Hi gang, I am new to this site and am thrilled to talk with folks who might be able to help me... or more importantly, my Jade! I have a 15 year old Jade who until last summer resided in San Francisco on a shaded porch. My 3' tall baby made the move to Bozeman, MT and sat on my shady porch through the summer and moved inside when it got cold. I have Northern exposure and 3 grow lights (the closest is about 3' from the plant) to help with ambient light for the Jade and an entire rockery of ferns and pothos. The Jade was fine until last month. Now it has shed about 1/3 of it's leaves. Some are completely withered, some look perfect. None are squishey. Some have black spots in various locations on the leaves. I did wipe 3 or 4 cottony bits off of the plant and have not had a reoccurance. Everything I've read seems to contridict itself. Too much water, too little, humidify the air, don't let the leaves get wet. I must note here that the indoor temp in my house is a constant 72 degrees w/ humidity ranging from 49%-54%. Any ideas? I have never seen leaf shed like this before. I hope the pics are clear enough. Thanks
Okay, Jade plants can eventually grow into handsome 80 foot trees here, and this in a biome where they're constantly rained on. I'd say that wet leaves isn't a problem for them. May I say that's a lovely Jade, and it's probably just a bit miffed that it got moved. And correct me if I'm wrong, but Montana is quite a bit less humid than San Francisco, is it not? If it's significantly drier in your new home, the Jade might be reacting to that as well. Try putting a pan of rocks and water near the base or under the pot to increase the ambient humidity around the plant. Either this or mist it once a week on the good leaves. Hope this helps.
Thanks Lorax, I do have my baby in a pan of rocks but I stopped putting water in it when I became concerned about over watering. I do have a humidifier and as I mentioned the house is between 49-54%. I guess the real question is what was the humidity in San Francisco! I will try misting directly and watering from the bottom. It is just so difficult to guess! Thank you again for your reply.
Boompa bumpa boompa bumpa, da da-da daaaa! Yes, take it out of the pan and water it less. Coloring and shape of leaves indicate it is not getting optimum light, it has the shade type of foliage these often have under average indoor conditions. It would love it if you could stand it next to a floor-to-ceiling south-facing window, without curtains - outdoors these even grown in full sun in Honolulu.
No chance on a south facing window, I am afraid. Perhaps I can jerryrig a floor lamp or two and up the grow lights. I have another couple of months before I can move her back outside and even then it is shady. I am watering less and just praying that I haven't done too much damage already. Thanks for your input.
Your main issue is the rotting, drying out is the remedy. These will even sometimes flower well with the type of foliage yours has.
Thanks Ron, I just went back out and took a good long look at her while sweeping up all the leaves. I think I may have been hasty in dismissing fungi and parasites. Upon further inspection, it looks like I do have more of the cottony webbing throughout the plant. I spent a good hour picking it all off! I also have 20-30% of the leaves showing some sort of black spot. So while I go about upping the light and reducing the water. (I currently have loose, dry soil down about an inch and then it is hard and damp). I am considering moving a humidifier over to kill off the spider mites (I am assuming this is the cotton) but then that will be counter-productive to the drying out process! I have no idea what to do about the Black Spot!!! PS No spotting on the stems... leaves only. Sometimes a round spot in the middle of the leaf and sometimes just on the edge, It lies flush with the leaf w/ no bumpy or irregular surface. I was told that this was a sign that the plant was too dry! aaagh, now what?
The cottony substance suggests mealy bug infestation. This is one of the more common pests of succulent plants. Wiping them off with an alchohol-soaked cotton swab is usually the most effective treatment. You may find yourself repeating this treatment every few weeks, or so, until all the little critters are gone. Most succulents do not tolerate insecticidal soaps as it plugs off the pores in their foliage which function to control moisture content within their tissues. The black spot may be a secondary infection due to the mealy bugs. Keep the plant well-groomed and remove any significantly diseased tissue. Although your soil may be a contributor to the condition of the plant, doing too much, too soon, in a stressed plant may lead to its death. Use just enough water to keep the soil dry to only slightly moist. After a few weeks of recovery, you will want to change the soil to a very loose, well-draining mix. You may want to dust the roots with a rooting hormone with a fungicide at this time. Give the plant a good week or so before watering to allow any root damage to heal. Later, in a few months, you may want to prune the plant to reshape and induce newer, more compact growth. Crassula species are generally summer dormant plants that will have reduced growth during this time, but by early Fall the plant should start to fill in nicely. Here is an excellent web link that should answer any more questions. http://www.highlandsucculents.com/culture_guide.htm
