I've had this plant a bunch of times, by itself and in mixed succulent planters and it ALWAYS always dies on me. It's the first one to show stress and will loose all its leaves overnight. What gives?

Obviously it's more sensitive, but why? Or rather sensitive to what? Overwatering, underwatering? Temperature or light fluctuations? does it have more sensitive roots that require a drier/faster draining soil AND more frequent watering?

It's driving me nuts. Once or twice might just be sloppy work on my part... a winter indoor location w/o enough light, or letting it get too dry or too wet, but now I have tried this plant at least 7 times in the last 5 years, different times of year, different size pots, different locations, various soil mixes and I kill it within a year or less every single time. I'm doing something fundamentally wrong and I don't know what else to try.

I'm open to any stories/theories you have, to help me think it through and figure this out.

Crassula...has some oddball members. I refer to those pagoda plants, which in some youtuber's words(forgot who), like lots of water(more than cacti), but have really fickle roots and need pure mineral non retaining soil. Im going to guess its a similar story with plants like springtime and perforata.
I might guess the same can be said of sinocrassula, which dies eventually.
So you know, might be a tad different than the norm...
Now, this is assuming we are talking about crassula btw(baby jade)

Paramount consideration will always be using containers with drain holes, using fast draining media, good airflow and as much bright light you can provide ideally south facing if you have no choice but to grow indoors. They will handle the summer heat but best to provide part shade if it is getting into too intense temps over 95F.

Pretty much they are succulents that like cool temps but sunny conditions. The more light in winter they happier they are. They can easily handle temps down to 30F as long as kept drier. On the flipside, they can handle heat waves as long as you give them timely watering. Give them a bit more during those conditions, they are not cacti.

Our growing areas are very different, so evaluate your area and your own habits. Do you tend to water often? You will have to learn to discipline yourself about that.

Containers need not be too big and too deep, their root systems are very shallow and small. So oftentimes, you can leave the plants in their original container for such a long time as long as the media used was well draining.

As for my own preference, I do not like grouping many succulents in one container. Only if I am sure they have similar growing habits and needs, then I can do that. But oftentimes, I prefer to grow them in their separate containers. It is so easy for some succulents to overrun others, and it will get more difficult to separate them in the long run.

Go take a walk in a wild natural area. How many variegated plants will you see? Probably none. Do variegated plants not exist in the wild. Yes they do, but they often do not survive. They are weaker than the non-variegated siblings. They lack chlorophyll, so they are slower to grow, they are more prone to disease and bugs, the are more sensitive to sunlight, temperature fluctuations, etc... (There are exceptions, when the variegated out perform non-variegated, but those exceptions are extremely rare.) So, it could be any of the above that killed off your plants. Actually I have had issues with that plant as well. Not the extent of not getting it to grow, but it will normally be deformed.

There are many cultivars of Crassula ovata that are variegated. Have you tried more than one. Unfortunately they are often misnamed. I have seen the same plant labelled Lemon Lime, Variegata & Tri-colour.

Yes, variegation will tend to make plants weaker, smaller, and slower. Different cultivars (as cullen mentioned) may behave differently in this respect. There are plenty of exceptions to the weaker/smaller/slower rule, and some variegated succulents are downright weedy.

When in doubt, give your variegated plants more protection from direct (outdoor) sun than their normal equivalent. This could mean fewer hours or kinder hours (morning sun) or filtered light (shade cloth, dappled sun under a tree). Give them better drainage or water less often, if you're an overwaterer. Give them less fertilizer. Do not expose them to temperature extremes.

Here's an example from the patio. This is a variegated Aeonium cultivar called "Mardi Gras" with a spontaneous reversion on one branch. Compare the width of the leaves on the variegated version and the reversion (non-variegated equivalent). If I were to cut and root these 2 heads to grow new plants, the variegated one would root slower and have smaller rosettes and shorter stems. It would also be much more sensitive to lots of sun (this I know from experience). The variegated branch on this plant is actually benefitting from the extra chlorophyll on the normal branch.



Here is a different "Mardi Gras" with an extra-variegated branch.



If you compare the variegated to the extra-variegated, you can see the latter is sort of scrawny, and this would be particularly evident if it were removed from the mother plant, and forced to grow without her help. (There's also a totally variegated head on this plant which is about 1/3 normal size, and could never be rooted to start a new plant.)

With this plant, stress is very evident. The intense red color of the leaves is an excellent indicator of stress, and you can see in both cases above that more variegation causes more stress, on rosettes growing side by side under identical conditions and care.

Your title is "mini variegated jade".
Is this Portulacaria afra vaeiegata or is it a varigated version of Crassula ovata?
I have had terrible luck with Crassula ovata variegata.
It always seems to get the black spots and dies from fungus
weather I grow it wet or dry, full sun or shade.
I have finally given up even trying to grow it.
The same is true with many other Crassulas like pagoda, springtime and perforata.
I presume they do not like my humidity or maybe it is just not hot enough for them.
The standard Crassula ovata grows like gang busters for me in full sun or shade.
For me the Portulacaris afra variegata prefers full sun and dry.
I feel it is better to grow it separately.
Its' water needs are different from many of the other succulents.

Yes, too much humidity and being too rain soaked, the Crassulas do not like that.

I would give up all those plants and more if I could live in The Kaui Desert. One of the many beautiful places on the island. It does mean giving up many of the amenities I am use to, but it's worth it.

Turbosaurus said:I've had this plant a bunch of times, by itself and in mixed succulent planters and it ALWAYS always dies on me. It's the first one to show stress and will loose all its leaves overnight. What gives?

Obviously it's more sensitive, but why? Or rather sensitive to what? Overwatering, underwatering? Temperature or light fluctuations? does it have more sensitive roots that require a drier/faster draining soil AND more frequent watering?

It's driving me nuts. Once or twice might just be sloppy work on my part... a winter indoor location w/o enough light, or letting it get too dry or too wet, but now I have tried this plant at least 7 times in the last 5 years, different times of year, different size pots, different locations, various soil mixes and I kill it within a year or less every single time. I'm doing something fundamentally wrong and I don't know what else to try.

I'm open to any stories/theories you have, to help me think it through and figure this out.

I have one that's growing pretty nice. Same rate of speed and the same strength as the green Jade. BUT! They need good light. Even the typical green ones. A few years ago I literally lost half of my green Jade, because had it front of a window and forgot to turn it on a regular basis. Large branches started dropping like fall leaves just on the side away from the window. I grow mine in typical Cati soil.

Honestly I had no idea what it is. Home Depot labels them "succulent assorted, lol". Did some looking around, It's portulacaria afra.
I have crassula ovata and Gollum that both do really well for me. This guy is probably about 15 years old. My oldest Gollum is probably around 7 year old, and much smaller, but I've trimmed it hard and often to keep it in a smaller location and have great success rooting and giving away the cuttings.

I may try again this summer.. but I did go overboard on begonias for the north side of the house. we'll see, I may have my hands full.

Sun, sun, sun! I use basic store cactus mix with no issues. My pots there in are probably larger than most but I just water them less. You'll over water on way before you'll underwater it. Mine tolerate drafts well if there dry. If given good sun the white in the varigaited ones will turn a beautiful red.

Now I really feel like a knucklehead, if you're keeping them alive in zone 4! Lol. I think this summer I might do an experiment, buy 3-4 (or one big one and root cuttings) put them all in different containers w the same fast draining mix, give them all full sun and only vary the amount of water they get. I have a moisture meter, which while not necessarily accurate should give me precise comparisons.

Turbosaurus said:Now I really feel like a knucklehead, if you're keeping them alive in zone 4! Lol. I think this summer I might do an experiment, buy 3-4 (or one big one and root cuttings) put them all in different containers w the same fast draining mix, give them all full sun and only vary the amount of water they get. I have a moisture meter, which while not necessarily accurate should give me precise comparisons.

Here's mine, I grow it with a eastern exposure. It looks boring now because we're coming out of winter. But by fall the whites turn red. In winter they turn back to white. Strong growth and heavy branches.

That's beautiful, but not the one I'm failing at (but probably only because I haven't tried). Maybe I should try to get my hands on a cutting of those instead?

Turbosaurus said:That's beautiful, but not the one I'm failing at (but probably only because I haven't tried). Maybe I should try to get my hands on a cutting of those instead?

You have pictures of the one you talking about? I am curious.
If you do get a cutting, make sure it's a branch cutting. Leaf cuttings can be unpredictable. My big green Jade came from a leaf cutting from a varigaited jade

Portulacaria something... afra..afran
Dave's garden has aJade article that's says these are.. for him.. almost the same in terms of care. For me.. with 5-7 dead portulacaria and 1 each crassula that are growing me out of house and home... they are not. So I'm trying to figure out why...

While I adore my full size jades, this little guy made a beautiful companion to my other trailing succulents.

But now I'm just like "oh yeah, b#&$*... you think you can beat me, bring it!"

That's not true, At all lol. I'm actually crying over it... "your mommy loves you so much, I'm sorry, so sorry...what I'm doing wrong"

I think one of the things that attracted me to succulents is that they're basically immortal.
If a seedling dies, I've extinguished a life.If a cutting dies? Compost heap was the best possible outcome without my help, and whoever gave it to me has kept the original live.. there's no guilt and very little fear of failure.

Turbosaurus said:Portulacaria something... afra..afran
Dave's garden has aJade article that's says these are.. for him.. almost the same in terms of care. For me.. with 5-7 dead portulacaria and 1 each crassula that are growing me out of house and home... they are not. So I'm trying to figure out why...

I wasn't thinking about that type of plant. This might help you. https://succulentplantcare.com...