I have an old jade plant in trouble. I'm hoping it can be saved - for its own sake and because our whole family is attached to it. It's been in the family for more than forty years, and been totally indestructible; it's been overwatered and recovered, sunburned and recovered, and hacked back (from floor-to-ceiling height to table height) and moved and repotted many times. I inherited it nine years ago, and for many years it did brilliantly, got tons of admiration and it even flowered a few times. Then I decided to repot it. It still looked fabulous, but it was tipping over when anyone brushed against it. That's when the trouble started. A rough chronology: 1) Summer 2009 I repotted from a tiny glazed pot w no drainage hole into a somewhat larger unglazed clay pot w drainage that I'd had sitting around empty for many years. The soil was sterilized. I scrubbed the pot well, I think I used dilute bleach. It was totally root-bound, but I didn't realize roots could be pruned so I just dumped into into the new pot w new soil around it. 2) Almost right away it seemed less vigourous. Visitors said it looked fine, but I knew it wasn't the same. Still, no dramatic signs of trouble. 3) Summer 2010 I repotted again. Into a brand new, much larger pot glazed on the outside. I didn't wash the pot. The soil was a mix of cactus potting soil and my own compost, which I sterilized according to online info, but with not much confidence I was doing it right. I sliced the roots that were binding the others, and tried to loosen the root ball. There were lots of tiny yellow balls throughout the soil around the roots. I wasn't sure if these were just crystallized salts, or some serious problem. No sign of rot or mould, just the funny yellow balls. 4) Slowly since then, the plant has been getting less healthy. Lots of leaf drop, smaller and slower and slightly deformed new growth, thinner stems. 5) Winter 2012 the trouble seemed to accelerate. Much more leaf drop, preceded by yellowing, browning and withering randomly (neither the top nor bottom of stem). No sign of mould or insects. No overwatering. I'm assuming I did something wrong in one or both repottings, and that there may be some kind of infection. Is there anything I can do to fix it? I'm usually averse to chemical treatment, but if there's anything at all, I'll try it. I feel responsible to the family to keep this think healthy. Thanks.
