Jade plants can live for a very long time and grow into small trees or shrubs up to 5 feet tall indoors.1
2The Jade Plant (Crassula argentea) originated in south Africa, but has been cultivated as a house plant in Europe and America for over a hundred years. Generally, it is a very easy and productive plant to grow, provided its needs are understood and met. Jades, and all other Crassulas are succulent plants, in that they have the ability to store water in its leaves, stems, and roots.Jade plants are best grown in very bright sunlight with low humidity, however if the plant is accustomed to dimmer light, you must move it into the sun in stages. Jades will sunburn if they are not used to the full sun. Jades are best grown between 55F at night and 75-80F during the day, however they will tolerate temperatures down to 40F. They should be repotted every two to three years. Use a well drained commercial potting soil mixed equally with sharp builder sand, and a scoop of bone meal added. The optimum soil ph is 6.5.Jade plants have an active and a dormant growing cycle. Watering and feeding are determined by the cycle. During the spring and summer months keep the soil slightly moist . Water liberally, approximately once per week but allow for slight drying between watering. Remove any excess water from pot saucer. Fertilize with a 10-20-10 or 5-10-5 ratio soluble plant food every two weeks. African violet food works very well for most succulents. Keep plant dry during the winter months as plant has a slight dormancy. Do not fertilize from November through March. Typically, all healthy Jades will bloom, usually around Christmas, in the northern hemisphere. Blooming is triggered by the natural shortening of the days. If your plant is in a room which usually has lights turned on at night, it will more than likely fail to bloom for you. Try to find a suitable, naturally lighted place for the Jade sometime in early October, along with your Christmas cactus. Your plant will do the rest for you!
Cut and grow new ones
The lack of a good root structure indicates to me that your Jade Plant (Crassula argentea), was probably being over watered in its previous pot. Succulents generally will send their roots out only far enough to find a sufficient source of water. Jades do need more water than most other succulents because of the large amount of surface area of their leaves,,,HOWEVER! they do need a period of drought between waterings. During an active growing period, this should be one or two weeks, and when the plant is dormant, you can wait for up to a month before re watering..For succulents, I recommend that you use a sterile, commercial potting soil (no insects or weed seeds) to which you have added course builders sand at a ratio of about 4 parts soil to 1 part sand. (The sand will help the soil to drain faster) Since you have already re potted your plant, go ahead and leave it as it is, but withhold watering as much as possible until the leaves begin to shrivel a little, then water thoroughly. Repeat this process as necessary until the plant has rebuilt its root structure and is able to stand on it’s own. (this might take a year +-) Fertilizing should be withheld until the plant has begin to recover and is showing signs of strong, new growth..Jades can be pruned to whatever shape you desire. The parts that have been removed can be rooted and used as new plants. Each cutting should be allowed to callous over (very important), for a day or two (longer if the cut surface is large) Plain, healthy leaves can be set with the cut slightly embeded into the soil surface. These will produce a miniature clone of the parent plant in about 2-3 months. Stem cuttings should be set about 1-2 inches deep, and will root and begin growing in a little as a month. Very little water should be given until the new roots have begun to form.