Crassula Platyphylla is a fabulous Jade plant which belongs to the family Crassulaceae. They are called burgundy Jade plant and Crassula burgundy in common.
Crassula Platyphylla are quite famous plants among the succulent enthusiasts as one of the best vibrant colors forming plants when they go through stress.
Crassula Platyphylla plants originate from South Africa. Many gardeners are interested in having them due to the minimum care they require.
If you were wondering about adding a Jade plant, consider growing a Crassula Platyphylla plant as it will undoubtedly amaze you with its distinctive looks and with its vigorous growth.
So, if you are excited to educate yourself more on this plant, keep on reading this article as it would be very useful for you.
How do I identify crassula Platyphylla?
You may identify the Crassula Platyphylla plants from its thick green colored leaves which tend to turn red or burgundy when they go through stress conditions.
Crassula Platyphylla plants grow in shrub type.
Size of the plant
The Crassula Platyphylla plant would grow up to 15cm-20cm.
Crassula Platyphylla plants are slow growing plants and tend to grow in an upright manner.
One look care guide
|Botanical Name||Crassula Platyphylla|
|Common Name||Burgundy Jade plants, Crassula burgundy|
|Mature Size||15cm-20 cm in height|
|Sun Exposure||Full Sunlight to partial shade|
|Flower Color||Green to white|
|Hardiness Zones||USDA hardiness zone 9b – 11b,|
|Native Area||South Africa|
|Average price||USD 5|
How do you take care of crassula Platyphylla?
It is very easy to care for the Crassula Platyphylla plants. You could refer to the following guidelines when growing them.
Crassula Platyphylla are fond of growing under strong sunlight levels.
Just as with the majority of succulents, Crassula Platyphylla could also grow healthily given that they can gain full sunlight to partial sunlight.
To elaborate further on this, you need to expose them for 6 hours of full sunlight preferably in the morning hours daily.
Hence, the place where you grow them is very crucial to fulfil their light requirement.
A bright sunny window will suit these plants well if you wish to grow them indoors.
Furthermore, if you think your plants are running short of sufficient sunlight, you could be tactful in moving the plants in and out from your house.
If you grow them as garden plants, you could consider growing them in tubs. That will allow the plants to grow under direct sunlight.
Temperature and humidity
Crassula Platyphylla plants cannot tolerate cold weather conditions.
Having said that, they can withstand below freezing cold weather conditions for some time, but not for too long.
Keep in mind not to expose them to colder temperatures below than 25 degrees Fahrenheit ( -3.9 degrees Celsius).
Despite the fact that Crassula Platyphylla plants are tolerant of strong sunlight levels, they could also get sunburns if you expose them to too intense hot weather conditions.
Hence, ensure that you use shade cloths or companion plants to provide shelter for them so that they will be protected from extreme heated conditions.
In terms of the right humidity levels, best is to grow them in dry to moderate humidity levels.
If you end up growing them in high humidity levels, that will make your Crassula Platyphylla plants more prone towards root rot and for other infections.
It would in fact make your plants softer and soggier and cause for the health deterioration of the plants.
It is somewhat difficult to care for the Crassula Platyphylla plants grown outdoors due to the drastic weather changes which you have no control of.
I suggest you grow them in light containers and bring them indoors whenever there are any fluctuations in the weather conditions.
You could grow them as outdoor plants during summer and bring them in when the weather conditions get much cooler.
Is it cold hardy?
Crassula Platyphylla plants are not cold hardy plants. Having said that they could withstand below freezing temperatures for some time but not for a longer period.
USDA Hardiness Zone
Crassula Platyphylla plants are hardy in USDA hardiness zones 9b-11b.
Crassula Platyphylla plants have typical succulent watering requirements. However, you could use two methods to water these plants.
First you may water them at the bottom of this plant.
If not, you could place a tray filled with water and locate it underneath the pot which will consequently allow the plant roots to soak the water in.
If you wish to water the plants by simply letting the water soak through the soil, you need to water them at their base of the plant.
If you end up watering from overhead, it could create diseases and infections. Further those conditions may spread from infected leaves to the healthy leaves as well.
Sadly, it will be very difficult to overcome this menace once it takes place. In addition to that, if the soil condition is moist, you need to wait for a few days until it dries and only then resume watering them.
I suggest you keep a note on your watering schedule so that you have a better understanding.
If you wish to water them from the bottom up, you could place a tray under the pot and fill the tray with adequate water for a few minutes.
Next, you may throw out the excess water left in the tray. Checking the soil condition is very crucial before you water these plants so that it will help you to overcome any potential repercussions such as root rot.
Soil Requirement Type / ph.
A well-draining cactus potting medium would be ideal to grow these plants. Furthermore, you could add layers of pebbles, stones on top of the soil medium.
The purpose of having the pebbles and stones is to fasten the drainage of the potting medium. Avoid using soil mix which you have added fertilizers in advance.
Further do not proceed with store bought potting soil also for them as it would be unhealthy. Crassula Platyphylla plants do not usually grow in soil mixes which are enriched with nutrients.
Flowering and Fragrance
Crassula Platyphylla plants produce flowers in green to white. Those flowers form in small clusters and arise on thin stalks.
Pot size Potting and Repotting
A clay pot or a terracotta pot would be ideal to grow these plants as they will not retain excess moisture within the pot. Ideal pot size should be three inches larger than the plant size. So, it could grow feely.
When it comes to repotting, spring would be the ideal season to conduct repotting of the burgundy Jade plants.
You need to report them once the new growth takes place, particularly during late winter or in early spring.
However, repotting burgundy Jade plants is not that easy when compared with the rest of other succulents. Hence you need to have a little bit of patience when practicing this.
However, when you repot them, make sure you do not bury the jade plant stem in the dirt.
You need to ideally leave a couple of inches open for air so that it could conduct the photosynthesis process.
Keep in mind that you need to keep enough space between individual leaves as then there will be no water retained among the leaves.
Consequently, it will help to avoid any probable root rot which could occur.
Where to Plant
You could grow these plants as houseplants given that they get a place where they can gain plenty of sunlight.
It could possibly be a bright sunny window spot.
On the other hand, if you grow them outdoors, you could plant them in a spot which will allow them to gain full sunlight and partial sunlight as explained above.
Fertilizer and time of year
As aforesaid, burgundy Jade plants do not prefer to grow in soil mixes which are enriched with nutrients.
Having said that you could consider feeding them once every fortnight as that would be beneficial in forming red leaves.
You could use a commercial succulent soil mix or a cactus soil mix which consist of micronutrients. Alternatively, you could utilize slow-release pellets as well.
They will hardly cause fertilizer burnings in the plants in comparison with the liquid fertilizers.Best is to dilute the fertilizers and then apply.
Avoid providing them fertilizer in excess since it could be harmful for your plants.
Burgundy Jade plants may go through dormancy during fall and winter.
Can be toxic to pets
Burgundy Jade plants are not toxic for pets as well as for humans. They do not contain any unhealthy toxins.
Having said that, if you have shown any allergy reaction for any of the other crassula plants, you need to be careful when dealing with these plants as they contain the same proteins as other Jade plants.
Common bugs and illnesses
Mealybugs and other fungal diseases could be a menace when growing these plants.
In addition to that, they are susceptible to other diseases such as root rot, powdery mildew too. Over watering and not growing them in a right soil mix may cause them to go through these conditions.
It is important that you identify the diseases well in advance so that you could attend to them early and avoid further repercussions.
Moreover, Keep checking your plants, so that you could spot if there are any issues. The sooner you identify the better it would be.
On another note the outdoor grown Burgundy Jade plants are more vulnerable for diseases when compared to indoor grown Burgundy Jade plants.
Special Care tips
Burgundy Jade plants can thrive well on their own. With that being said, you could consider pruning them a little so that it will make the plant look healthy and neat.
If you see your Burgundy Jade plant have become etiolated, you should prune them to give them their best looks. If you fail to prune them on time, it will give them a misshapen look.
In addition to that, get rid of whatever the dead, wilted or damaged leaves you could find unless they could be perfect breeding places for the pets such as mealybugs.
How to propagate Crassula Platyphylla
Succulents in general are quite easy to propagate and Burgundy Jade plants are no different to them. You may use their leaf cuttings or offsets to propagate them.
Further you could use Burgundy Jade plants seeds also for the propagation.
If you want to try the seeds method, you need to be a little more patient as it is somewhat difficult. However, if you still wish to try this method, you could practice the following tips.
How to propagate Burgundy Jade plants by Seeds
Wait until Summer or late spring season arrives and start sowing the seeds. When you do this, refrain in exposing them for temperatures more than 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
Direct sunlight would be harmful for them, hence refrain from exposing them to direct sunlight. Not only that but also, refrain in covering the seeds with a top layer too.
You would expect the germination to take place within three weeks’ time. You may transplant them if you spot, they have formed a couple of leaves.
How to propagate Burgundy Jade plants by Cuttings
You could use the cuttings also to propagate the Burgundy Jade plants. To do that you could simply use a disinfected sharp knife to remove the leaves from the plant.
Next proceed and place them in a fresh soil mix and keep watering them when their soil is dry.
How to propagate Burgundy Jade plants by Offsets
If you are searching for an easiest way of propagating the Burgundy Jade plants, you could try this method.
First you should obtain a healthy plump offset which forms right at the plant’s bottom. Next get a sharp sterilized knife to remove them from the parent plant.
Next leave them in a warmer place and let them develop callus for a few days. If not, you could simply uproot the offset and propagate them too.
To start off you need to brush away the topsoil layer. Keep brushing away the soil until you could spot their soil.
Next you could use a clean knife and take off the offset as well as their roots from the mother plant. I recommend using your hand to do this if you may wish to do so.
Next you could follow the same steps as aforesaid for the rest.
Crassula Platyphylla plant benefits
Burgundy Jade plants are beneficial in improving the air quality. Further it is considered as a good luck symbol too.You could easily maintain them as well.
To conclude, Burgundy Jade plants are some attractive sets of plants which would perfectly fit in for any succulent lover’s collection.
You could easily care for them and easily propagate them too. These are compact plants and if you are someone who lives in an apartment, this is the plant you need to own.
So happy gardening with Burgundy Jade plants!