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half of my jade plant is dying

15 years ago

I received a jade plant as a gift about 5 years ago. It's in a clay pot in a cactus mix and gravel. It's on a shelf in a window that gets full sun for most of the day. I water it every Sunday and drain out whatever water collects in the clay dish at the bottom of the pot. It has always been healthy and growing well and seemed a happy plant. (It never bloomed, tho. I never even knew that jade plants did bloom until today!) Just within the past few weeks I started to notice three of the stems shriveling and entire branches of leaves falling off. Today when I went to water it I jiggled one of the shriveled stems and it broke off. The same happened with the other two stems. The widest was practically hollow inside and the part left sticking out of the pot had what appeared to be lichen (that sea green color) lining the inside of the stem. When I took a REALLY close look at one of the smaller remaining stems I spotted a tiny white bug (too small to be an aphid - it looked more like some sort of mite) that disappeared as quickly as it appeared. I could find no other of these critters. The other half of the plant appears to be perfectly healthy but I'm afraid that whatever killed one half will soon spread to the other. What can I do? Take cuttings? Transplant? I can't just let it die without trying to save it. Please help!

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Comments (4)

larry_b
15 years ago
Hi exbrooklyn,

Since you have not gotten a response in two days I thought I would chime in. I've had jade plants for several years, but would not call myself an expert. I also have never heard of a pest that looks like a fast moving white mite. I would definitely take cuttings of the plant just to make sure that you salvage something. Otherwise I think you might do better to post this over on the cactus and succulent forum. I think you'll get a better response there.

Good luck,

Larry
tootswisc
15 years ago
What ever you do, don't use malathian on it-a sure way to kill it. For sure do as Larry said-take some cuttings. Check for more bugs. Move it away from other healthy plants. I use a mixture of a few drops of Dr. Bronners pepperment soap in a spray bottle. Alcohol could be added to this. Spray the plant good including the soil and repeat every 5 to seven days if you do see more bugs.

Don't overwater-very easy to do. Watering every week might be too much. In the winter water much less then that
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Lol, Denise I would love to get some cuttings. I want to apologize to everyone for not getting back sooner, but I was tending to my son who is really sick. Josh, I checked the roots and they look fine. I have not watered the jade for a couple of days, but I was going to do that tonight. Mike, I would love to get your hoya..you are right we do live close to each other, I don't mind going 1/2 way to meet you. I am going to take the branches that look somewhat healthy. Thanks everyone for offering me all this information and some of your beloved plants. I really appreciate it. nae boston
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This is what I got. The sand is not that fine, it’s 1.5 mm, and it’s mixed with the soil, so it doesn’t seem like it can clog up if that’s what you’re thinking of. Do you think it’s ok? The other bag is the pebbles, the bag says 2mm but they are much bigger, I’d definitely say 3mm and more. I tried googling for images of coarse sand and grit just so I can get a better idea as in our language it’s all just sand and pebbles 😆 And I had to buy these at a different store, flower shops are not allowed to sell them, so I know she wasn’t advising just to sell something, it was genuine advice. She didn’t specify what kind of sand or pebbles though, so these I picked out myself, just what seemed ok to me. I doubt I could find pumice though. I mean tou probably could if you’re an enthousiast, but I’m just an amateur.
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greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
15 years ago
You could try moving it outdoors, into partial sun at first (gradually acclimating to more sun). Often, outdoor exposure will remedy initial pest/moisture issues. I'd also remove the top layer of soil/gravel (without exposing too many roots) to allow better aeration. The quality of your soil medium will determine how you water, and how healthy your plant's roots will be. Also, jades have "dormant" periods when they don't need as much water - watering on a schedule doesn't take this into account and can encourage root-rot.

As the others suggested, take cuttings just in case....

Josh
petzold6596
15 years ago
Jades like to be on the dry side. Water well every three to four weeks. Your problem may be stem rot cause by over watering. The "bug" way well be a white fly which is not a problem to the jade but you should check your other plants.

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