Botany Bay jade (Crassula ovata ‘Botany Bay’) is known for its compact, bushy growth habit, with light green-yellow leaves edged in red. A classic feng shui plant — the money plant, the good-luck plant. You receive the exact plant photographed.
📦 Important Shipping & Sizing Information
- Sizing: Compact, bushy specimen approximately 8 in. tall as pictured
- Shipped: Bare-root — the pot pictured is not included
What's Included
- 1x Crassula ovata 'Botany Bay' bonsai tree
- 1x Custom Unboxing, Planting, and Acclimation Care Guide
(Note: Soil, planter pots, and planting mediums are not included in this purchase.)
💤 Acclimation Care Instructions
- Light: Position your plant in a location that receives bright, indirect sunlight or soft morning sun. Avoid harsh, direct afternoon sun initially, which can easily scorch the unestablished leaves.
- Outdoor Placement: Optimal in full sun to partial shade. Gradually introduce the plant to outdoor light levels over several weeks to prevent foliage scorch.
- Indoor Placement: Provide bright, indirect sunlight. If natural windows are insufficient, position grow lights roughly 6 inches above the plant for 12 to 14 hours per day.
- Watering (Crucial): Keep the soil completely dry while the plant acclimates to its new pot. Do not give it regular, deep waterings at this stage, as it cannot absorb bulk moisture without an active root system. You may lightly mist or add a few drops of water around the base once every 2–3 weeks purely to stimulate future root development. Regular "soak and dry" watering should only resume once the plant anchors its roots.
- Airflow: Ensure the plant is kept in an area with excellent air circulation to keep the core dry and disease-free.
🌱 Unboxing & Planting Guide
- Gentle Unboxing: Carefully open your package immediately upon arrival. Gently remove any protective wrapping from the bare-root plant.
- Inspect & Rest: Set the plant in a shaded, well-ventilated indoor area for 24 hours to allow it to acclimate to your local environment after its journey.
- Select Your Soil: Prepare a pot filled with a highly porous, gritty cactus and succulent soil mix (we highly recommend blending in extra perlite or pumice to maximize drainage properties).
- Planting: Gently rest the base of the bare-root plant directly on top of the dry soil. You can lightly press it down to keep it upright, or use a few decorative top-dressing stones to prop it securely into place.
📖 Complete Long-Term Care Reference
- Light: Outdoor: full sun to partial shade, introduced gradually to avoid leaf scorch. Indoor: bright, indirect sunlight, or grow lights set 6 inches above the plant for 12–14 hours daily.
- Temperature: Enjoys warm climates. They thrive beautifully in temperatures of 30°F (-1.1°C) and above. Keep protected from harsh freezing conditions.
- Watering: Water only when the topsoil feels completely dry to the touch. Thoroughly drench the substrate, then allow it to dry out entirely before watering again. Summer: Water thoroughly every few days if kept outdoors in high heat. Winter: Reduce watering significantly, adjusting to once every week or two depending on indoor dry levels.
- Fertilizer: Apply a balanced, diluted succulent fertilizer during the active spring and autumn growing seasons. Very minimal fertilization is needed; completely avoid fertilizing during peak summer or deep winter.
- Soil: Always use a well-draining, highly gritty, and porous potting soil mix.
- Bloom Time: Late spring through early summer.
- Flowers: Displays lovely star-shaped pink or white blooms when mature.
- Hardiness Zone: Best suited for outdoor growth in Zones 9–11.
- Toxicity: Completely non-toxic to humans, but it is best to keep it safely away from house pets.
Botanical Classification & Synonyms: This specimen is Crassula ovata 'Botany Bay', also known as Crassula argentea and Crassula portulacea, and commonly called the Jade Plant, Money Plant or Friendship Tree.
(Note for search indexing: sometimes searched as Crasula ovata or Crassula ovato.)
