Indoors, Jades should be placed as close to a natural source of light as possible, they will cope with poor light conditions though this will result in poor growth rate and increased leaf size. Due to their arid natural habitat, Jade Trees are capable of holding large quantities of water in their leaves. Overwatered specimen develop poor rootsystems which become incapable of physically supporting their heavy foliage and become top heavy. Unlike other bonsai species, Jade should be lightly watered, if the compost is allowed to dry in-between waterings the roots are encouraged to search for moisture creating a far stronger and vigorous rootsystem. This also reduce the store of water in the foliage reducing the tendency to be top-heavy.
Water is only essential to the plant when the leaves start to develop a wrinkled texture.
In winter this can mean watering as little as once every 2-3 weeks. Stronger light encourages more vigorous growth than the use of fertilizers alone, a balanced feed once a month from mid-spring to Autumn is all the nutrients Jades require. Jades readily make new growth from wounds and individual leaves can be removed to quickly produce new branches. Jades respond very well to trunk reduction techniques, producing new growth from the wound area within 1-2 weeks. Jades respond to wiring very well, setting into new positions within 3-4 weeks depending on the vigour of the specimen.