I make sure to use water that has sat out overnight to water my plants. Does that not make a difference? Or not enough of a difference? You already learned that the crystalline structures on the leaves of your plant is composed of dissolved solids (sugar and mineral salts) left behind as the water in the exudate associated with the guttation (primarily driven by over-watering) evaporates. If you allow your water to rest overnight in an open pan, some of the water in the pan evaporates, but ALL of the dissolved solids in the water are left behind, So technically, the concentration of dissolved solids in the water (which includes fluoride, and chloramine, used now to chlorinate most tapwater) would be slightly higher than water straight from the tap. The pH of water straight from the tap is also slightly lower than water that has rested for a period of time, due to dissolved CO2 gassing off. Also yes, can you point me in the direction of drain hole tutorials?? I'm guessing you mean how to drill the holes? This should help: Drilling holes in pots The 2 types of drill bits most appropriate for drilling holes in pots are a diamond core drill for the highly vitrified (hard material - baked at very high temps - glass, ceramic, ......) pots, and a drill with several names for drilling clay pots fired at low temps, such as terra cotta. That (carbide) drill is called a 3-point drill, spear point drill, or a spade drill, seen here: You only need 1 - in 1/2 or 3/8" size. For the hard stuff, diamond core drills are best, though the 3 point drill will drill the hard stuff, too. Diamond core drills: You can buy either type at big box stores. They're not that expensive, and they last a long time if you take care of them. They are best used with a steady stream of coolant from a squeeze bottle (contact lens solution bottles work great for this) or with the work surface barely submerged. IE, put the pot upside down in a tub and fill the tub with water until it just covers the work surface. If you use a spritzer or squirt bottle, a 50/50 mix of antifreeze and water is an excellent coolant, and soapy water is better than plain water but not as good as the antifreeze mix. The coolant keeps the tool from over-heating, and in doing so, increases the life of the tool substantially - like triple or quadruple the number of holes you can drill. Regular masonry bits are "ok" for drilling terra cotta or cement (you can make them work), but inappropriate for anything harder. The right tool makes everything easier. And lastly, should I be flushing all my plants (pothos, croton, aloe, snake plant...) when I water? One way or another - YES, absolutely. Ideally, your choice of soil should allow you to water to beyond the point of saturation, so you're flushing the soil as you water. If you can't do that w/o worry that the soil will remain soggy for a prolonged period, limiting root function, or worse, wrecking root health it would be best to consider learning how to amend the soil you're using or make a soil that allows you to flush the soil regularly. There are also a few very simple work-arounds that will allow you to use a soil that would otherwise be inappropriate. For example - if you're using a soil too water-retentive for a plant's well-being, and you need to flush it - you can flush thoroughly over a sink or tub or outdoors. When the pot stops draining, hold it in your hand(s) and move it up and down. You'll note that on the reversal from downward to upward motion, Newton's First Law of Motion takes over and some of the excess water in the pot exits through the drain hole. As the amount of water diminishes, more can be forced from the soil by reversing directions more forcibly. As long as your pot is of a manageable size, this simple trick is invaluable for anyone using an excessively water-retentive soil. If the pot is too large, you can use a wick to drain excess water, or even tipping the pot at a 45* angle to drain makes a very significant difference in how much excess water a medium can hold. Compare B with A to see how much excess water the simple act of tipping the pot forces from the pot. E shows what a wick, used correctly for best benefit, can achieve. D shows one way of using ballast to reduce excess water. Even when using extremely water retentive soils, ballast can reduce the amount of excess water a soil can hold to less than 5% of what it would hold w/o use of ballast. Al

CVIS, are you in the always-rainy/cloudy weather pattern some people have had this summer? If so, that may be why it's been happy before but struggling this year, lanky growth and using less water. That could help explain why, if the problem is that it's been too moist. Is the pot is so packed with roots that water can't penetrate, in which case it might actually be wilting? It's so hard to tell from a pic, too dry and too wet look can look the same on the plant. This pot just looks parched to me. If the blinds are always at half-mast, maybe it's not so bad, maybe it's leaning down toward the light? The color of the leaves is pretty good. The trimming is not something I would do all at once, but gradually, starting with the lowest material to be removed, so it ends up looking like a tiny, well-formed tree again. The first thing to go are the flimsy green things coming from what I think are inappropriate places on the main trunk, and any in a wrong looking spot, or going a wrong direction. Then the main branches that are not right, just before the point where a branch starts to go in a wrong direction, that's where to trim it. Finish by finessing the smaller remaining branches so that anything not contributing to the overall structure in a pleasing way is removed. This is vague because we can't see the whole plant, but trimming any woody entity that has a natural general 'correct' shape to it is the same procedure. But that's just my opinion, I like a jade that looks like a big oak tree. Some people like to trim it back to a main stick with some shorter sticks and like that appearance better. But none of that matters, what people think. It's your tree, so what you want it to look like is what it should look like. When you have a pic in your mind of what it should and will look like when finished before making the first cut, you're ready to go with the pruner. IMVHO. I do not nor have not had a big ol' jade like that, just some much smaller ones, but have been told over the years I do a good job trimming in general, leaving a strong, pleasant foundation for rejuvenated growth. I would think new soil after that amount of time is a great idea, but you'd want jade repotting advice from someone with more experience than me. Definitely a huge fan of chunky, porous, well-drained soil for the replacement though, no doubt.

Hi there, I know this is a pretty old thread, but I'm hoping some of the experts here can help me. I have the same issue as the one described by scottinthebox (branches dropping off my otherwise healthy Jade). I'm almost certain too much watering is not the issue because (*ahem*) I'm not the most reliable when it comes to watering my plants. I usually go at least 1-2 weeks before watering my jade plant. Not sure if that can still be considered too much for these plants, but the soil is always bone dry before I water. I've had leaves fall off regularly in the past (I think that is normal?) but this is the first time entire branches fall off (3 or 4 so far in the last 2 weeks.) I'm adding some pics for reference of the latest branch that fell today. Thanks.

I took my plant out and cut some of its root until they were white and covered the roots with some cinnamon as I don’t have the anti infection root medicine/powder. The plant has been shedding leaves and this is how it looks. It’s been a day and it’s been drying like this. The bottom part of the stem looks wet but it still feels hard.what should I do next. Leave it dry like this for some more time or repot it in the new soil? I waters it last Saturday a week ago so whene should I water it. The bottom looks wet so should I cut the stem from the bottom to stop the rotting or will be the plant do fine without doing it? It’s only the bottom now that looks like it’s holding water and is wet. Pls tell me what should I do? Should I propagate the stem. What do you think about the success rate of the plant to live or it’s late. If it’s late Ashokji I propagate the food stems and cuttings. Will the rotting continue upward or will it stop moving up in some days. If it won’t stop I can cut the stem where it feels fine and shows no symptom of rotting . Will this option help or doing nothing will stop the rotting going up. The roots now are hard looks white on the inside and outside both. The second photo shows till where it looks wet but still feels hard. Pls reply so that if something had to be I can do it right away as I don’t want to late.