Jade plants are native to Mozambique and South Africa. They are also one of the most popular houseplants worldwide.
Known about by a lot of people by their green color, smooth leaves, thick branches, and the pink and white flowers, there are many types of jade plants available around the world. You will actually find many of these varieties to have been cultivated during several years and some cultivars to have garnered accolades – for example, the Award of Garden Merit for the sunset variety of Hummel.
Jade Plant Types
Jade plants are referred to as the lucky plant or the money plant. They’re popular as a houseplant due to their different kinds to choose from. Below we have listed some of the main types.
Portulacaria Variegata
Variegata (also, the ‘rainbow bush’) has creamy leaves with a center stripe that is light green. You will notice a tinge of magenta on the leaf edge which lasts all year round. It isn’t grown as a flowering plant, and you can grow it up to 1 meter in height.
Portulacaria Afra Large Leaf
As one of the types of jade plants, this Afra Large Leaf has another name as the Green Penny Jade. The rounded, fleshy leaves grow on dark red stems but not sprouting any flowers. Although the plant can reach the length of about 2 meters or so, you can control it by trimming.
Portulacaria Afra Cascade
Also called the Trailing Elephant Bush, the Low Elephant Bush, or the Prostrata, this variety is covered with rounded, plump leaves which grow from mahogany/maroon stems. It doesn’t flower in cultivation and can have a size of 1 meter. You can use the plant for decoration purposes – for example, cascading over walls.
Portulacaria Afra Aurea
It is one of the popular types of jade plants. A beautiful nickname for this kind is the Yellow Elephant’s food or the Yellow Rainbow Bush. Its colors change throughout its growth. The time of year, the water amount the plant gets and the fertilizer used to the growing process influence its shade. It’s possible for Portulacaria Afra Aurea to grow to a height of 1 meter.
Portulacaria Afra
It is also known as the Pork Bush or the Chinese Jade Plant. What makes this houseplant popular is its succulent features that are decorative and structural. You can grow it up to 2 meters in height and can use proper trimming and shaping to control it. Though it’s possible for this Afra to withstand long drought as well as heat waves, it doesn’t flower during cultivations.
Crassula Ovata Little Jade Tree
This Little Jade Tree is among the types of jade plants with a young and small breed. Discovered by chance by Glenfield Wholesale Nursery Picton’s Jan Morgan, it was officially introduced in 2015. This small and compact plant can grow to 40 centimeters at max in height.
Crassula Ovata Pink
The variety gets that name as a result of its bushy exterior and the outstanding number of flowers blooming each year. During the early winter and late autumn months, small pink flowers appear on its tips that fill the plant exterior. Crassula Ovata Pink’s height can reach 1 meter over five years.
Crassula Ovata Minima
Known as the Miniature Jade or the Baby Jade, it has the growing tips with the tendency to huddle together and branch out, which creates a bushy, full appearance in portable containers. The winter months shows flowers appearing pink and white in colors. The plant can grow to 60 centimeters in height.
Crassula Ovata Harbour Lights
You can recognize this variety instantly because of its distinct red color. The characteristic color has made it one of the most well-known types of jade plantsin the world. The leaves are small and turn extremely red during the months of winter.
Crassula Ovata Hummel’s Sunset
In 1993, the Royal Horticultural Society appreciated this variety for its amazing foliage color, and its bonsai styled trunk. Crassula Ovata Hummel’s Sunset also garnered the society’s prestigious Garden Merit award that year. That’s why the plant has become increasingly popular.
Crassula Ovata Hobbit
Commonly named as the Bonsai Jade Tree, it has a small height, no bigger than 30 centimeters. Crassula Ovata Hobbit has similar features to its related species – for example, the pinkish-white flowers and the red tips.
Crassula Arborescens Blue Bird Variegata
It is also called the Blue Bird money plant. Similar to other types of jade plants, this shrub is slow growing, but the leaf coloration makes it different from other varieties. It has a great combination of cream, green, aqua, and red. The maximum height of Crassula Arborescens Blue Bird Variegata is around 50 centimeters.
Crassula Ovata
The Crassula Ovata is the friendship plant, the money tree, or the Lucky Jade. It was first discovered and is among the most common varieties in circulation these days. During winter, flowers appear colored pinkish white on the tips, and the plant’s height can grow to over 2 meters.
Conclusion
The jade plant persists as a well-loved houseplant partly because of its varieties. Statistically, there are more than 1,400 types of jade plants. Aside from those listed above, other kinds include Crassula Arborescens, Crassula Arborescens Undulatifolia, Crassula Argentea Gollum, Crassula Argentea Gollum Variegata, Crassula Ovata Botany Bay, etc. What is your favorite? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comment below.
