are no longer growing as vigorously as before. What exactly is going on?

A jade plant will not produce aerial roots when its growing conditions are good. If aerial roots appear at its stem nodes, it is very likely that the potting soil has been dry for a long time, and the lack of water causes the aerial roots to appear. It is also possible that the jade plant's roots have rotted for various reasons. These are the two situations that cause it.

Aerial roots caused by lack of water in the jade plant's potting soil

In many cases, a jade plant grows aerial roots because of a lack of water. If the jade plant's potting soil stays dry for a long time, that is, if the jade plant's root system finds it very difficult to absorb water from the soil, or even cannot absorb any water at all, then the jade plant cannot meet its normal water requirements. In order to absorb more water to maintain the jade plant's growth, its stem nodes have no choice but to grow aerial roots, so that the aerial roots can absorb moisture from the air.

So, if the jade plant grows aerial roots because its soil is too dry and it has not been watered for a long time, then at this point it is recommended that you water the jade plant in time and provide the water it needs for growth.

Aerial roots from root rot in the jade plant

Besides growing aerial roots because the soil is too dry and lacking water, a jade plant may also grow aerial roots because its root system has rotted. If the jade plant's roots have rotted, the jade plant can no longer absorb water from the soil through its roots to maintain its growth. At this point, the still-healthy stem node parts of the jade plant will grow aerial roots to provide water for the jade plant so that it can grow.

At this point, you can take it out of the pot in time and remove the bad roots, so that the jade plant can continue to grow normally.

A jade plant will not produce aerial roots under normal conditions. If aerial roots do appear, you can judge based on the condition of the jade plant you are growing, find out the cause, and deal with it according to the cause.