Grow and Care for Jade Vine

Grow jade vine above about 60°F, in bright light, with soil that stays moist but drains. It is Strongylodon macrobotrys, a tropical woody vine also sold as emerald vine or turquoise jade vine, not a jade plant and not wisteria.

Keep it above 60°F, in bright light, with moist soil that drains

jade vine is Strongylodon macrobotrys, a woody liana from Philippine rainforests. The leaves are trifoliate. In spring and summer it hangs aquamarine, claw-shaped flowers in long clusters. [1] It wants bright light. Outdoors, morning sun with afternoon shade is safer than a west wall that bakes. In a greenhouse, give it full light with shade from hot midday. Keep the soil moist but draining, and keep the plant above about 60°F, because colder air damages the roots. [2] Do not expect flowers on a skinny starter. The vine usually blooms after the stem is about three-quarters of an inch thick, often in the second or third year. Take cuttings on How to Propagate Jade Vine.

Never let it freeze; water less in winter

This is a tender vine. It will not survive frost. In a cold garden, keep it in a heated greenhouse or a bright, warm room, and water much less once growth slows. A hot, dry living room all winter is a poor rest, and a freeze kills the plant. Ease it back into more water when spring growth starts.

Give it a strong pergola in a frost-free garden, or a clay pot you can keep warm

Most U.S. gardens cannot hold this vine in the ground. A clay pot that drains, with a sturdy trellis, is the usual start until you have a frost-free pergola that can carry a woody liana. [3] Plant in the ground only where frost never hits — south Florida and Hawaii are the usual outdoor homes — and set the roots where they stay cool while the canopy reaches brighter light.

1. Choose a clay pot with a drainage hole. Empty the saucer after you water.
2. Fill it with a peat-based mix that drains. Do not use packed soil that stays wet.
3. Set the plant no deeper than it grew in the nursery pot. Add a sturdy trellis on day one, because a hanging basket only works while the vine is small.
4. Water once to settle the mix, then wait until the top is dry before you water again.
5. Wait to move it into a larger pot until roots fill this one. Jumping two sizes holds too much wet mix around the stem.

1. If frost never hits, plant at the foot of a strong pergola or arbor, not a light fence.
2. Loosen rich, moist soil that still drains. Keep the root zone shaded with mulch so the canopy can reach brighter light.
3. Set the plant at the same depth it grew in the pot. Water to settle, then keep the soil moist, not soggy.
4. Tie new stems onto the frame while they are flexible. A mature woody stem is too heavy for a weak post.

Train stems level, then trim after bloom

The turquoise clusters hang, so they show best when the woody stems run along a beam about six to ten feet above the ground. Train new stems while they are still flexible. After bloom, shorten long shoots; a hard chop delays the next crop because flowers form on both old and new wood. [4]

1. Build or buy a strong pergola, arbor, or greenhouse beam before the vine gets woody.
2. Guide each new stem along the frame so as much of it as possible runs level. Tie it loosely with a wide tie so the bark is not cut as it thickens.
3. After the last cluster fades, shorten long side shoots and pull dead leaves so the frame is not overloaded.
4. Do not strip the vine hard in midsummer if you still want flowers on those stems.

Not a jade plant — and not wisteria or red jade vine

Jade vine is Strongylodon macrobotrys. It is not a jade plant. A jade plant is Crassula, a dry succulent shrub — see How to Grow Jade Plant. Wisteria is a hardy deciduous climber with fragrant pea flowers — see How to Grow Wisteria.

A Japanese wisteria sold as Macrobotrys is still wisteria, not this Philippine vine. Red jade vine, black jade vine, and yellow jade vine are Mucuna, other tropical climbers with different flower color. Hawaiian nuku iʻiwi is another Strongylodon, rarely offered, and it is not this shop card. This card is one jade vine. Extra species names on a listicle are not extra kinds we list.

If leaves yellow, raise the warmth, let the pot drain, and water when the top of the mix is dry. Do not let it freeze.