Hello seawitch! Welcome to ATP!
Jade plant or Crassula ovata is a succulent plant. So you have to plant it in a well draining media and in a container with drainage holes. By well draining, I use cactus mix and add some more pumice or perlite, to really make the media open. So when you water this plant, water it at the soil level thoroughly till water drains out. Then allow to dry. I do my watering early in the day, never at night, to avoid fungal/bacterial issues. Drying time varies from each of our locations, depending on our micro climates. So to help gauging that, you can put a rock beside the plant. If you want to check if soil is still wet, lift that rock. If it shows damp, then delay watering for a couple of days more.
The plant being a succulent, will hold water in its leaves and stems. They do their active transpiration at night, their stomates are closed during the day. During summer, it drinks a lot, but do not be tempted to overwater, it is very good in conserving the moisture it gets . It loves full sun/part sun.
When colder temps come, depending on your location, and winter conditions, you may have to bring it indoors and be more careful with watering. Once a month will be more than enough. But make sure it gets as much light or sun. Color of the leaves may turn darker green being indoors, since there is not much light. When it is time to bring it out in Spring, do it carefully so the leaves can acclimate again to outdoor conditions.
I find that it actively grows new leaves during cooler months, and fatter stems during summer. When grown outdoors in areas with mild winters, the leaves can turn rosy red, as it gets stressed by the chilly weather. It does not hurt the plant. What will hurt the plant will be getting rained on when it is cold. So if you have it outside in winter, make sure to keep it as dry as possible.
Root ball of jade plants are quite small and very shallow, so do not pot too big or very deep container. Each leaf is a potential new plant you can easily root if you want to propagate it.
Have fun!
If you can, post a photo of your jade plant, we love photos
