There are different types of jade plants; the fact that they are all members of the crassula-type genus is the most crucial fact to remember. In addition, it comes in a wide range of sizes and colors. They have thick branches, green color, glossy foliage, and pink and white blooms. One of the most typical types of jade plant is Crassula ovata, often known as the money plant or lucky plant. Because of their hardiness and ability to thrive in dim conditions, they are relatively simple to cultivate inside.
Crassula ovata are popular houseplants because they look like little trees while being houseplants, thanks to their solid and wooden branches and oval-shaped leaves. They have a long life span and can be grown to a height of 3 inches or more in a home environment. The money tree, or Crassula ovata in botanical terms, quickly gained favor as an interior plant due to its low maintenance requirements and hardiness in various settings. In the wild, you’ll find this popular houseplant in eastern Southern Africa and Mozambique.
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Types of Jade Plant
Some popular types of jade plants with pictures:
Silver Dollar Jade
Crassula arborescent is its botanical name.
This succulent jade variety goes by a few other names, but everyone knows it as the blues buddha bush because of its silver-blue flowers with burgundy margins. The leaves, nicknamed Silver Dollars, are spherical and grey.
It even blooms with flowers in the dead of winter. The endemic Crassula arborescent, or Silver Dollar, can only be found in the Western Cape of South Africa. This plant is a succulent shrub growing between two and four feet in height.
This species’ appearance is similar to that of the classic porcelain (Crassula ovata). However, the silvery-blue foliage of Dollar Bill Jade has reddish-tinged margins rather than the traditional dark green.
Blue Bird Money Plant
Blue Bird Variegated Crassula Arborescens is its scientific name.
Its leaves are a unique combination of aquamarine, cream, green, and red, making it stand out from others.
Growth in containers allows for sizing regulation. Crassula ‘Blue Bird’ is a tall, multi-branched succulent that can reach heights of 60–90 cm, with good pairs of blue-black elliptic and twisted leaves.
Blue Bird Crassula is a cross between Oval and Arborescent Crassula. There are two somewhat distinct cultivars of Crassula arborescent, although they are the same species.
Gollum Jade
‘Gollum’ Crassula ovata is its botanical name.
Named for its outwardly spreading leaves that resemble fingers, it has an attractive appearance. This monstrous sport of Crassula ovata, sometimes known as ‘Gollum Jade,’ initially appeared in Abbey Garden in the 1970s. Its leaves are long and narrow like tubes, but its tips are puckered, giving them the appearance of suction cups. Long, green leaves with a crimson hue at the ends.
Flowering in the winter, it has pinkish-white blossoms that contrast with the reddish tips of its tubular leaves. Star-shaped, white or pink flowers are produced. In addition to vessels with holes drilled and gritty, well-draining soil, It can withstand long periods without water.
This succulent is also known as the Gollum Jade, Whistle Jade, ET’s Fingers, and the Hobbit’s Pipe Jade, a brilliant combination of fantasy and science fiction. When it reaches maturity, its stems thicken and take on interesting shapes. They are so easy to maintain they require little attention.
Variegated Gollum types of Jade plant
Crassula ovata gollum variegate is its botanical name.
Comparatively speaking, it is larger than the ‘Gollum’ jade. The leaves have a green base, an orange midsection, and a reddish tip. The Compositae Argentea Gollum Variegata stands out from the crowd thanks to its striking tricolor foliage. Its autumn and winter growth makes it an excellent plant for coastal gardens. The leaves will change color if exposed to extreme cold, drought, or a lack of nutrients.
A little evergreen succulent shrub, Crassula ovata ‘Gollum’ variegata, also known as ‘Variegated Gollum Jade,’ can grow as tall as 3 feet (90 cm) and as broad as 2 feet (60 cm), with unbranched stems and intriguing tubular variegated leaves. These tiny, star-shaped blossoms bloom in shades of white and pink.
Botany Bay
Crassula ovata ‘Botany Bay’ is its scientific name.
Small and bushy ovata cul small, bushy, red-hued ovata cultivar was introduced in 2011. The Crassula Ovata ‘Botany Bay’ cultivar has only been available since 2011. The dense and bushy plant can be trained to take on various forms in a container. When the weather is parched, the leaves usually take on a crimson hue in the winter. Under optimal conditions, it can reach a size of two feet in five years.
Because of its distinctive coin-shaped leaves, this particular plant is widely recognized and revered as a harbinger of prosperity. It grows slowly and is more appropriately classified as a shrub. These kinds of leaves are distinctive because of their light jade color and reddish edges. The tips of the fleshy pale yellow leaves are a vibrant scarlet.
Campfire
‘Campfire’ is a cultivar of the succulent known scientifically as Crassula capitella.
Its dramatic appearance is due to its propeller-shaped leaves, which are a light greenish and a vivid red. It blooms in the summertime with white flowers as well. As its common name suggests, this beauty gets its name from its distinctive leaves, which resemble the blades of a propeller plane. You can choose between two primary colors, vibrant red or standard pale green. It produces little white flowers during the summer. However, the lime green leaves of Crassula capitella ‘Campfire’ transform into a showy red in the winter. Succulent leaves develop on thin stems to resemble bright red propellers.
Flowers tolerate deer and draw in other beneficial insects and winged creatures. Therefore, growing Campfire Jade indoors is not recommended. Crawling a width of two to three feet, it is a spreader. That’s almost as tall as it is. Therefore, keeping them in containers is not advised. It is like sprinkling once a week but can hold out much longer without water. ‘Red Pagoda,’ a cultivar of Crassula capitella, is yet another option.
Hobbit
Its common name is “Hobbit” Crassula ovata.
Crassula ovata ‘Hobbit,’ also known as “Hobbit Jade,” is a monstrous sport of the beloved Jade family. In warmer regions, it can be grown as a small outside shrub; nevertheless, its true calling is as a low-light, low-care houseplant. It maintains a tiny size when kept in a pot, and the woody branches are suitable for bonsai.
Due to its popular dwarfism, it rarely exceeds a height of 12 inches. This early winter bloomer features pinkish-white flowers and thick green foliage with scarlet ends. Similar to ‘Gollum Jade,’ the main difference is that the leaves of ‘Hobbit Jade’ are crinkled back on themselves instead of being virtually tubular like in ‘Gollum Jade. When the leaf tips are exposed to bright sunlight, they turn red. In the dead of winter, it can produce a stunning display of tiny, delicate white blossoms.
Golden Jade
The evergreen succulent subshrub Crassula ovata ‘Hummel’s Sunset,’ also known as ‘Golden Jade.
Clusters of white stars emerge on the Golden Jade. One of the most eye-catching Crassulas when grown outside. Very little frost damage occurs to this cultivar of Crassula ovata, which grows into a lovely bushy shrub. The broad, grey trunk and stable and robust branches grow thicker and more prominent as the tree ages.
It features spherical, fleshy green leaves with golden-yellow tips and red borders. In the winter, the tip’s coloring is at its most striking. To propagate it from a cutting, Gold Jade is a suitable option. They usually have sturdy stems. They can get quite tall, with bunches of leaves that develop on long, slender branches. The stems with several leaf clusters are ideal for taking cuttings from. A healthy new plant will emerge from the cutting.
Little Jade Tree
Crassula ovata, sometimes known as the ‘Little Jade Tree,’ is the scientific name.
The term “Little Jade tree” describes this particular jade plant. It’s common to see this in a tourist shop or a home with a few potted plants on a shelf. Australia’s Glenfield Wholesale Nursery’s Jan Morgan introduced the Little Jade Tree in 2015. The tallest this little plant gets is only 40 cm. In Glenfield’s opinion, the small plant is “best planted in containers on balconies, balconies, or around and within courtyards. It is superior for use as a Bonsai. This variety lives true to its name by topping at about 12-16 inches in height and sporting green, meaty oval leaves with bright red margins.
Pink Jade
Crassula ovata ‘Pink Beauty, is its botanical name.
The gorgeous star-shaped pink flowers that cover the whole plant in the autumn and the early winter gave this cultivar its name. Crassula ovata Rose Beauty is called “Pink Jade” because it features pinker than jade hues. The Pink variation of Crassula Ovata gets its name from its yearly abundance of blooms and its bushy appearance. Its tip is covered in tiny pink blossoms in the winter and late autumn. In just five years, it can gain a height of 1 meter. Under severe drought, the leaves turn a crimson hue. Five years is all it takes to reach a length of three feet.
Harbor Lights
Its common name is Harbor Lights Crassula Ovata.
In winter, the green rounded leaves’ reddish hues intensify, making the plant more visually appealing. A top contender for the title of “greatest jade plant”! This variant called Crassula ovata ‘Harbour Lights’ has noticeably smaller leaves than the standard Crassula ovata and turns a vivid shade of red during the colder months.
The crimson coloration of the Harbour Lights variant of Crassula Ovata makes it easy to spot. It’s smaller than the Compositae ovata and has crimson leaves in the winter. In the fall and early winter, it blossoms with white and pink blooms, giving it a rosy glow. It is highly recommended for coastal landscaping. The appearance of tiny, pinkish-white blossoms between late autumn and early winter provides an additional appeal.
General Care
What type of light do jade plants need?
Plants of the jade family can maintain their native jade-green coloration even in the moderate to low light levels typical of most houses. However, when exposed to additional light, most leaves develop a stunning crimson hue. In extreme circumstances, the plant’s green tint may fade to yellow. The production of carotenoid pigments is the plant’s immediate reaction to the threat of direct sunlight.
How often do jade plants need to be watered?
In summer, the succulent evergreen needs very little water, and in winter, even less. A pink or bright crimson tinge may appear around the leaves if the plant is overwatered and then placed in direct sunlight.
What type of soil for jade plant
Growing a jade couldn’t be simpler; all you need is a granular compost that drains well or a succulent commercial mix that includes a bit of fine sand or perlite.
Climate
The mild, dry conditions typical in most homes are ideal for jade. However, those places with a gentle, dry climate all year round are suitable for growing these plants outdoors as flowering shrubs.
FAQs
Are jade plants aquatic?
Since it is a succulent, it can keep moisture in its leaves for extended periods. Consistent watering is essential for your plant, but you should never let the soil lie in water, as this will encourage the development of root rot. Instead, water them when the ground looks dry.
Are there flowers on jade plants?
They won’t produce their first bloom for another three to four years. Jade has star-shaped, white flowers. Summer is when you’ll see them in full color; their blossoms can go as large as an inch. Male and female blossoms develop on distinct plants in this species.
To what do you attribute the origin of jade plants?
Succulent jade plants are endemic to African Countries and Portugal. Several types of jade plant exist, but Crassula ovata is the most typical and widespread. It features clusters of thick, fleshy leaves along its stems. Oval or spherical, the leaves have a waxy feel and a glossy surface.
Could you eat a jade plant?
It has no edible element, but it is stunning ornamental. Unfortunately, animals that eat their leaves can get very sick, while humans only experience mild toxicity.
When it comes to jade, why do they call them “money trees?”
In Chinese medicine, the plant is called a “money tree” because of its history of use in bringing financial success to its owners. This plant has names: jade tree, money plant, and others.
Conclusion
The Jade Plant family contains hundreds of subspecies. The most common are the Crassula ovata, whose subspecies are also discussed in this article. Easy care and adaptability, as well as their extraordinary allure as a succulent, account for Jade Plants’ widespread acclaim. It is a beautiful addition to any home because it requires little care.
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