22 Popular Kinds of Jade Plants [With Pictures]

Crassula ovata, also called the money plant or lucky plant, is one of the most common kinds of jade plants. They are resilient and tolerate low light, which makes them fairly easy to grow indoors.

Besides the Crassula ovata, there are also many other kinds of jade plants known and cultivated.

kinds of jade plants

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1,000 Types of Succulents With Pictures

Kinds of Jade Plants

If you are wondering what kind of succulent you have, this article will help you identify 20 types of jade plants, both the common and the rare breeds.

Crassula arborescens (‘Silver Dollar Jade’)

crassula arborescens silver dollar jade montegon 1
Crassula arborescens ‘Silver Dollar Jade’ [montegon]

Crassula arborescens, the Silver Dollar Jade plant, is an endemic plant of the Western Cape, South Africa. It is a 2 to 4 ft succulent shrub. It has round gray “Silver Dollar” leaves.

This species looks much like the traditional jade plant (Crassula ovata). However, the plump leaves of Silver Dollar Jade aren’t deep green but silvery blue with red-tinted edges. Although this tough, low-maintenance, plant grows outdoors in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 10 through 11, it is often grown indoors.

Crassula ‘Blue Bird’ (‘Blue Bird Jade’)

crassula arborescens blue bird manue64 1
Crassula arborescens ‘Blue Bird’ [Manue64]

Crassula ‘Blue Bird’ has opposite pairs of erect bluish-grey elliptic and twisted leaves on a much-branched pseudo-tree up to 60-90 cm tall.

Crassula ‘Blue Bird’ is a hybrid of Crassula ovata and Crassula arborescens. Crassula ‘Blue Bird’ is the same as Crassula arborescens ssp. undulatifolia, a subspecies with two somewhat different forms in cultivation.

Crassula arborescens ssp. undulatifolia (‘Ripple Jade’)

crassula arborescens ssp. undulatifolia ripple jade ben caledonia
Crassula arborescens ssp. undulatifolia ‘Ripple Jade’ [Ben Caledonia]

Crassula arborescens ssp. undulatifolia ‘Ripple Jade’ has compact, rounded heads atop sturdy branches that give it a bonsai-type appeal. Its grayish-green leaves are twisted and erect, sometimes with purple edging when this plant is growing in the right place.

It can grow into a rounded shrub, with mature plants capable of reaching 3 to 4 feet (0.91 to 1.2 m.) in height, develops no woody stems, and is easily pruned and shaped. It is very drought tolerant when established, and cold hardy into the 20’s. The flowers are pinkish-white and star-shaped.

Crassula exilis ssp. picturata (‘Tiger Jade’)

crassula exilis ssp. picturata tiger jade jeffs bulbesetpots
Crassula exilis ssp. picturata ‘Tiger Jade’ [jeffs bulbesetpots]

Crassula exilis subs. picturata ‘Tiger Jade’ is a dwarf annual or perennial succulent herb with numerous stems forming tufts, from a vertical woody rootstock. It has spirally arranged rosettes and rather narrow, acute leaves. The species is distinguished by its leaves scattered with red spots, rarely fleshy, and the flowering erect stem which is hairy.

Crassula ‘Jade Tower’

crassula jade tower lourdes
Crassula ‘Jade Tower’ [Lourdes]

Crassula ‘Jade Tower’ is a fascinating succulent plant that forms vertical columns clothed with jade green leaves thickly frosted with white papillae. The numerous flowers are small, white shading to pink and appear in late winter at the top of the stems. It has the same parentage as Crassula marnieriana ‘Jade Necklace’.

Crassula marnieriana ‘Jade Necklace’

crassula marnieriana jade necklace lourdes
Crassula marnieriana ‘Jade Necklace’ [Lourdes]

Crassula marnieriana ‘Jade Necklace’ has thick, disc-like leaves that encase the stems like beads on a string. This variety is native to South Africa where it grows low and spreads around rocks. Its stems can grow quite long and it spills nicely from containers and hanging baskets.

Crassula ovata (‘Green Jade’)

crassula ovata green jade verdeurbano
Crassula ovata ‘Green Jade’ [verdeurbano]

Crassula ovata is a common houseplant that is first described as Cotyledon. It is a multibranched, very floriferous bonsai-like shrub with glossy green leaves that are flattened yet succulent. They are pear-shaped and shiny jade-green with or without a red margin. Slowly, after about two or three years, the plant develops a thick, gnarled fawn trunk.

As is often the case with plants that have been in cultivation for many years, this species has been given several names; both Crassula argentea and Crassula portulacea are synonyms of this species.

Crassula ovata ‘Crosby’s Compact’ (‘Dwarf Jade’)

crassula ovata ‘crosbys compact dwarf jade lourdes
Crassula ovata ‘Crosby’s Compact’ ‘Dwarf Jade’ [Lourdes]

Crassula ovata ‘Crosby’s Compact’, also called ‘Dwarf Jade’, is a slow-growing, much-branched succulent shrub with thick stems that hold up to 1 inch (2.5 cm) long, obovate leaves. It grows up to 3 feet (90 cm) tall.

The leaves are green with red margins. New leaves can be suffused entirely with red tones. White, star-like flowers appear in clusters at the tips of the foliage in late fall through winter.

Crassula ovata ‘Gollum’ (‘Gollum Jade’)

crassula ovata gollum ezequiel coelho
Crassula ovata ‘Gollum’ [Ezequiel Coelho]

Crassula ovata ‘Gollum’ aka ‘Gollum Jade’ is a monstrose sport that first appeared in the 1970s at Abbey Garden. It has elongated, tubular leaves with a puckered end that appears like a suction cup. The tips have a reddish tinge and the long leaves are green.

The flowers are star-shaped and white or pink. Gollum Jade tolerates extended drought and should be kept in containers with drainage holes and gritty, well-draining soil.

The common names for this succulent are a great blend of fantasy sci-fi: Gollum Jade, Trumpet Jade, ET’s Fingers, and Hobbit’s Pipe Jade. Once established as a mature plant, the stems become thick and form intricate shapes. They are very easy to care for.

Crassula ovata ‘Gollum Variegata’ (‘Variegated Gollum Jade’)

crassula ovata gollum variegata benjamin
Crassula ovata ‘Gollum Variegata’ [Benjamin]

Crassula ovata ‘Gollum’ variegata aka ‘Variegated Gollum Jade’ is a small, evergreen, succulent shrub, up to 3 feet (90 cm) tall and up to 2 feet (60) wide, with sparingly branched stems and interesting tubular variegated leaves. The flowers are small, star-like, and white or pinkish-white in color.

Crassula ovata ‘Hobbit’ (‘Hobbit Jade’)

crassula ovata hobbit lourdes
Crassula ovata ‘Hobbit’ [Lourdes]

Crassula ovata ‘Hobbit’ aka ‘Hobbit Jade’ is a monstrose sport of the much-loved Jade Plant. In warm climates (zone 9+) it can grow outdoors as a small shrub, but it also really shines as a low-maintenance indoor plant, because it tolerates low-light conditions. When grown indoors, this plant stays small and its woody branches even lend themselves to bonsai pruning.

This cultivar is very similar to ‘Gollum Jade’, but while ‘Gollum Jade’ has nearly tubular leaves, the leaves of ‘Hobbit Jade’ are curled back around. The tips of the leaves turn red in direct sun. Jade plant varieties can bloom in winter with impressive clusters of delicate white flowers.

Crassula ovata ‘Harbour Lights’ (‘Harbour Lights Jade’)

crassula ovata harbour lights hang
Crassula ovata ‘Harbour Lights’ [Hang]

Crassula ovata ‘Harbour Lights’ is a jade plant variety that has distinctly smaller leaves than that of the Crassula ovata and becomes extremely red during the winter months. In late autumn to early winter, small pinkish-white flowers will appear providing further interest.

Crassula ovata ‘Hummel’s Sunset’ (‘Golden Jade’)

crassula ovata hummels sunset gillian
Crassula ovata ‘Hummel’s Sunset’ [Gillian]

Crassula ovata ‘Hummel’s Sunset’ aka ‘Golden Jade’ is an evergreen succulent subshrub with glossy, rounded, fleshy green leaves adorned with golden yellow tips and red edges. The tip’s coloration is even more intense during the cooler months of the year.

The Golden Jade blooms starry white flowers in a cluster. Outdoors, it is one of the showier Crassulas. This Crassula ovata cultivar makes a very pretty bushy shrub and has a very mild tolerance against frost. As it ages, the stout gray trunk and sturdy limbs become massive and thick.

Crassula ovata ‘Lemon & Lime’ (‘Variegated Jade’)

crassula ovata lemon lime
Crassula ovata ‘Lemon & Lime’ [Raquel e Ives]

Also called Crassula ovata ‘Tricolor’ or ‘Variegated Jade’, the Crassula ovata ‘Lemon & Lime’ is an elegantly branched shrub up to 4 feet tall, with attractive green foliage striped in ivory and pale yellow.

The succulent leaves are up to 2 inches long and are often tipped with a pink margin on the new growth and when grown in the sun. The white, star-shaped flowers with pink overtones grow in showy clusters at the ends of the branches from late winter to early spring of the branches.

Given proper conditions, the Crassula will flower with small pink or white, star-shaped in apical clusters 5 to 7 cm across within the foliage in the late winter, making an attractive and mildly fragrant display.

Crassula ovata ‘Minima’ (‘Miniature Jade’)

crassula ovata minima miniature jade etwin aslander
Crassula ovata minima ‘Miniature Jade’ [Etwin Aslander]

Crassula ovata ‘Minima’ is a dwarf succulent, up to 2.5 feet (75 cm) tall and up to 20 inches (50 cm) wide, with thick trunk and branches. Leaves are fleshy, rounded, and glossy green with reddish edges. Flowers are small, star-shaped, and coral-pink.

Crassula ovata ‘Pink Beauty’ (‘Pink Jade’)

crassula ovata pink beauty pink jade sean a. ohara
Crassula ovata ‘Pink Beauty’ ‘Pink Jade’ [Seán A. O’Hara]

Crassula ovata Pink Beauty also known as ‘Pink Jade’, is named so because it has more pink colors than typical jade plant colors on it. The foliage develops a red blush during the year under very dry conditions. The early winter and late autumn months show small pink flowers appearing on its tips that fill the exterior of the plant. It can grow to a height of 1 meter over five years.

Crassula ovata ‘Ruby’

crassula ovata ruby evilive 88
Crassula ovata ‘Ruby’ [evilive_88]

Crassula ovata ‘Ruby’ is a selected form of Crassula ovata grown for its compact habit and unique ruby-red blushed leaves. It grows up to 1m in over 5 years. Over the autumn and winter months, showy clusters of white and pink small flowers appear above the foliage.

Crassula ovata undulata (‘Wave Jade’)

crassula ovata undulata wave jade redpensredshoes
Crassula ovata undulata ‘Wave Jade’ [redpensredshoes]

Crassula ovata undulata aka ‘Wave Jade’ is a slow-growing succulent variety producing clumps of bright green, undulating leaves that have fine red margins. In late winter or spring, it may produce pinkish-white, star-shaped flowers borne in small clusters.

Crassula pubescens ssp. rattrayi (‘Bear Paw Jade’)

crassula pubescens ssp. rattrayi bear paw jade succulent addiction
Crassula Pubescens ssp. rattrayi ‘Bear Paw Jade’ [Succulent Addiction]

Crassula pubescens subsp. rattrayi aka (‘Bear Paw Jade’) is a low-growing, succulent plant up to 6 inches (15 cm) tall with heavily clumping succulent rosettes up to 5 inches (12.5 cm) in diameter. It forms a carpet of lightly fuzzy leaves that grows up to 1.4 inches (3.5 cm) long, green in shade, and bright red in full sun. In the winter, rounded clusters of small, white flowers on stalks appear a few inches above the foliage.

Crassula sarmentosa ‘Comet’ (‘Variegated Trailing Jade’)

crassula sarmentosa ‘comet’ variegated trailing jade ben caledonia2
Crassula-sarmentosa-‘Comet’-Variegated-Trailing-Jade-Ben-Caledonia2

Crassula sarmentosa ‘Comet’, also known as the ‘Variegated Trailing Jade’, is a quick-growing trailing succulent that grows up to 1 foot (30 cm) tall and branches sparingly from the base. The stems are reddish, up to 3 feet (90 cm) long, and arches outwards and upwards or trail down.

They bear up to 1 inch (2.5 cm) long ovate, mid-green leaves with finely serrated, cream to yellow colored margins. The leaves have a brighter green color with red highlights along the margins when grown in full sun.

It will spread quite nicely if given the room; pruning this succulent will encourage it to offset keeping much a more compact shape and form. Terminal rounded compact panicles of pink buds open to pure white flowers in late fall.

Other Types of Jade Plants

Senecio jacobsenii (‘Weeping Jade’)

senecio jacobsenii weeping jade puddin tain
Senecio jacobsenii ‘Weeping Jade” [Puddin Tain]

A non-Crassula succulent, the Senecio jacobsenii bears a strong resemblance to the Crassula Jades, but it is unrelated.

Senecio jacobsenii, colloquially known as ‘Trailing Jade’ or ‘Weeping Jade’, is a glabrous evergreen, perennial leaf-succulent creeper with flat, overlapping leaves that are shades of greenish pink and maroon, along green stems, and brilliant orange blooms in late summer and early fall. This plant has also been called Kleinia petraea and Notoniopsis petraea and the correct name is still in debate today.

The Weeping Jade is an interesting succulent creeping groundcover with an unusual color combination of greenish-pink maroon and brilliant orange blooms. It is a most rewarding plant that grows in full sun and has no problems with extreme heat or cold down 0° Celsius.

Senecio jacobsenii makes an interesting and attractive groundcover, hanging basket, or window box specimen and may be best combined in a large container with other succulent types. If planted next to a wall, or in a container, the stems drape downwards as much as 120 cm.

Uniquely, the leaves and the flowers stand upright from the stems. Given its spreading habit and its high resistance to drought, it can be recommended for binding soil on steep banks. It is a fairly easy plant to grow but resents shady cool moist conditions.

Sinocrassula yunnanensis (‘Chinese Jade’)

sinocrassula yunnanensis chinese jade ilenuca
Sinocrassula yunnanensis ‘Chinese Jade’ [ilenuca]

Sinocrassula yunnanensis is a small, perennial, rosette succulent, up to 4 inches (10 cm) tall, that eventually develops into dense clumps. The leaves are half-round, flattened on the upper side, end in a sharp tip, and have finely papillous hair. The rosettes are up to 1.4 inches (3.5 cm) in diameter.

The plant is monocarpic. The individual rosette blooms only once, then dies, replaced by the close ones. At flowering time, the rosette lengthens in a richly branched inflorescence up to 4 inches (10 cm) long. The flowers are small and white.

General Jade Plants Care

Light

All jade varieties can tolerate moderate-to-low light conditions found in most homes, where they remain in their natural jade-green colors. When provided with more light, most jade plant varieties will develop a beautiful tinge of red in their leaves.

Water

Jade plants require regular watering during the growing season (spring, summer) and less during the dormant season (fall, winter). However, as jade plant types are very susceptible to rot, the soil should be allowed to dry out between waterings.

Soil

All jade varieties are easy to grow in any free-draining gritty compost, or suitable store-bought soil for succulents with small amounts of coarse sand or perlite.

Climate

Jade plants adapt well to the warm, dry conditions found in most homes. Outdoors, jade plant varieties may be grown as landscape plants in areas with a mild, dry climate year-round (typically Zone 10 and warmer).

In colder climates, it’s best to grow jade in containers and take it indoors when it gets below 50°F (10°C) as jade plant types are very susceptible to cold damage.

Fertilizing

Fertilize your jade plants about once every six months with a balanced water-soluble fertilizer. An important thing to bear in mind is that you should water your jade plant before fertilizing. Never fertilize your jade plant when the soil is dry, as this will damage the roots.

Propagating Jade Plants

Jade plants can be propagated through stem or leaf cuttings. Take either a leaf or a stem cutting of at least 3 to 4 inches long from a healthy branch. Set the cutting aside in a dry, warm, and bright area for it to callous over.

Once the wound has closed and dried up, place the cutting in soil and water sparingly until roots start to form. Then, you may increase the frequency of your watering, but still allowing the soil to dry out between waterings.

Sources:
www.llifle.com/
https://worldofsucculents.com/

22 types of jade plants