Sinocrassula Yunnanensis is also known as a Chinese Jade Succulent, not to be confused with a Jade Plant. It is a relatively rare plant due to how long it takes to grow and its small size. However, they are full of fun, almost black in color, and may even be a dark, silver-green if given enough sun.
The Sinocrassula Yunnanensis doesn’t need much care; it needs plenty of sunlight, warm temperatures, and the right amount of water to thrive and continue to grow for decades.
Propagating this plant is almost as easy as growing it. All you need is a leaf or a stem with open wounds at the nodes where roots can grow, some soil, and a lot of patience.
If you want to learn more about how to take care of a Sinocrassula Yunnanensis, including specific care tips, the maximum size of this plant, and the best soil, continue reading below.
How To Take Care Of A Chinese Jade Succulent
Water
As the name suggests, the Chinese Jade is a succulent, which means they do not need as much water as some other plants do.
Like with most other plants, the key to watering them correctly is to let the soil completely dry out before watering them again. The root ball should be completely dry before you water it again to prevent root rot.
If you have a pot that drains well, you must soak the plant in water and then wait for it to dry out completely. If you have more of a decorative pot, just add enough water, so the soil is moist but not soaking wet.
Sunlight
As a succulent, Sinocrassula Yunnanensis needs a lot of sunlight. It can handle anything from full sun to partial shade. It would prefer six to eight hours of sun throughout the day.
The amount of sun your plant gets will change the leaf color of your Chinese Jade Succulent. If they get full sun, the leaves may almost turn black, while in darker areas, it will be a light green.
Temperature
The Sinocrassula Yunnanensis does best between 64 and 77°F (18 and 25°C), but can handle anywhere between 50 and 86°F (10 to 30°C).
As for humidity, they do better in dryer locations with very little humidity.
Fertilizer
Overall, a Sinocrassula Yunnanensis doesn’t need a lot of fertilizer. It doesn’t grow very fast and therefore only needs a small amount of fertilizer once or twice a year.
Unlike other plants, the Chinese Jade Succulent goes dormant in the summer and not the winter, so its growing season is in the fall and winter, not spring and summer.
When you provide fertilizer, do it during the growing season. Usually, fall is the ideal time.
As far as the type of fertilizer, a balanced 1-1-1 ratio of NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) is best.
Can A Chinese Jade Succulent Survive Without Sunlight?
While a Chinese Jade Succulent can survive in partial shade, they need a lot of sunlight to thrive. By giving it full shade, or no light at all, the plant will not survive. If your home traditionally doesn’t get enough light, try making it an outdoor plant, or place it on a windowsill instead.
Avoid north-facing windows, as they tend not to get as much sunlight as in the other directions.
What Soil is Good for Sinocrassula Yunnanensis?
Sinocrassula Yunnanensis is a succulent. Because of this, they don’t like to have soil that stays wet. A proper succulent potting mix is a good option.
If you want to make your succulent potting mix, a good recipe is to use three parts potting soil, two parts coarse sand, and one part perlite.
If that recipe doesn’t seem to be working for you, or you want something different, you can change it up by adding more large materials, like pumice or pressed diatomaceous earth, for better drainage.
How Do You Make Chinese Jade Grow Faster?
It isn’t easy to make a Chinese Jade Succulent grow faster. They are very slow-growing species. Even in a good year, about 2 inches (5 cm) a year is pretty average. They are also not very tall plants, not growing much higher than 4 inches (10 cm) even in the wild. Since these plants can easily live to be over 100, there is no rush for them to grow faster.
If you want them to grow faster, giving them a bit of fertilizer once a year and ideal growing conditions in terms of sunlight, humidity, temperature, and soil will help them grow to their maximum height each year. You won’t be able to make it grow faster than that, though, no matter what you do.
What is The Sinocrassula Yunnanensis Size?
Generally, the Sinocrassula Yunnanensis doesn’t grow very tall. Even in ideal conditions with plenty of space, they usually only average around 4 inches (10 cm) in height. This, combined with their slow growth, means they won’t have to be repotted often.
How To Make Sinocrassula Yunnanensis Flower
A Sinocrassula Yunnanensis will usually bloom around late summer and early fall. They flower pretty easily, without much work on your part. However, if your plant isn’t getting its ideal growing conditions, it may be unable to grow as it should.
If, for some reason, your plant isn’t flowering, you may need to check that they have had fertilizer, sunlight, and water. Flowers are the first thing to go when plants aren’t getting enough nutrients to keep themselves alive, so if the flowers aren’t blooming, it is usually a good sign that something is wrong.
How To Propagate The Chinese Jade Succulent
Propagating the Chinese Jade Succulent is easy enough. All you have to do is take the leaves off the Chinese Jade Succulent and place them on top of the soil. The most important part is not to break the leaf. You just want a cut where the stem was cut off, and that is it; if the leaf breaks in half or anywhere else, the chances of propagation go down significantly.
To increase your chances of propagation, you can also cut the stems like you would with almost any other plant. Simply cut a stem that doesn’t have any flowers. Wherever there are leaves, cut them off. Then, place the cutting into similar soil just deep enough so that it stands up.
Give it a little water to help the soil soften, and so your plant will recover from the shock; then wait for it to grow.
One big tip for propagating the Chinese Jade Succulent is only to propagate it when there are no flowers. The plant is trying so hard to make a flower during this time that roots are often pushed aside.
Another tip is not to throw away the leaves you cut off the stem if that is the method you chose to go with. That is because you can, again, use all of these leaves to try and propagate another plant as these leaves can also grow roots.
Who knows, if all goes well, you may have a handful of these cute succulents at the end of it.
Our final tip is that we recommend not trying to water propagate these plants. A lot of indoor plants can be propagated via water. This is often easier, as you can see the roots and check how your plant is doing.
However, with succulents, this can damage the stem or leaf and lead to rot rather than growth. Instead, if you stick with soil propagation, you should have no problems taking care of these plants, as long as you treat them right.
Summary
Sinocrassula Yunnanensis, also known as a Chinese Jade Succulent, is a small plant that enjoys a lot of light, a little water, and low humidity. It is easy to take care of as it can handle being forgotten for quite a while.
As with most succulents, the Sinocrassula Yunnanensis doesn’t need much care; as long as it gets plenty of sunlight, stays warm, and doesn’t get overwatered, it will thrive and continue to grow for decades.
Propagating is just as easy. If the plant has good soil and isn’t completely forgotten, it should reproduce and give you dozens of new plants in time. While it is a slow grower, it just keeps chugging along once it gets started!