Hi. I have a jade plant that is all "floppy". I repotted it into a slightly larger container and it's still "floppy". Is this normal? I have put stakes in the container and tried to tie the heavy branches to them, but it just wants to "flop'. Other than that, it is very healthy looking. Anyone have any ideas? I'm afraid that as it continues it's growth it will break as the branches/leaves seem very delicate. I just love this plant so hoping someone can help me. Thank you.
When you repotted it, did it look potbound ? Jade's have quite small rootballs in comparison to the size of the crowns, so potting to a larger size pot is often not the best move when one looks unhappy. How much light is it getting ? Without a picture, it's hard to say but it sounds like it may not be getting strong enough light, and is thus etiolating, or stretching out. This causes the the spaces between the leaves to be longer than it should be, and the stems to be thinner than they should be, which would certainly cause it to be floppy. There isn't any way to fix this problem other than to cut the plant back to whatever remains of normal looking growth and then put it in stronger light. Discard all the cut off stuff, there's no point in trying to root them. Jade's need full sun, ideally, or as close to it as you can get. They grow them as hedges in places like LA, California, so they need lots of sun to grow well.
Thank you for your reply! The plant was not rootbound at all. 3 weeks ago I transplanted it into a larger pot and put it in my heated greenhouse. It is coming on leaps and bounds, with many new leaves emerging, as it's getting much more light there. In the Vancouver area Jade plants cannot be left outside in winter because of the wet and frost. I have to agree with you that the main problem was lack of light. I will certainly bear that in mind when I bring it back into the house, or perhaps I'll leave it in the greenhouse for the rest of the winter. Thanks again!
Try Mississauga ! Nice chilly winters here :-). In future, before you repot a plant like a jade, check the rootball and see if it's at all potbound. While it's not a great idea to allow a plant to become severely potbound, where succulents are concerned, it's also not very helpful to give those roots more room than they need, as the extra soil just holds extra water, which can lead to root rot. I'm glad you have the greenhouse, that should help a lot. I wish I had fifty bucks for every tiny jade or similar sort that I've seen potted into a six or even ten inch pot because the owner figured that way they would either not have to water it much, or that it would help it grow bigger, because it would be like growing in the ground outside - because then I could afford my own greenhouse :-).
Nope, I don't think my pot is too big at all. I would enclose a photo, but I'm not really computer literate. Anyway, I'm pleased to see that I'm actually getting new leaves since I re-potted. Just have to be carefully that the soil doesn't stay too wet, and all should be okay. Thanks for your reply. Sue