Over the summer I lost my little jades to rot. I watered them roughly once per week when the soil dried out. Looking back on it, I realize they were dormant. So maybe they needed to be watered a little less. They were in three inch pots.

I decided to try again at the beginning of the fall. The ones I have now are growing like crazy! Then I recalled that my first jades grew a in late winter and spring. I'm thinking that maybe, grown indoors, this time of year, in my neck of the woods (Michigan), this is the growing season for jades.

I keep reading things that say that jades grow mostly in the spring and summer. Dormant in the winter. It seems to be just the opposite with my growing conditions.

I'd be interested to see what types of experiences the rest of you have. Particularly those of you that grow jades indoors in the eastern and midwestern states.

i got a jade at the flower show last spring. didn't do much growing over the summer. a bit, nothing spectacular, tho.

in the fall it had a growth spurt. i don't know if it was because i moved it to a bit sunnier spot (still in the same west-facing window, just higher up so it was getting direct light) or the fact that the weather changed - which means the angle of the sun changes.

it seems to have slowed down a bit now.

now you've got me curious, too!! and there are more than a few of us that have jades...all around the country too!

what's everyone elses experiences??

I have two little babies that I got from my brother's friends' mom [ ] back in November... they haven't grown, but that haven't died or anything yet... I'm watering every 3 weeks or so... I suppose it's dormant now, though...

I have a trumpet jade, cv. gollum or hobbit, I don't know which. I've had it for ~9 years and it's staying pretty small (18ish inches) so I guess it's the hobbit one. It seems to grow a little and loose a little all the time, with the most growth in fall/winter. It put out a bunch of air roots this fall so I figured it wanted a bit more water, which its getting, and growing a lot. I'll let it dry out more in the summer - a winter growing pattern. Does anyone know if this cultivar blooms? Mine never has and I have never seen this kind blooming in the nurseries.

I live not to far from Margaret, and my jades (and most of my houseplants for that matter) do most of their growing also in fall and winter. It definitely has to do with the angle of the sun coming in my windows - it's so much sunnier in here during the barren winter months.

That said... it's currently 64 degrees outside on Jan. 6th here

it's 71 degrees here right now!

ha! i beat you all out...77 when i checked and that was over an hour ago...

i'm actually going to have to pull the lawn mower out and cut the grass!! which is absolutely on jan 6 in pennsylvania!!

Hey! Stop with the talk of snow storm in mid-April. :rolleyes: I can't believe how mild it is out there...
Now you have me thinking my jade did nothing this Summer and grew alot in the Fall. Maybe it does have to do with the light angle...

Mine has a few new leaves, but nothing major. Mine does most of its growing in the summer. It's in a west facing window. I only water it about every two weeks in the winter, but every week in the summer. I've never seen any of them bloom, but that doesn't mean they don't. Plants I thought didn't bloom, usually end up surprising me!
Most plants typically go dormant in the winter, because of the reduced amounts of sunshine, unless you're lucky enough to live where there's sun 300 days a year, no matter what...and I definitely don't live there

Funny you'd all mention the warm temps. It was warm here in Detroit since Thanksgiving week. Until yesterday. Now I'm looking at snow. :p

I think it was too humid for my jades to grow last summer. It caused them to go into dormancy. With all that humidity, the need for water was much lower.

They're growing steadily now. A little slower than in October and November though. I'm trying to learn to let the leaves tell me when they need more water. Rather than a schedule or disturbing the roots by sticking my finger in the pot all the time.

My jade did nothing during spring or summer to speak of then this fall it started growing... until one of my cats made a bed in it's pot.. now the jade is no more! What can I say, she's a fat cat!

Uh oh.... Bad Kitty! Kitties just do whatever the heck they want, don't they?

Gomer I see we're both from Michigan. We both had jades that did nothing over the summer, but started growing in the fall. I think we need to let the jades tell us how to care for them. Rather than following generalized advice or guidelines. That way someone in the southeast isn't confused about why his or her plant is collapsing when he followed a midwesterner's or northwesterner's advice perfectly.

I guess we just have to let our jades tell us how to care for them by responding to their conditions and what they do:

Lots of humidity and no growth - hold off on water.
Nice temps, low humidity and new growth - water when dry.
Flat leaves, good roots - water.
Cool, no humidity and growing - water when dry.
Growing, but the leaves are still very full and plump - water when the leaves flatten a bit.

I think that will work better for us than figuring, "Hmmm... It's July, so I'd better water once per week.". Or, "Yes, my jade is growing like crazy at the end of November, but no water until March.". Just because that works for people in some parts, doesn't mean it will work for the rest of us.

hello im just starting a jade in water from a branch i cut off. and its grown 4 new leaves in the last week! is that normal?

you should put it in soil, nigel! it'll end up getting water-logged and will probably start to rot.

4 new leaves is GOOD tho!! means it's a healthy piece and it's getting proper light. i wouldn't let it sit in the water too long tho...

Hi Nigel.

I agree with Joclyn. You should definitely pot it up right away. I wouldn't water the soil just yet though. I would probably wait a couple of weeks to water.

Is it normal? Ha! More and more I'm learning that the jade will decide what's normal and what isn't. I would say that if the jade's environment is favorable, then the growth is normal.

Great job.

cool anyways im going to put in water tomorrow. thanx for the info

Yah, yah. Jades can survive/thrive in a variety of conditions, but they don't like change. If you move them: bring them home from the nursery where you bought them, move them from one window to another, rotate the pot in the same window where they were thriving, expect some level of leaf drop/suspended animation (no growth in a plant that had previously put out new growth), whatever. They are tollerant of a lot of different growing conditions, as long as you are consistant with whatever you give it/them. My best to you and your plant.

My Jade's never stopped growing since I bought last May. It's leaves are still plump and full. I love the advice on letting it tell you what it needs. Really really helpful. I always just think it needs water and more of it. I'm surprised I haven't killed it. I also rotate it every few days so I get to enjoy the pretty side it always likes to turn to the sun and it's only dropped 3 leaves since i got it 1 rotted and 2 are now baby plants. But then I guess i'm consistently changing it, So obviously for each person it is a very different plant. I'm also the one with a ficus in the dark near a draft that picks it up every few days to dust. so go figure.

Mary Sue, I also turn my jade about once a week or so. I can't stand a crooked plant! I think mine has gotten used to it and isn't too picky. ...I think I got really lucky with this plant!

During this winter my little Jade put out a little nub in it's top which has developed into two more 'leaves' or 'pads', so I guess it grows in the winter.