A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The House Plant Forum question on potting a new jade plant / clay, plastic, size?

I got a baby jade plant, a jade plant and a gollum jade. They are in small, probably three to four inch wide....the ones they came in from the nursery/home depot. when is the proper time to re-pot them? i have no idea when the proper time will be or what size pot to use.

when i re-pot them, what type of pot should I use? i have some of the orange clay (terra cota?) pots a little bigger than the plastic ones I have now. i think they are the 4 inch ones. i think these absorb moisture and then probably let it evaporate out the side, is this correct? I figured this would be good for a succulent to prevent overwatering.

what size of pot should I use? I assume a pot just a little bit bigger than the one that it is currently in. would it be a better idea to move it into a pot a little bigger than that to let the plant grow into it so I wouldn't have to re-pot it in the future?

i know the baby jade isn't actually a jade plant. is there any difference because of it?

If the plants are not too large for the containers they are in, try to plant them in containers that are the same size. It is typical to replant them into pots that are 1 size larger every year. I have my Jade in a painted terra cotta pot. I'm pretty sure any pot is OK as long as it has a drainage hole. When repotting a succulant, make sure you use soil that has peat moss mixed into it. I believe bone meal is also something that needs to be in it. You can buy a bag of succulent soil that is already mixed and stuff at Lowes or Home Depot. It is usually in the garden section with all the other bagged soils. I'm not sure if the baby jade is any different. I treat all of my succulents the same.

If you are not familiar with taking care of Jade, here are a few pointers...
They don't really like to be moved, however, if you get them young and turn the pot half way every other day, they will grow straight instead of leaning and they will get used to being moved and will be less picky. Picky Jades will drop their leaves in protest if they are moved from their "home".

Water Jades less frequently in the fall and winter. Let the soil get very dry and when the leaves of the Jade are soft and kind of wrinkled looking, THEN you can water it, but not too much. They are used to dry spells. In the spring summer, I water my Jade once every 4 or 5 days...in the fall/winter, I might water it every 2-3 weeks. Never over water the Jade as it will rot and die...a little bit of water goes a long way...which is why a draining pot is the best. I have some pebbles and smaller stones in the bottom of my pot to help with draining even tho it has a drainage hole.

Every year when you repot the Jade, give it some bone meal as some extra food. If you use the pre-mixed soil, don't worry about it.

If you get water on the leaves and don't wipe it off, the leaves can burn and scar in the sun

Every once in a while, I like to take some distilled water and carefully wipe the tops and bottoms of the leaves off. Maybe every other month I do this. Sometimes dust can clog the pores on the leaves of a jade.