Jade Plant
To encourage bloom: An older plant kept cool, dry and bright through autumn; a warm, well-watered one stays green.
The starry pink-white flowers last for weeks.
The jade plant is the classic long-lived succulent that lives on windowsills for decades and gets passed between families like an heirloom. In good light the thick, oval leaves take on a red rim around the edges, and mature plants develop a woody, bonsai-like trunk that's half the appeal. It's the kind of plant that looks better the older it gets.
It asks for very little: bright sun, gritty soil, and water only when the soil has dried completely. The one mistake that kills most jades is overwatering - mushy stems at the base are the tell. Bring it outside for the summer if you can; the extra sun strengthens the trunk and deepens the leaf colour, and it may even reward you with clusters of pale pink star flowers in winter.
Wants as much direct sun as you can give it - a south-facing windowsill is ideal. In lower light it grows leggy and the leaves lose their red-tinged edges.
Soak the soil, then leave it bone dry before watering again
Feed with a dilute succulent fertiliser
Mushy stems at the base mean overwatering - ease off immediately
Red leaf edges mean good sun; plain green means it wants more light
Repot in gritty cactus mix when roots fill the pot