Money tree – Indoor House Plants

The Money tree or jade plant is a popular houseplant that highlights oval-shaped, fleshy green leaves and a thick trunk and limbs. The thick trunklike stems and branches of jade plants are usually brown. The succulent holds water well and can live for a very long time and grow into small trees or shrubs up to 5 feet tall indoors with the appropriate conditions. A great plant for beginners. Extremely tolerant of most conditions except deep shade and standing water. According to custom if you receive one as a gift it will bring you luck and money. Jade plant can be grown outdoors in the ground or in pots, or indoors.

Scientific Name: Crassula ovata
Common Name: Jade plant, friendship tree, lucky plant, or money tree.

How to grow and maintain money tree:

Light:
Money tree requires full sun in order to grow properly. If they don’t have full sun, they may end up stunted and leggy. So in indoors the plant needs as much light as you can provide. Grow in an unobstructed eastern, southern or western window. If window light is insufficient, provide supplemental, full-spectrum lighting, which can be found for any type of light fixture, including lamps and recessed lighting.

Soil:
The lucky plant requires a quick draining soil blend to flourish, and a commercial cactus and succulent mix is a quick and easy medium to utilize. A less expensive mix that works just as well involves combining one-third equal part of peat moss, coarse sand, and perlite. Include little measures of lime and gypsum to improve the quality of the medium. The fast draining soil is necessary to avoid root rot of these plants.

Temperature:
Money tree prefers average summer temperatures (65ºF/18ºC – 70ºF/21ºC). In winter, cool to 50ºF/10ºC.

Water:
Never let a jade plant dry out completely. But also, do not water a jade plant too often, as this can cause root rot. Don’t water your jade plant on a schedule. Rather, water your plant when the top of the soil is just dry to the touch.

Fertilizer:
Fertilize your jade during the growing season so that it gets perfect nutrition. Utilize 10-20-10 fertilizer every two weeks from April to October. Mix the right amount of dry fertilizer with water and water your Money tree plant with this mix for optimal growth.

Propagation:
The money tree is generally started by division, offsets or leaf cuttings. Plants can be easily propagated from a single leaf: sprout leaves by placing them into a succulent or cacti mix, then covering the dish until they sprout.

Pests and Diseases:

Mealybugs are the most widely recognized insect pest of jade plants. They look like white puffs of cotton. Wipe them off with alcohol using a cotton swab. Do not use insecticidal soap, since it might damage jade plants. Spider mites can cause plants to lose their green color and appear dusty or speckled.