My jade plant was lush and beautiful. I just noticed that the leaves are drooping and clinging toward the stems...nothing has changed in the house, I haven't moved the plant....is it failing??? HELP...
how long have you had it? what kind of pot and soil is it in? how frequently have you been watering it? can you post a pic?
Hi, thanks for responding...I've had it about 3-4 years. Don't know what kind of soil, bought at Home Depot and it grew wonderfully. It used to be perky, now droopy. As soon as I figure out how to load the pix, I will...I usually water once a week...the leaves are not full, they are flatter than usual.....
i agree, generally jades will droop if they don't have enough water. if you haven't been providing enough water, the soil can get really, really dry and when you do water, it just runs through the soil without getting absorbed. i'd recommend giving the pot a good soak in a bowl of water - hopefully it has drainage holes in the bottom or sides of it! keep refilling the dish with water and when the top of the soil starts to soften up and feel a bit moist, you can discard the extra water - just let the pot stand in the dish for about a half hour so that any excess can work it's way out. once it's had a good, proper soaking, it should perk up (may take a couple of days). after that, make sure to water thoroughly each time. by thoroughly i mean make sure all the soil in the pot is moistened. i've found it's best (and easiest) to do it by watering from below...so easy to set the pot in large bowl and fill with water - go off to do something else and check back in half an hour or so and refill with more water...continue until the top of the soil shows moisture. all my plants have thrived since i started watering like this.
Hi, everything I've read said to water sparsely, let it dry out almost completely. I've never done that, watering on a fairly consistent basis, at least once a week. So now I'm really confused.....
i water my jades about every three weeks to four weeks in winter and about every two to three weeks in summer. i do a good soaking like i described above and then don't water again until the soil is completely dry. if you're not thoroughly wetting all the soil in the pot, then the roots aren't getting what they need to draw up into the plant. yes, jades are succulents and that means they don't need a ton of water all the time. they do need sufficient water when they do get it though.
stick your finger down into the soil - it should be dry at least half way down before you water again. you can also use a bamboo skewer (like for shishkebabs) and stick that in the soil (all the way to the bottom of the pot) - let it sit for about 5 minutes and then remove. if it feels moist at the halfway point, wait a couple days and check again. if it's not moist, then water. it's been in that soil for a long time - it really should be repotted with fresh soil. most plants should be repotted every 2-3 years. i'd say that's probably most of the problem. soil gets old and loses whatever nutritional value it has (even if you fertilize), so replacing the soil may be all that's needed.
Uh, oh, I just checked the soil and it's kind of hard packed so I can't get my finger down...but there are many leaves that are now turning red and shriveling (smaller ones)....so I'm going to sit it in water to thoroughly water and hope that's it. I repotted the plant a little more than a year ago and the roots are not coming out the bottom....(I can't figure out how the pictures work...way too difficult to post one!!)
