Variegated Jade Plant
Chota Jade, as local nurseries call it — thick reddish stems carrying small cream-and-green variegated leaves. It is the compact cousin of the classic Jade Plant, and it takes far more sun: a bright sill or a balcony brings out the red stems and the cream edges. Water only when the soil has gone completely dry. It trains well into a bonsai shape over a few years, which is why people keep it on a desk and let it grow up with them.
Sunlight
Bright Light to Full Direct Sunlight
Watering
Low (Water only when soil is completely dry)
Plant Type
Variegated Bush Succulent / Miniature Tree
Botanical Name
Crassula ovata 'Variegata'
Pet-Friendly
No (Toxic to cats and dogs)
Size
Approx 3-4 Inches tall
Pot Size
Approx 3.5 Inches
Hand-Delivered Safely
Specially packaged for transit, anywhere in Pakistan. If it arrives unhealthy, we replace it.
The small, brighter Jade
Known across Pakistani nurseries as Variegated Jade or Chota Jade, this is Crassula ovata with cream variegation and a smaller, bushier habit. The leaves are fleshy and thumbnail-sized, splashed cream and green, and the stems mature into a woody reddish-brown. Grown in strong light the whole plant takes on a red flush at the leaf margins.
Where the plain Jade Plant grows into a small tree, this one stays dense and shrubby, which makes it a better fit for a desk, a windowsill, or bonsai training in a shallow pot.
Light
Bright light through to full direct sun — more than almost anything else in the shop. This is a plant that is genuinely happy on a west-facing sill or an open balcony, and it needs that intensity: variegated plants carry less chlorophyll, so in low light they stretch faster and lose the cream. Colour, compactness and the red stems all depend on the light being strong.
Water
Low. Water only when the soil is completely dry all the way down, then water thoroughly and let it drain. In the heat of a Twin Cities June that might be every two weeks; through winter, when it stops growing, once a month is often plenty. Soft, translucent leaves that drop at a touch mean too much water — the most common way this plant dies. Wrinkled leaves simply mean it is thirsty and will recover within a day of watering.
Soil and potting
Gritty, fast-draining mix in a pot with a drainage hole, kept snug rather than generous. If you intend to train it as a bonsai, a shallow pot restricts the roots and thickens the trunk faster. Our soil mix guide and repotting guide both apply directly.
Shaping and propagation
It responds well to pruning — cut a stem and it branches below the cut, which is how you build a canopy. Every piece you remove will root, so a single plant becomes a shelf of them; see the propagation guide. The jade plant care guide covers pruning for a tree shape in detail.
Good to know
Like all jades, it is toxic to cats and dogs if eaten. It also carries the same association with luck and prosperity as its larger cousin, which makes it a common gift plant here.
