I have three jade plants which I aquired five years ago. They were all doing fine until about four months ago and then I started to notice that several of the leaves on each plant were getting brown marks (almost like dry scars) and some of the leaves had chunks on the side that looked like they had been eaten. Once in a while the leaves have small, fuzzy, white spots that, when wiped off with the finger reveal a dark coloured spot underneath. The soil from one of the plants with the biggest problem has develped an orange-brown film/growth on the soil and a litte bit on the inside of the pot. When I last watered it I saw one very tiny bug crawling in the soil but I don't know, if it is the culprit or not. I tried using a general pesticide for aphids and cicada which I sprayed on the leaves and on the soil but the plants have neither improved nor gotten worse. So far, only my succulent plants have been affected by this bug but not my other household plants. I would really like to save these plants as they have grown quite a bit over the years and are quite beautiful. Please help!!
The fuzzy spots are mealy bugs. They can deform the leaves as they form. They like dry conditions, as do your succulents. These are very common on jades and can be cleaned off using alcohol on a cotton swab or just grabbing them if you can. As to the mark on the largest leaf, I just don’t know. But what I can tell you is that they are on most plants and are very common. Perhaps there was some water sitting on the leaf? Unless your plant is teaming with bugs then I don’t think you need to worry too much.
I found an alternative method of removing mealy bugs and their eggs and it has worked tremendusly for me. take the plants to a sandy areas where tiny ants roam on your property and place the plant there. Within a day or so you will see these mealy bugs in the ants tentacles and the immediate problem will disappear. You have to leave the plant there for a bit till the next generation of mealy bugs hatch and they won't be able to reproduce because the ants will get them immediatey. I found this out by accident because I was overwhelmed with these bugs many years ago and put my plants outside because I was afraid the bugs would wander to the other unaffected jade plants I have and I have quite a few of them. May sound kookey but it works.
Do you have cats? a dog? On occassion my cat will decide to nibble the leaves of my jade plants, and has chewed pieces of the leaves right off... They turned dark brown where ever they were punctured/broken. Also, water drops on the leaves in direct sun will 'sunburn' the leaves leaving dark brown "burnt" spots. Just a thought...
Thanks for the info. Unfortunately I don't have a garden/yard so I am unable to test out the "ant treatment" but I have adminstered several alcohol treatments with cotton swabs and although it isn't completely gone the problem has retreated somewhat.
