Overwatered.
It's a succulent, which stores water in its leaves.
When it has excess water, it sheds leaves to get rid of the water quickly.
The extra watering has exacerbated the problem.

It's also normal for Jades to shed leaves in the winter when they don't have
enough light to support all the foliage. How much light is it receiving?
Can you provide it more light? (which will also help dry the soil).

More importantly, what kind of potting mix is it growing in, and how large a container?

My advice is to let the mix dry out thoroughly. Wait to water until some of the newer
leaves become slightly soft. It's best not to water on a schedule.

If the soil is peat moss - a bagged product like Miracle Grow soil - you'll want to
replace it sooner or later. If you think the plant can survive a couple more months
without rotting, wait to re-pot until it warms. If the mix is saturated and not drying
out, an emergency re-pot might be in order.

Josh

What should I repot it in? Should I use any of the old soil it's in when I repot? I've been told that a plant can go into shock from repotting... Someone guessed it's 10 years old, I don't want to kill it

A Jade - Crassula ovata - won't suffer the transplant shock that other plants might.
Overwatering and subsequent root-rot is really the only threat to the health of your Jade.

Remove all of the old soil completely.

I like a mix of screened Orchid Bark, Pumice, Turface, Quartz gravel, and sometimes Perlite.
The key is to make a very porous mix with excellent drainage, so you can water without fear.
You don't want fine particles like peat moss, compost, top soil, or anything else in your mix.

So the next question is: What ingredients do you have available in your area?

Josh

I have found the orchid bark and perlite. I came across rose quartz rock but nothing in a gravel. I have also seen gypsum. I went to the turface website for Kansas and it said John Deere dealers may carry the product, I will have to see if they're open tomorrow.
If they don't have it, my only ingredients are the bark and perlite. Are there any other options?

That's good to hear.
Hopefully you can find the Turface, which is an excellent material.
I assume that the rose quartz is the larger stuff, the half-inch rocks?

You might try a pet store or an aquarium shop for smaller sized grit -
unpainted, unglazed gravel would work, preferably in the 1/8 - 1/4 inch size range.
If you can find Granite Chips, you'll be set.

A mix of Bark, Turface, and some type of gravel/grit would be perfect.
The Turface holds moisture, the Bark holds moisture, and the Grit holds none.

I know it seems tedious, but you'll want to rinse the fine dust and particles from
all the ingredients - bark, perlite, turface, and all your grit/gravel.

What sort of Gypsum are we talking?

Josh

I didn't investigate the gypsum too closely. I saw it at lowes but passed it by on my search for the perlite and bark.
I will find the turface even if I have to order it.

On removing the dirt from the jade.... Can I use water to loosen the dirt from it?? It seems like the dirt is fairly dry (at least on the top layer).

You can use water to get the old dirt off...but there's a caveat that comes with it.
During the re-potting, you'll be disturbing/breaking some of the roots. That's not a problem;
however, the moisture coupled with the root-trauma can invite root-rot to those injuries.

So if you do rinse the roots, set the entire root-ball on some wadded newspaper in an empty pot
for a few hours at least (up to a couple days). When you re-pot, it is best to pot the Jade *dry* -
in other words, don't "water it in" the way you would other newly potted plants.

I typically wait about a week before I water a re-potted Jade.
This gives the roots a chance to form a callus over any damage that might have accrued.
This precaution especially applies to re-potting during the Winter months.
During the Summer, or when Jades are growing more robustly, you can water sooner
without much fear of root-rot.

I think you'll be able to simply crumble the old soil away...a chop-stick will help greatly.

Jades are tough, drought-hardy plants. They come from rocky hillsides in South Africa,
growing in mineral soils with very little moisture.

Let us know how it goes.
If need be, you can use the Bark and Perlite as a medium.
The Turface and other forms of grit will help you refine your mix further.


Josh

Okay I have another dumb question. How far into the mix should I set the root ball? And how much of the trunk should I leave above the mix?
Some of my roots come off of the side of the trunk and into the dirt... Is this good or bad? And should I change that when I repot?
Thank you so much for all of your advice!!

I'm always glad to help out with a Jade.
They're fantastic plants, and worthy of consideration and reply.

Re-pot at the same approximate soil level/depth.

In the container, make a "mound" of the new mix, and then lay the roots outward down the
sides of this mound - like lava flowing down a mountain, if that image works.
If the Jade sits too low in the pot, pull it out, make the mound a little higher,
and start again.

Add a little mix at a time, being careful to fill all the spaces betwixt the roots.
I use a chop-stick or a kabob skewer to poke the new mix into any open spaces.
Once potted, you may notice that the Jade seems unstable in the loose mix.
This is because the mix is dry, and because the Jade's roots haven't gripped
or colonized the new mix yet. I recommend adding a couple temporary stones around the base
of the trunk to support the plant while it roots into the medium. The less movement there
is, the faster the recovery will be.

You can trim off any undesirable roots when you re-pot. No harm at all.

For more thorough advice, you could post a pic. We all love pics ;)


Josh

Okay I am attempting to upload pictures. This may take a minute

Okay, I uploaded photos and I hope that this will take you there....

Here is a link that might be useful: Jade Plant

The link worked, no problem.
That's a nice canopy on your Jade.

A pic of the trunk/base would be most helpful.

Just pluck those unsightly leaves.


Josh

okay i have taken pictures of the trunk and posted them as well.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Thank you! Perfect. Those are the shots I needed!

I see that root you mentioned at the base of the trunk, diving into the soil.
You can definitely remove it, if you wish - just make a nice clean slice.
Leave a tiny stub - 1/16 of an inch - so that the plant can naturally heal
itself (form a callus). The stub will dry up and fall off, making for a
very minimal scar (which, too, disappears in time).

Thankfully, the plant is in a small soil volume, so it won't be too much work to remove.
I would just start crumbling away the lower and outer portions of the soil - into a paper
shopping bag. Examine the roots at the bottom of the pot to see if they'd been staying too
moist/wet.

I'm going to attach a link to a Thread on how I revived one of my frozen Jades.
(In that Thread, I include links to other Threads on my Jades, as well).
You can see pics of the dramatic treatment that these plants can handle,
and the amount of trauma they can overcome. Notice also the mostly Perlite
mix that I used to make sure that the roots wouldn't rot.
I hope it's helpful.

Good luck finding ingredients. And Happy New Year!


Josh

Here is a link that might be useful: Frozen Jade - back from the dead....

Josh is one of the go-to people for Jade advice on this forum, as you can tell! I know he asked you about how much light the plant was getting, but I didn't see an answer. IMHO a Jade will always look better in a bright light situation, but just from the looks of your plant, it appears that a little more light would do it good.

Christopher

I did not find any turface so my only ingredients are the orchid bark and the perlite. I hope this will be okay.

As for light, it could use more. I don't have any windows that receive the light it needs. The south facing windows are covered by trees and the only east window is in a bathroom that does not get great light. The Christmas cactus likes that window however. I'm not sure what to do for more light.

Thanks, Christopher! ;)

If south facing windows are all you have, place it there as close to the window as you can.

For the Perlite and Bark combination, the mix should be mostly Perlite.
Try to keep the Bark fraction less than 1/4 (25%) of the potting mix.

Of course, you'll want to re-pot again eventually, so keep lookin' for ingredients...
Turface, Pumice, gravels, granite chips, et cetera.

Josh

Okay I found small marble chips today. Should I wait to repot until tomorrow to see if I can find turface or just go ahead and repot without it?
If I repot without the turface, and find turface later, how long should I wait to repot with the turface?

I am in the process of repotting my jade and I noticed this bug (it seems to be dead) on the under side of a leaf. This is actually the second one I found, I figured the first was a spider. Can anyone tell me what it is and if it is harmful to the jade?

The link, called 'jade plant' is in an earlier post.

Hey, Mel, I don't think the bug is harmful.
It was probably just along for the ride ;)
It might even have been eating pests on the plant.

Honestly, you *could* re-pot immediately if you find
the right ingredients....
although this will set the plant's recovery back slightly. Jades are different
than most other plants, and can handle fairly rough treatment.

I'd re-pot in a couple months, around the Spring Equinox.
Growth should be in high gear by then.


Josh

I found turface and repotted the jade. The old soil was damp, it wasn't wet by any means, but it was probably very wet in the not so distant past. I reported using a mix of the turface, orchid bark, perlite and small marble chips. I propped it up with a few rocks just in case it wasn't stable but it seems to be okay.
The roots did not seem to be wet, in fact some were fairly dry. I did not water it. I was going to wait until next Monday to water it. It has only dropped maybe a dozen leaves the last few days (as compared to the one hundred it dropped over the previous two weeks).
Does Monday seem soon enough to water it? And how much water should I give it?
Pictures of it are in the album

Hi Mel,

Pls. remember watering isn't that urgent w/ Jades Plants, their fat, fleshy leaves hold water in reserve. You needn't be in an hurry to water, this plant, especially after a repot.

Mel,

You're fussing with it too much, and if there's one thing Crassula ovata doesn't like (aside from too much water in too-high-a-peaty soil), it doesn't like fussing. If you must water so soon after repotting, spritz the leaves. I'd wait a few days, at least, to actually water the soil.

Mel,
great job getting the ingredients together!

One week is a fine amount of time to wait, but no harm in waiting longer.
Yes, some of the leaves are going to shrivel or wrinkle...just give the plant time.

When you water, thoroughly saturate the new potting mix.
Totally flush it!

Then, wait about two weeks before watering again.


Josh

Thank you for all of the directions and advice, I really appreciate it!! I will wait to water it and I can't wait for warmer weather so it will start growing again; one whole side of the plant is almost bare.... :o(
Thanks again and I'll keep you updated on how the plant is doing.

Mel