I take care of several plant at my college as a part of my workstudy. One of those plants is a jade plant in one of the study areas, and since I started my job I've noticed that it is looking very sad and ill. One of the trunks has become very droopy and mushy. The other two trunks are neither, but are dropping leaves that appear to have a shiny, powdery substance on them. At first I thought that the dropped leaves were due to students abusing the plants (it happens surprisingly often!) but the leaves are falling in spots that are not easily accessible. Oddly enough, the mushy trunk has way more leaves than the healthier ones do. I was looking through old posts on the forum, and it sounds like this poor plant has some combination of powdery mildew and basal stem rot. Would it be possible to save the plant by pruning the diseased trunk and treating the plant with a fungicide? Should I wait to repot it, or should this be done immediately? (In case it can't, I took a cutting today and will take another couple tomorrow. But I'd really rather save the plant.)
It sounds like your jade is a victim of over-watering and inadequate light - as jade plants are native to southern Africa, you need to 'think African' for its requirements; bright light and arid conditions. Remove your jade from its pot and check for any mushy roots as well - if you find any, they need to be cut out. If the bottom of the stem is mushy, lay the plant on some paper and allow to dry outside of the pot. When dry, you may need to do some surgery to remove the damaged area... you can start a new plant by cutting the stem well above the mush and letting it dry out for a couple of weeks before replanting in dry, slightly sandy soil and water very lightly until established. Once established, water thoroughly and allow to dry out between waterings... if your jade is thirsty the bottom few leaves will wrinkle but will plump up again after getting a drink. I don't think the damaged stem will survive but the rest of the plant might. Good luck!
Also, if the remaining branches are strong and relativley healthy, try cutting and of course allow for drying the scar before repotting in a pro mix medium...my Crassulas have begun to bud/bloom for the winter season. I have hundreds of them!
I took care of it yesterday. Fortunately, it was a little less rotted than I thought; the roots weren't touched at all. The rotted stems seemed to be hollow and had green or white mold on the inside, though some of them were just discoloured. I repotted it in sandier medium, and added a layer of gravel and some river stones on the bottom of the pot. I had to cut a lot off, though it looks much better now and hasn't dropped any more leaves yet. K Baron - I took about 20 cuttings from healthy-looking foliage that I had to cut off because the trunk had begun to rot. I dusted them with some sulfur powder, and I hope I'll be able to sprout some of them. Hopefully I can make this one happy again, though. It was donated to the school several years ago and was obviously well-taken care of before that, because it was quite large before some pruning. I'd love to help it become as lush as the ones you've posted pictures of.
Re: Dying jade plant PLEASE HELP!! Hi there, my Jade plant has trunk rot. 3/4 trunks have died. I have read all the threads regarding this issue. I have un potted the plant, cut off the dead trunks and am left with one living trunk. I am drying it out, then plan to stand it in clean water to allow the roots to grow, before re potting. As there anything else I should do or have missed. I have had this plant for 15 years and desperately want to save it. It is now 1/5 of the size of its former glory. Any help gladly appreciated. What kind of soil should I use? Many thanks, Andrew.
You may have to try a more severe approach, if this is a virally infected/systemic version of rot? by taking a few of the healthiest leaflets and planting them?
