Jade plant is Crassula ovata, a succulent with thick, egg-shaped leaves. Wisconsin Horticulture also records the common names money plant and money tree for this species. The money tree Pachira aquatica and the Chinese money plant Pilea peperomioides are different plants, at how to propagate a money tree and how to propagate a chinese money plant.
Wisconsin: stem or leaf cuttings. Iowa State puts Crassula on both its succulent stem list and its succulent leaf list. The generic succulent tray stays on how to propagate succulents. This URL is the named plant. For mix in a drained pot, see soil propagation.
Stem cuttings
UNL lists jade under tip cuttings and stem cuttings.
Iowa State, succulent stems including Crassula: 3 to 6 inches, leaves off the lower half, then let the cut end dry and callus for several days on a tray or in an empty cup. Pot in cactus mix or perlite. Most succulents on that page do not root well in a glass of water. Hormone is optional.
Wisconsin: let the pieces dry for a few days so the cut heals and is less likely to rot. Push the cut end into fairly dry, well-drained soil. They also root out of soil. Summer is the easiest season; they can be done any time of year. In the wild, fallen pieces root in a few weeks.
Illinois: succulents should not go into media while the cut is still fresh. Air-dry first so callus can form.
UC Master Gardeners of Solano: dry and callus a few days, then moist sand or succulent/cacti soil. Roots over a few weeks.
How wet the mix is does not match across sources. Wisconsin: fairly dry. Solano: moist sand or succulent mix. Iowa: cactus mix or perlite after a drain. Keep the names on the page.
Leaf cuttings
Iowa State, succulent leaves including Crassula: take the whole leaf, cleanly, including the cells that held it to the stem. A torn piece will not root. Lay it on slightly damp cactus mix with the attached end at the surface, not buried. Keep the surface damp, not wet. New roots and shoots in several weeks.
Illinois: for fleshy leaves such as jade, insert the leaf into pre-moistened rooting media. Cover with a clear bag. Bright, not direct, light. New plants form at the base of the leaf. The old leaf can be cut away later.
Iowa State’s leaf-petiole guide lists Crassula ovata. On that page, roots usually form in three to four weeks, and the jade captions show plantlets at six to eight weeks, then pot into regular mix.
Wisconsin’s dry-for-a-few-days step applies to leaf pieces as well as stems.
Lay-on-mix (Iowa succulents) and insert-the-leaf (Illinois) are different. Follow one source.
Common mistakes
- Sticking a wet jade cut into wet mix. Wisconsin and Iowa want a dry callus on stem pieces.
- A torn stub of leaf. Iowa State: the whole leaf, with the attachment cells, or it will not root.
- A water-jar how-to. Iowa State: most succulents do not root well in a glass of water.
- Treating this page as Pachira or Pilea because of the “money” nickname.
People also ask
Stem or leaf?
Wisconsin names both. Iowa State lists Crassula for both. Illinois’s jade example is a leaf in media.
How long until roots?
Wisconsin: a few weeks for pieces that fall outdoors. Iowa succulents: several weeks for leaves. Iowa petiole page: roots in three to four weeks, jade plantlets in six to eight weeks. Solano: over a few weeks. Those are not one number.
Do I let it callus?
Wisconsin and Solano: a few days. Iowa stem cuttings: several days. Iowa’s Crassula leaf-on-mix steps do not add a callus wait.
Is jade the same as a money tree?
Wisconsin uses money tree as a nickname for Crassula ovata. Pachira aquatica is a different plant, at how to propagate a money tree.