To successfully get your Crassula picturata (Tiger Jade) to grow, you will need to create the right environment.
This means taking into account temperature, light, growing substrate, watering, fertilizing, etc. In short, this is a spectacular plant, but you must care for it reasonably well for it to grow.
What Is a Crassula Picturata?
Crassula picturata, often referred to as Tiger Jade plants, are exquisite and quirky succulents.
Because they tend to be small, they are a popular choice for indoor growing if you don’t have much space.
The leaves are usually bright green; however, they are speckled with small dark spots, adding unique beauty to the plant.
In fact, often the underside of the leaves is bright pink.
Remember this: They are slow growers and that can get difficult, but they are pretty hardy and should do well growing indoors.
What Light Conditions Do Crassula Picturatas Need?
Like many succulents, these plants need quite a bit of light if you wish to grow it indoors.
You will need to situate it fairly close to a window sill so it can get a minimum of five hours of bright light each day (and hopefully more).
Nevertheless, you must balance this so that the leaves do not endure burning because Crassula picturata can be sensitive to sun damage.
If the plant receives a lot of direct sunlight, especially in summer while the sun is at its strongest, the leaves will begin to burn.
You will notice brown, ugly spots appearing on the leaves, and this could kill the plant (if you do nothing).
You may want to hang a thin curtain between the plant and the window so that it still gets light (but is sort of blocked).
You could also just move the plant a little further out from the window so direct sunlight has a limited chance to hit the plant.
Simply moving it into a dark corner or location will not produce growth because the plant will die or become weak.
Since these plants naturally grow slowly, they need a high amount of light to survive.
Remember, if a plant is getting poor light, it will eventually reach long, leggy stems toward the closest light source or it will die.
How Often Does a Crassula Picturata Need Watering?
Watering is usually a major issue with succulents. Since they store water in their leaves, overwatering is a very real possibility.
This is one of the most common causes of death in houseplants. Both underwatering and overwatering can cause drooping, loss of leaves, and finally death.
How often you should water the plant is again reliant on how you are keeping it and the climate you live in.
Generally speaking, you should be watering it once every two weeks on average, but it is always best to check the soil before you give the plant a drink.
Use the tip of your finger and poke the surface of the soil to an inch or two down. If the soil feels dry beneath the surface, it is time to give the plant a drink. If the soil is still wet, do not water your plant again until the soil has dried out.
In general, succulents are more tolerant of drought rather than flooding. Flooding can cause root rot pretty quickly, and this will kill the plant.
From experience, if your plant has good drainage, a lot of sunlight, and a dry environment, it will need watering quicker than a Crassula picturata with poor drainage, little sun, and a wet environment. A larger plant might need more water, but it will be able to handle drought better than smaller plants will.
How Warm Should a Crassula Picturata Be?
Native to Mozambique and South Africa, Crassula picturata prefers warm conditions to cold conditions.
Although it is fairly hardy, it is optimal to keep your Crassula picturata in the temperature range of 60 to 75 degrees F.
This level of warmth will help avoid leaf damage and help the plant to grow well.
Higher temperatures can lead to wilting and damage to foliage; lower temperatures will certainly kill the plant.
However, it can survive temperatures down to around 50 deg. F in the winter. It just won’t battle much in those conditions.
Do not allow your Crassula picturata to dip below around 50 deg. F. or it will likely die of how cold it gets.
In the winter — Try not to leave it in a room with an open window or sudden drafts of cold air. You should not have it near a radiator either, since extreme heat will dry the plant out, shock it, and possibly kill it.
A warm room, should be fine for allowing this plant to grow.
What Kind of Soil Should Be Used For a Crassula Picturata?
When you pot the Crassula picturata, it is important that you know what it likes for a root system.
You will want neutral or close to neutral soil pH level, and you are looking for a substrate that drains very well as this plant does not like to have “wet feet.”
Key Takeaway – For this plant you can deal with any number of different potting substrates such as sphagnum moss, compost mixed with perlite or coconut coir, some sand, etc.
Depending upon what is available to you in your area, you should grab a succulent soil mix or create your own. Soil should be fifty percent grit, at a minimum.
Some people find success with even seventy percent grit.
The grit will allow the pot to drain well and reduce the likelihood of overwatering this plant to begin with.
Additionally, the nature of the substrate is loose enough to allow Crassula picturata to dig down and establish a healthy root system.
When you pot a Crassula picturata, use the heaviest pot possible because these plants can become a little top-heavy as they get big.
Even Better: If you only have plastic pots perhaps placing a few stones at the bottom of the pot before you put the growing substrate in would help weigh the pot down and help it not to tip over.
Do Crassula Picturatas Need Fertilizing?
Occasionally feeding Crassula picturata, during its growing season, is recommended to help promote growth.
If you skip fertilizing, you might be wondering why it seems to take a long time for the plant to push out new leaves. This is because it will be competing to find nutrients in the growing medium to support the new leaves.
This would be especially true if there is a high grit to soil ratio.
For fertilizing, most experts recommend fertilizing Crassula picturata every 2-3 months with a diluted fertilizer.
You can use almost any balanced fertilizer, but be judicious and don’t over fertilize the plant.
The reason for being so careful with fertilizer is that succulents prefer low-quality substrates, and you could easily burn the roots of the plant.
Do not fertilize your Crassula picturata in the winter, as it will not be growing, or very little in the winter months, and the fertilizer will just sit in the growing medium and could burn it when the roots start to grow again.
So, it is best to wait until mid-spring before adding fertilizer to the pot.
If you prefer, you can simply repot your Crassula picturata every year or two without adding fertilizer.
As long as you do not increase pot size, it can be every year or two depending on the growth and plant’s current size.
Repotting and adding new medium will add back essential nutrients for plant growth.
How Do You Repot a Crassula Picturata?
It is advisable to repot your Crassula picturata before it becomes significantly rootbound.
You should be able to tell it is time to repot it, when roots are visible growing through the drainage holes at the bottom of the pot.
Generally speaking, these plants do not need frequent repotting because they tend to grow outward due to their spreading habit.
However, I would still repot them every few years, even if they do not need much more space, just to refresh its growing medium.
You want to refresh the soil to provide fresh soil, nutrients, and no compaction in the pot you have it in.
To repot your Crassula picturata, you can just loosen it in the pot it is currently in by running a flat tool along the edge of the soil gently, or light squeezing the edges of the pot in to push the soil away from them.
Wriggle the plant loose again and then shake off any excess soil gently from its root before putting your Crassula picturata in a fresh growing medium that has plenty of grit in it and lightly watering.
Works best: Place in a bright place that receives no direct sunlight to recover. It is best to repot during the active growing season and avoid when dormant.
Conclusion
Caring for a Crassula picturata should be relatively simple and the largest threat is likely to be overwatering or providing too little or too much light.
As long as you always check the plant’s watering needs before watering and either leggy growth or burnt leaves, the plant should thrive.