i say if you put them in gritty mix and give them good light with occasional fertilizer. it sounds like you have hit the nail on the head, that is what i would do. good luck, your plants look very nice.

Doug

But I'd caution against using wet mix.

Generally, we repot succulents DRY, then wait a few days to water, it's a better start for succulents, which remember, hold water in their fat, fleshy tissues. So pls. don't water them in like a houseplant, give 'em 2 days or so to heal.

Would fertilizing with foliage pro (1/8tsp per gal water) every other watering be too much? I know some don't fertilize at all... What are the benefits of doing that?

Also, is the "leaf squeeze" test the best method of determining when to water a jade? At current, in their old mix, they feel soft but the soil still feels damp below the surface. I'm not watering them now only because I'd rather withhold water since it's not as likely to be damaging as too much water would be.

Id leave the spider because spiders are cute!

Yes, that sounds like a lot of fertilizer to me. Many of us growing succulents don't fertilize them as much as we might Houseplants.

Jademan suggested "occasional fertilizer" above. I'd interpret that as once in a while, or a couple of times only per growing season.

Since you're new to these, pls. consider the merits of keeping things on the simpler side & following recommended practices. Terra cotta would be better, probably help the roots breathe better as it's porous, while plastic is not. I doubt their risk of drying out too fast is as you think.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far! I'm making a note of them so that when I do get these jades repotted, I'll do it correctly. I'm also all for keeping things simple but want to make sure before I do, that they're set up to survive. For now, I'm going to repot them this weekend and then water them on the following Wed. Again, erring on the side that too little water is better than too much.

That's a fine amount of fertilizer, actually.
Jades are watered infrequently, so you won't be fertigating very often.
I don't recommend going any stronger than a 1/4 strength in a single dose.
The benefit of consistent nutrition is that you maximize the growth potential of your plant.
Foliage Pro derives none of its Nitrogen from Urea, so it promotes more compact internodes
and isn't as likely to lead to bloated growth.

If you want your Jades to grow fast and huge, you *can* fertilize them more heavily.
I stuck some cuttings in a pot with a Ponderosa Lemon, and I fertilized that pot as one
would a citrus - which is to say, quite heavily. Those Jades were fertilized once a
week with full strength, or stronger, Foliage Pro - and the plants never burned or
reacted poorly. The growth was incredibly huge and green.

Josh

I agree with Josh. I fertilize my plants with every watering if I can, avoiding plants that are in dormancy.

I use a product called Cactus Juice that has an N-P-K ratio of 1-7-6, very low in Nitrogen of which most of our slow-growing plants require very little. No matter how much you dilute a fertilizer, the ratio stays the same. Cactus Juice also has added Calcium which the plants love.

If you're going from soil to gritty mix there's not much point in using a wet mix to pot up. Getting the soil off the roots is likely to cause some damage, and leaving the roots dry long enough to stave off any rot from that is going to take out the feeder roots and some of the finer roots themselves. So the plant won't be taking up any significant amount of water for a while.

Barely damp mix (ie. doesn't feel wet in any way, but feels cool) is probably the best for potting into. Wet mix won't drown roots the way wet compost will, but if you break the skin on the roots anywhere when you pot up then it's a place for rot to get in. Dry mix will have hydrophobic bark and highly-absorbent clay that's drier than any of the roots it's touching.

Fertilisation depends on how dry you allow the pot to get between waterings. If you keep the water supply steady, you can keep the food supply steady as well because there's always enough water to keep the fertiliser safely diluted.

This weekend, I was able to repot not only the two jades but also a ponytail palm. The roots all looked quite healthy, though I was surprised that the larger jade's soil wasn't as damp as I'd initially thought, while the smaller jade's was more damp than I expected.

While I'm still obsessing over wanting to water the larger jade since the leaves are so thin and flexible, it's only been a day since I repotted it so I am resisting. I do plan on watering them both on Friday unless otherwise told not to. Even though they're inside plants, our temperatures are expected to be in the high eighties to low nineties all week long so I don't want them to get too dry. Is it OK to water with fertilizer then or should I still wait until the next watering (I'm going to try to water every two weeks during the summer, and once a month in the winter - depending on how the jades react and seem to need watering). If someone could help me establish a good watering/fertilizing routine, I would really appreciate that too. I'm eager to learn so please don't be afraid to throw suggestions my way.

For watering I use 2 methods. The leaf squeeze and a wooden chop stick inserted in the soil almost to the bottom of the pot. When the leaves feel soft and spongy I then take out the chop stick and check to see if it is DRY. If the leaves re soft and spongy and the chop stick is completely dry I water well and then let drain. In the summer I water about every 4 weeks and in the winter when they are inside they get watered about twice between the end of October and the beginning of March. Been growing and watering them like this for 60 years. My jades and cactus are in plastic pots. I can only get Terra Cotta pots from Germany here and my plants all die in them. The best I've used in the past are the clay ones from Italy. There is a big difference between the 2 types of pots.
One tip for getting rid of powdery mildew. Mix 1 part milk, yes cow's milk, and 3 parts water and spray your plants. It not only kills the mildew, but gives your plants a clean shiny look. I use it on my cactus, jades and garden plants.
Ron

Lenle, do not fertilize yet.
Wait about 2 weeks after re-potting to fertilize. This gives the roots time to bite into
the new mix and to go in search of nutrients.

I water as Ron does - I go by the look and feel of the leaves, and occasionally by dowel method
for larger plantings. Water thoroughly, let drip, water again, let drain.

Josh

Josh & Ron - thanks for the help. I'll withhold fertilizer this time around and get it the next in roughly (maybe) another month. I'm going to go by the leaf test since I do that with my ponytails (except I feel the caudex: soft = water, firm = no water).

Wow! Great finds at a garage sale!

Susan

I watered both jades early Friday morning, giving them a thorough, even soaking. We had an exceptionally warm weekend but with both plants inside I doubt they got very warm. They're still in eastern windows, primarily getting good, bright morning sun. My large jade is the exception since I keep it under a 26w/100w equiv "daylight" CFL (it usually gets a dose of morning sun and then constant light from the CFL from 6pm to about 10pm). My question is: the leaves on both still feel very soft and pliable. Is this cause for concern and what, if any, action should I take? I'm hesitant to water them again so soon, even though they're in gritty mix and terra cotta pots.

As a follow up, should I switch to a lamp that allows more than one CFL bulb directed onto the jade at a time? The one I'm currently using is a floor style, goose neck reading lamp with a dome shade that seems to give pretty good coverage over the whole plant. Am I also correct in thinking that insufficient light will lead to soft leaves just the same as if the plant were thirsty? Could this be another possible cause for the soft leaves?

Sorry to bump this thread yet again, but I was hoping someone might have some suggestions? I'm getting paranoid that something is wrong/off with the jades as the leaves haven't plumped up any since I watered them (though the dowels still feel moist when I pull them out of the gritty mix). On the larger of the two jades, the leaves are soft to the point where I can bend them up like a taco and they'll stay that way for a few seconds. The leaves on the smaller of the two feel just as soft. Is this normal for post-transplanting or might something more be going on?

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TIA - Jeni

They look alright to me.
I think they just need a bit more time to adjust.

Josh

I still seem to be having trouble. On both jades there are leaves with wrinkles. I've recently lost a leaf or two (wrinkly leaves that fell when touched). The majority of the leaves feel *very* thin to the point where I can practically fold the sides together. In the time from when I first got them to current, I've watered them maybe twice, a good thorough watering each time. There hasn't been much change to the plumpness of the leaves. Am I being impatient or should I have seen them plump up by now?

i would water more frequently than twice in a month and a half. in the summer i water at least once a week. maybe more depending on the heat.

Jeni

you may be 'impatient'. It may take a while, but jades are tough, just don't overwater.
You got some very good advice upthread from very experinced members.
I have often many cuttings that I leave sometimes for months out of soil. Many leaves wrinkle, dry-out, fall off - but as soon as the cuttings are planted, new leaves grow.
I water mine when soil is dry, not really exact schedule since it's kept outside & get some rain. If too much rain, I try to keep it protected from it.

Rina

Thanks Rina and JM! I know there's been great advice, and I've followed it, but with it being almost a month now with the leaves growing thinner and thinner despite being watered, I am worried that I missed something or am doing something wrong.

They're in gritty mix, inside and in an eastern window. If I go by the leaf test they definitely need water. If I go by the dowel test, they don't (the dowel will come out slightly damp to the touch). I haven't fertilized them since I want to wait until the leaves plump up first. So I don't know if it's too much water, too little water or too little sun that's causing this.

I don't think it's too little sun since the stems and some of the leaf edges are reddish. The only other possible cause I can think of is that they're in an air conditioned room (no where near said AC though), with temps ranging at about 64F. This past week I haven't had the AC on at all since we've had very cool days and lots of rain.

When you have watered, did you do so thoroughly? To the point where water flowed out the bottom? Or in small sips?

As I use the dowel test, it's not if it's damp to the touch or not; it's if any mix sticks to the dowel when removed or not, THAT'S the indicator of residual moisture (& I think, less subjective than individual touch).

When I water, I make sure to give it a good drenching right in the sink. I rotate the pot, getting the whole mix as wet as possible. Usually, the pot is under the faucet for a good minute or so. I'll let it drain completely and then soak it again before allowing it to drain a second time and finally putting it back on the window sill.

When I check the dowel a few days later there's sometimes a fine dust/powder on it, but I haven't really ever noticed any of my gritty mix sticking to it. I did screen the mix when I was making it, and got out a good amount of dust but I'm sure some of it made its way into the mix.

Jeni, I'm wondering how your jade you transplanted in the gritty mix a few months, ago is doing. I did mine about the same time and followed everybody's advice (to you), was patient and pruned around end of June. I need to find out how to post picture.

Let's see if i can make it work

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Trying again, IPAD doesn't have a browser

Ada,

My jades are coming along, slowly but surely. I started watering them every week as opposed to every couple of weeks since the leaves weren't getting any firmer. Each has its quirks still, with the majority of leaves still being soft but slowly firming. A few are nice and plump, which is promising. I have other jades that I've recently transplanted into gritty mix that are experiencing the same soft leaf syndrome... but again, watering every week seems to be helping. Once they get firm, I'll have to adjust my watering schedule, but for now it's working. How are you finding your jade to be doing?

Jeni

4 weeks afer repotting, watering every week, mine still had a lot of soft leaves, but new growth starded, so I knew roots were ok. As Al suggested, you can prune as hard as you want afer you see new growth, so I did it. It's doing really well, if you can see in my post. Pruned end of June. It's just that I'm bad at giving a good shape. All the little leaves are brand new and it needs some more pruning on a few branches I left on purpose for photosyntesis purposes. i might do that in the fall when my jade usually grows more. Oh, I forgot, after pruning, the leaves left on it, became plump in a few days.
Niada