Why Doesn't My Jade Plant Flower? - Gardening Tips And Tricks

A jade plant is one of the easiest houseplants to grow-genuinely perfect for any novice gardener! However, while the jade plant thrives with little to no care for decades on end, encouraging it to flower becomes quite tricky.

Why doesn’t my jade plant flower? Jade plants do not flower until they reach maturity. In addition, jade plants do not bloom in inadequate locations like indoors or in temperatures that do not drop to 55°F at night to ensure dormancy. They also do not bloom from overwatering, over-fertilizing, or without 4-6 hours of sunlight.

Although tricky, there are ways to mimic the jade plant’s native conditions, encouraging it to thrive. So, let’s see how.

Table of Contents

Do All Jade Plants Flower?

With the right environment, most jade plants will bloom. However, it can take a jade plant several years to reach maturity before it flowers.

Maturity and sunlight are the two primary deciding factors influencing if and how often jade plants flower.

In addition, indoor jade plants seldomly bloom due to household climates not meeting their flowering requirements. In addition to various other jade plant flowering requirements, an arid environment is vital to encourage blooms.

Therefore, most interior conditions are generally too humid for the jade plant to form buds.

When Do Jade Plants Bloom?

Jade plant flowers appear on mature plants from late winter to early spring. Initially, the flowers start as dainty buds embellished with pink sepals, which later open into inflorescence of petite, star-shaped pure white or soft pink blooms.

Getting your jade plant to bloom requires an arid location, minimum water, generous amounts of sunlight, and exposure to cooler nighttime temperatures.

However, given the right setting and environmental conditions, your jade plant not flowering may effectively be due to the jade plant being too young to produce flowers and still needs to mature.

Why Doesn’t My Jade Plant Bloom?

You need to provide your jade plant with a similar environment and conditions to what it generally experiences when growing in its natural, outdoor habitat for it to flower.

Jade plants require a balanced combination of dormancy, photoperiod, and extreme environmental conditions to encourage them to bloom.

Let’s take an in-depth overview of what’s possibly causing your jade plants not to bloom.

1. Inadequate Sunlight Prevents Jade Plants Blooming

Young and old jade plants love sunlight- and lots of it!

Jade plants typically need 4 to 6 hours of direct sunlight daily. In addition, young plants especially need exposure to bright, indirect sunlight to thrive, whereas mature jade plants can handle more direct sunlight.

Note that extreme temperatures and too much sun can scorch the young, jade plant’s succulent leaves.

Due to the jade plant’s specific sunlight requirements, most of them typically do not flower indoors, even if you place the plants in a south-facing window, making location another contributing factor to why your jade plant isn’t flowering.

2. Overwatering Jade Plants Will Inhibit Flowering

Correctly watering your jade plant is essential, not only for the plant to produce flowers but for it to survive.

Jade plants actively grow during spring and summer; therefore, they require more frequent watering during their active seasons than at other times of the year.

In addition, jade plants are succulent plants (they retain water in their leaflets), so they do not tolerate soggy, consistently moist soil conditions. Therefore, allow the first two inches of topsoil to dry out completely before watering the plant.

So, you will generally only have to water a jade plant every 2 to 3 weeks during spring and summer.

However, the jade plant tends to become semi-dormant in the fall and winter and does not need much water. Therefore, only water your jade plant once the soil dries out completely.

Mature jade plants may need no more than one to two watering sessions during their dormant period.

A few extra tips are to avoid spilling water on the jade plant’s leaves when watering, which increases the plant’s exposure to rotting. In addition, jade plants tend to be sensitive to tap water salts, so distilled or filtered water is best to use when watering your jade plant.

Lastly, if you’ve placed your jade plant outside to enjoy the warm summer sun, bring them under the porch during rainy weather to prevent waterlogging.

To conclude, overwatering your jade plant (especially during fall and winter) contributes to your plant not flowering.

3. Warm Evening Temperatures Inhibit Jade Plants Flowering

Jade plants generally thrive in temperatures of 65° to 75°F during the daytime, but they prefer slightly cooler temperatures of 55°F at night. Note that the jade plant cannot withstand freezing temperatures, so it’s advisable to bring your plant indoors if temperatures drop below 50°F.

The jade plant needs to go into a semi-dormant or rest phase to produce dainty flowers during late winter or early summer.

So, if temperatures do not cool down enough, the jade plant won’t go into the necessary rest period to form buds. So, in addition to cooler temperatures, be sure to cut back on watering your jade plant.

4. Over-Fertilizing Inhibits Jade Plants Flowering

Jade plants generally only require fertilizer every six months or so. It’s best to use a diluted mixture of a standard liquid fertilizer for houseplants or a fertilizer made specifically for succulents.

When fertilizing your jade plant, be sure to water the plant beforehand, as the fertilizer may burn and damage the plant’s root system.

An over-fertilized jade plant will have to use all its energy to revive itself; therefore, the plant won’t store and generate enough energy into flowering.

How To Get Jade Plants To Bloom?

Getting a jade plant to bloom is an arduous task for most homesteaders. However, mimicking the plant’s native environment is the best chance you have to encourage the plant to flower.

Based on the list of primary contributions to what prevents a jade plant from blooming, here’s a short description of what you need to do to create a perfect climate for the plant to bloom.

Ensure you provide at least 4 to 6 hours of direct sunlight to your jade plant. Consider placing your plant outside during dry, warm summer days, or put the jade plant in a south-facing window to ensure lots of bright sunlight.

Note: keep your plant away from humid areas in your home, like bathrooms and kitchens.

Place your mature jade plant outside in a sunny spot to promote flowering. Jade plants kept indoors rarely bloom.
As tempting as it is to water your plant frequently, do not overwater it. Provide water only once the first two inches of soil dries out in spring and summer, and only water the jade plant when the soil is arid during fall and winter.
Ensure that your plant is placed in cooler nighttime temperatures (preferably 55°F) to encourage a much-needed rest period to encourage buds and flowers to form in early winter.
Fertilize your jade plant with a cactus or succulent fertilizer every six months. And prevent fertilizing the jade plant during its dormant phase as this will only do more harm.

Conclusion

To conclude, the primary reason your jade plant is not flowering is that the plant hasn’t reached maturity. However, if the plant is fully mature, then environmental factors, including inadequate sunlight and temperatures that aren’t cold enough to encourage dormancy, prevent your jade plant from flowering.

Lastly, over-fertilizing and overwatering also contribute to the lack of flowers on your jade plant. Be sure to follow the instruction on how to mimic the jade plant’s native environment to promote its flowering, but remember that jade plants do not bloom annually, and the willingness to bloom still depends on the plant.