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Jade plants, Crassula ovata, are popular houseplants known for their beautiful thick, glossy leaves. These succulents are popular indoor ornamental plants since they are easy to care for and tolerate neglect. But a question often asked is if jade plants ever bloom.
Jade plants will bloom if your plants are mature (at least 3-4 years old) and if you mimic the native growing conditions found in the wild. This is done by withholding water, exposing them to cooler temperatures at night and bright light during the day. The nights need to be long and the days short.
People often grow jade plants for many years and although they are healthy, they never seem to form any flowers. It’s enough to make them wonder if jade plants ever bloom at all.
When and How do Jade Plants Bloom?
The type of jade plant most commonly known to indoor gardeners is called Crassula ovata. Ovata means egg-shaped and Crassula means thick. The leaves of the jade plant are egg-shaped and can be 1 to 3 1/2 inches long and 3/4 to 1 1/2 inches wide (2.5 cm- 8.9 cm long and 1.9 cm- 3.8 cm wide) and the leaves are thick and glossy.
Their native habitat is in Southern Africa and they are usually found growing among the rocks. These plants grow as evergreen shrubs and can grow up to around 6 feet in height.
But even in their native habitat, they don’t always bloom. The maturity of the plant is a big factor. They need to be fully mature before they will bloom. It takes several years before they are mature enough to form blooms.
Environmental conditions are another factor. They need dry conditions along with bright sunny days followed by cooler nights. They also require long nights and shorter days – all of this is needed in order for them to bloom. In their native habitat, these conditions usually occur in the fall. And when these conditions occur, they will “trigger” the jade plants to form buds and then bloom.
When jade plants bloom, they will form delicate clusters of white or pink star-shaped flowers. The flowers can be thick enough to cover the whole plant and have a faint scent that attracts pollinators. Jade plant flowers, once pollinated by insects will go on to produce seeds.
When you are growing jade plants indoors and if you are lucky enough to get yours to bloom, you might want to try pollinating the flowers by hand. You can do this by gently brushing each flower with a soft artist’s paintbrush. I haven’t found much information about hand-pollinating jade plants, but this would make a nice experiment for those that are interested.
How to Encourage Your Jade Plant to Bloom Indoors
Jade plants grown indoors as ornamental plants will also bloom if the same conditions are met as what was mentioned above. But it will be difficult since it is hard to meet these conditions for several reasons.
One big problem that is hard to overcome is that the humidity levels are generally too high in most homes. Jade plants need a humidity level between 30-50% in order for the buds to form.
Since the humidity where I live tends to be high, (especially in Summer), I often use dehumidifiers to keep the levels low. I like to keep the humidity levels less than 50% in the house. Ideally, 45 % seems to be the most comfortable for us and it’s just what jade plants need in order to bloom.
If you have humid conditions where you live, you might consider checking out this dehumidifier on Amazon which is a newer model of the same one that I use and have had no problems with.
Another problem is that they may not get enough sunlight when they are indoors. They need 6 hours of sun each day as well as a longer period of darkness. This mimics the shorter days and longer nights the plants experience in their natural habitat.
This is another issue I have in my home since we don’t have a lot of sunlight. Even in the sunniest part of our house, there isn’t enough light to encourage my jade plants to bloom. I find that I need to supplement the light my plants need by using an LED plant light; in fact, I have several plant lights in my home.
If you also need to supplement light to your plants, you too might consider checking out these full spectrum LED plant lights on Amazon.
A third problem to overcome is that jade plants need to be exposed to a specific temperature range each day in order to cause them to bloom. The temperatures need to be between 55 degrees and 75 degrees F (12.8 – 23.9 degrees C) each day with the nighttime temperature being at the lower end of that range.
There are ways to overcome all these problems. You may use a dehumidifier to reduce the humidity level in your home. You may also use plant lights to ensure your jade plant gets enough light. You can closely regulate your house temperature to mimic what your Jade plant needs. All of these things can be done if you choose, but that tends to be too much of a hassle for most people.
If you want to put in the effort to make your jade plant bloom, you should start in the fall by letting the plant get dry. Only water it sparingly if it gets bone dry. After that, keep the plant in a room where you can meet the humidity, temperature, and light requirements that were mentioned above. Keep it in this environment for several weeks during the fall and into late fall. After that, start watering your plant on a regular basis. If everything goes well, your plant may form flower buds and then bloom.
Related article: Why do Jade Plants Drop Their Leaves? (7 Common Reasons)
When do Jade Plants Bloom?
Jade plants need certain conditions to be met before they will bloom. In their native habitat, these conditions are generally met starting in the fall.
After several weeks of low humidity, bright sun, and long cool nights, followed by a period of regular watering, buds will start to form and the plants will bloom in late winter to early spring.
How Old Does a Jade Plant Have to be Before Flowering?
Jade plants need to be fully mature before they will bloom and that can take about 3 to 4 years and sometimes 5. It varies slightly between plants, but don’t expect them to bloom until they reach this age. Some jade plants will grow for years without blooming at all.
Is it Rare For Jade Plants to Flower?
It is not rare for jade plants to flower. In their native habitat, they will bloom, but not always; since they are infrequent bloomers even in the wild.
They are mainly propagated through their leaves and stems. The leaves and stems fall to the ground, grow roots and start new plants.
Jade plants grown indoors don’t bloom very often since it is hard to mimic the conditions needed to make them bloom. So with that in mind, it could be considered rare for them to bloom when grown indoors; but not impossible.
How Long Do Jade Plant Flowers Last?
When your jade plant blooms, the individual flowers won’t last very long. Each individual flower may only last a few days or more, (but not that much more) but overall, the plant will have flowers blooming for weeks. The flowers are beautiful and showy while they last and the effort to make them bloom is certainly worth it.
| Common Name | Jade plant |
| Family | Crassulaceae |
| Genus | Crassula |
| Species | Ovata |
| Leaves | Evergreen, egg-shaped Thick and glossy |
| Leaf length | 1- 3.5 inches long (2.5 cm- 8.9 cm) |
| Leaf width | 0.75 -1.5 inches wide (1.9 cm- 3.8 cm) |
| Origin | South Africa |
| Plant Height | 3-6 ft (0.9-1.8 m) |
| Plant Width | 2-3 ft (0.6-0.9 m) |
| Flower Description | White, Pink star-shaped <1 inch (2.5 cm) |
It’s fun to learn how to make your cacti and succulents bloom; that’s why Cactus-Central has more posts on that subject. If you want to learn how to make your Christmas cactus bloom at Christmas time check it out here and if you want to learn how to make your Bunny Ear cactus bloom, you can check it out here.
Links to Check Out For More Information on Jade Plants:
https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/jade-plant-crassula-ovata/
https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/jade-plant/
Here’s a Youtube video that shows you how beautiful jade plants look when in full bloom and it also tells you about some of the conditions needed to form blooms.
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