Help with dying trailing jade
Hi there,
Once again I'm hitting these forums for a plant emergency -- I haven't had good luck lately!
The latest victim is a trailing jade plant. I've had it for years and it's always been in the same pot. I water it after the soil dries out, and less so in the winter. However, I noticed that the trails are starting to die seemingly from the center of the plant. The stalks are very dry and brittle, along with the leaves. In fact, one of the trails fell off today with very little effort. Oddly, the stalk and leaves further down are okay (though the death seems to be spreading down the stalk!)
There is also some new growth on the plant. It has admittedly gotten quite leggy over the years, but the leaf death up near the top is quite new. Maybe the past couple of weeks.
Questions:
1 - Can I save this plant? It's one of my favorites and I would hate to see it go.
2 - For the trail that fell off, do you think I could propagate it and eventually replant it in the same pot?
Thank you!
Comments (7)
Kim H
4 years agoRelated Discussions
Trailing Jade - shriveling, turning brown, help!
Comments (3)I grew it for a while. It tends to get lanky and unattractive after a season....unless you prune it and keep it well fed in strong sunlight. More pics, please, and could you elaborate on the set up? Josh...See MoreBeautiful Jade...Dying....I think....help please
Comments (4)I would add to nanzjade comment - you could use lukewarm water to wash off all the soil if it doesn't want to crumble off. Even if the roots are too dried up, plant could be saved - as long as there isn't any rot. Double check the stem by gentle squeeze (especially close to the root ball), it should be sturdy/hard. If there was rot, it would be soft & squishy and usually dark in color - I don't see that in your photo. Even cacti & succulent potting soil is sometimes very fine; you could improve it by sifting thru the kitchen sieve & keeping what remains in it. Then mix with perlite. And it should be gradually moved into good light - it looks etiolated from low light conditions. Move into more & more light every week or so, it will grow well in good sunlight. Rina...See MoreHelp my jade plant i think has root rotted and is dying quick
Comments (5)Yes, you can cut. Feel the stem. Is it squishy? You will want to cut the stem back until you reach healthy tissue (start at the roots, of course). I see some brown on the stem. I would start cutting there, and work up. Keep cutting until you reach tissue with no black or brown. You want creamy white-green. After you finish cutting, dust with cinnamon to discourage disease and rot. Let the cut stem sit out of soil for a few days (in a dry, dim, cool place). the cut end will feel rough and hard (not moist or juicy). Put it in new DRY soil. I would suggest using 60% perlite and 40% cactus and succulent mix. wash the perlite to get out the dust. Don't breathe in the dust, either- it is harmful to the lungs. Prop up the stem in the soil with rocks, so it stays upright. In a few weeks, you should see roots :) Don't check often for roots, or you may break existing ones. It is best to wait until you see new growth, and then you can water a bit. The soil you have in the picture looks like it has a large contingent of peat. Peat holds water for a long time, and that rots the roots. By doing the above mix, you can avoid rot, but still be careful with watering. To check if you need to water, you can use a wooden skewer. Poke it into the soil, and if it comes out dry, you can water. Good luck! ~palmsandsnow...See MorePlease can you help? My jades are dying... see pics
Comments (31)Sorry to disagree with Pat: I also think putting both pots in front of the window is a shock. I would have left them between the windows where you had them to begin with. That corner was too dark for jades. They like lots of light and will grow much better in front of the window. Unless they were in very dark conditions for a while and are moved suddenly into very sunny spot (I do not believe that is possible in winter, in Michigan), there should be no problem. Moving plants into strong sunlight from indoors could cause sunburn, and plants should be acclimatized. I believe Steven meant moving the plants from place to place - like from a store, where it sat for a while, to a house...Some plants will respond by dropping many leaves when location is changed (ficus Benjamina is known for doing that). Personally, I do not have that experience with jades. And I move them around a lot....See More
Karen S. (7b, NYC)
4 years ago
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
4 years ago
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
4 years agoYou won't know if the plant is salvable unless you try, but it's a pretty good bet you'll not be able to achieve success if you try to start plants in the existing soil. I'd probably get 2 or 3 opaque foam or plastic cups and start 3 or 4 cuttings in each. Then, if you find a viable root system anywhere in the old pot, you could try transplanting the individual plants. Make sure anything with roots is bare-rooted before you transplant. I'd also discard the old soil, then sterilize the old pot with a 10% solution of household bleach in water. Allow it to soak overnight in the dark. Then, drill a hole in the bottom of the pot before you use it. Sometimes pots have a crown so the center of the bottom is higher than where the bottom meets the sidewall. If this is the case, drill the hole through the lowest part of the pot bottom. It's easy.
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:
For the hard stuff, diamond core drills are best, though the 3 point drill will drill the hard stuff, too.
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.
Al
Kim H thanked tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)Kim H
4 years ago
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)