Hi Ladys and Gentlemen can i please have some help with my poor jade plant? I just moved into my new house and the last owners left me a beautiful jade plant, its in a pot about 20 inches round and about 20 deep and the plant is about 6 feet tall. It is dropping all of its nice green leaves all over the place, and i think its not verry happy. What is the best environment for my jade plant and how often do i need to water it? Or shall i plant it in the ground? Regards James Australia
if you could post some pics, that would be helpful! congrats on the new house and the surprise plant left by the previous owners!! it must be a beautiful plant - when they're that large, they usually are gorgeous! how long have you been in the house and what have you done with the jade? by that i mean, how often have you watered it and how much water have you given? also, did you move it to another spot in the house? if you left it where the previous owners had it, did you do something with lighting? remove curtains or add curtains? jades are a bit finicky and don't like changes - whether it's a move to a different location (even just 10 feet), changing the amount of light they get or modifying the watering schedule. so, if you've done any of that, that could be the issue. so, first off, if you moved it or changed how much light it gets (whether you moved it or just changed something about the lighting in the spot it's in, put curtains up/took them down, etc), get things back to how it was originally - or as close to it as you can. if you moved it and it's now close to the a/c, that will be the issue - they don't like to be cold! next is to check the soil. have you watered it? how often and how well? that's a really big pot so it would be very easy to go to heavy or too light - even for someone who is used to watering plants!! does the pot have drainage holes in the bottom? i'll assume it does if the jade was healthy to begin with. okay. watering. jades are a succulent and will hold water reserves inside their trunks, branches and especially the leaves, so watering doesn't need to be done weekly (unless you have the plant outside in a pot, then, it would need weekly watering in the hot summer months). these plants like to dry out a bit before they get rewatered. if the soil is kept too wet, they can easily rot. if kept to dry, for too long a period of time, they will use up their reserves and that causes its own problems. before watering, check the soil. in a container that large, the soil should be dry down three to four inches before watering. if it's possible, set the container in a dish and fill the dish with water and let it be soaked up into the soil - continue adding water until you see the soil at the top starting to soften up and become moist (it'll take a while in a pot that size). once you see the top getting moist, remove the container from the water and allow any excess water to drain off. if you can't water from the bottom, you'll have to do it the usual way and then judge how much more to give. pour in a cup or two and let it soak down for a few minutes and then repeat. feel the side of the pot - does it feel cool & moist/dampish? if not, add another cup of water and let it settle into the soil and feel the bottom again. once the side of the pot feels different/moist most of the way down to the bottom, i'd say that would be enough water. if you see water coming out of the bottom drain holes, then you've definitely given it enough and can stop. keep track of how much you put in - so you can compare to the next time you water. it'll change as the seasons change and whether you've got the a/c or the heat on. as you get familiar with it and as the seasons change, you'll be able to judge better how often to water it as well as how much water to give it. since it's summer there, it should be in a growing period and, if you've underwatered it, that may be the problem. getting it properly watered should get it back in shape. if you think it may be overwatered, you can check the trunk to see if it's mushy. if it is, that's a whole other issue (rot). it can be dealt with successfully. and, if you did over water it, it may not be all that bad yet! could just be the roots are in a bit of bad shape and that can be dealt with fairly easily. planting it in the ground may be an option if where you are doesn't get to freezing. although, if it's been inside all these years, it may not adjust to being outside. i don't have the option where i live, so i can't say for sure. maybe someone else could answer that. please post some pics and give us some background on what you've done so far. we'll help get your jade back to good health!
