I’m pretty sure that Jade should be taken out of that pot & growing medium, wash off roots & repot in proper draining succulent medium & maybe a much smaller pot. I think that’s the only way to save it. I wouldn’t sit it so low inside pot either. Jades like to be snug in their pots - too big of pot is sure way to over water. I’d also tip pinch off new growth to encourage leafing out below. You can also break off a branch that’s too spindly, let it callus over for a few days & stick it in small pot to create a new plant. I’ve done both of those things successfully with mine. Jades like to be deep watered then not again until very dry or leaves feel soft. Great drainage a must.

This is super helpful! Thank you KW! Any suggestions on best soil for a mature jade like this? Also, do you use any stimulant or rooting technique with the broken off branches for creating a new plant, or just plop them in soil?

Great suggestions from KW. The potting mix most often suggested on this forum is commercial cactus and succulent mix combined 50/50 with perlite or pumice, all from your nursery. It's best to sift or rinse the perlite or pumice before mixing. I like rinsing because breathing the dust isn't good. Depending on what the rootball looks like, that pot may be too big, allowing the excess potting mix to stay wet too long since no roots are taking up the wet, perfect for that slime mold (or whatever it is) to grow. I would toss that mix in an unused part of the garden (if you have one). When you repot, especially if the mix is damp, don't water for at least a week.

As for broken off branches (and I don't think you have much to spare there), allow them to callous over until the ends are dried (could be a couple hours or days, depending on your circumstances). Put in small pots, don't water for a week at least. Best to do this inside as they will appreciate milder temps than outside.

You all rock! Thank you! Following-up on this, if I am using broken off branches or parts of another jade that is struggling, do they like to be in the same pot? I'm wondering whether to combine these with the tree in the picture when I re-pot it. Or they prefer their own container?

Also, can you sprout single leaves of a jade? A lot have also fallen off of this tree unfortunately...

Thanks,

Eric

@Eric Dooley-Feldman look at my pics again - those short plants at the base of the biggest Jade are from green healthy leaves I laid on top of soil about a year ago. yes, you can stick the callused off branches into the same pot as larger plant if there’s room. You’ll want a pot that’s tall enough to balance the height of your Jade but not as wide as that white pot looks. And, not too tall that you cannot fill the pot with mix & plant jade closer to top than you have & be sure it has a drain hole.

Agree with the comments from both socks & KW. Jades are probably easiest succulents to grow & to propagate. They will grow from pruned-off/pinched off pieces, any pieces of trunks/branches or leaves. It's not that they prefer to be snug - but many ppl pot them into pots rharare huge, using poorly draining potting medium. So it is much better to use pot that is smaller, and that holds less potting medium. Any mold is sign of wet soil that may be too rich in organics too. Make mix as socks suggested. It should be mostly inorganic too.

Potting more plants together is ok - but it is matter of personal preference. More trunks in the same pot could look ok, but they also 'fight' for space & could grow sideways/crooked. Jades will grow a thick trunk if they have lots of space. Thick trunk is desirable.

My personal preference is solitary plant with a thicker trunk. I also prefer pots that are wider but shorter, to have a more stable base. BUT these are my preferences, & others may like different.

Make sure your plant is healthy. Pot it in a well draining medium. Don't overpot. Give plant lots of light - your plat may be lacking it since internodes are very long. It needs to be as compact as possible. Downward turned leaves also signal lack of light.

This plant has 2nd trunk growing from the root ball, so Ieft it. EDITED: actually, it is very low branch (close-up in the next post). Trunk is quite thick at the soil line:

@rina_Ontario,Canada 5a - wow, that is one nice looking Jade plant! How tall is it?

@Eric Dooley-Feldman check out the size of plant vs size of container - this is what i meant when I said Jades like a snug fit!

This has been superhelpful. I've learned a lot about Jade's the past 24 hours!

One other question if you don't mind- now that I've had a good amount of branches/leaves fall off of this once robust jade tree, is there any way to get it back to a fuller look, like @rina_Ontario,Canada 5a 's Jade? Or will it be thinner or more spindly indefinitely, and best hope is to start new plants with its off-shoots?

KW

That one is 25"tall (from the soil line) with trunk circumference of 6.75" at the soil line (just the main trunk). Branch growing to the side is from the main trunk - see the close-up:

This one has very similar growth pattern; it is 29" tall with main trunk having circumference of 7". It is in 8" pot.

Another jade that is branching low: this one is only 24.5" tall, with trunk circumference (at the soil line) of 81/8". Bark is getting quite 'old' looking. It is in 8" pot that is shallower (4").

My aim is not to grow super tall jades, rather shorter with thick trunks. And as compact as possible - not so easy in colder climates where there is little natural sunlight during the winter.

Eric

Your jade could be full again: it needs to be healthy (mainly: potted in well draining medium); pruning off etiolated, skinny & week branches, and has to get lots of light. That may include supplemental lights if not enough natural sunlight is avaialble. They slow down growing in winter somehow. They also bloom during the winter if mature & healthy enough - even indoors:

Wow! @rina_Ontario,Canada 5a you have a forest of Jade! Very, very nice! Have yours ever bloomed? I don’t know if Jade will bloom indoors & I’ve only seen an extremely large shrub sized Jade planted in ground outside in N CA bloom. Very small pink flowers.

@Eric Dooley-Feldman What I would do with your Jade &, only after getting it out of the poor planting situation it’s in, is tip pinch any tiny new leaf growth at ends to force growth at lower branches. I would also break off a couple of the longest branches on both that bare left side & also on the much fuller left side & stick them in their own very small pot for a new plant.p. This should ensure you still have a Jade plant in case the larger one doesn’t survive the transplant or the fungus. BTW, when you take that one out of its pot be very gentle with its roots as you’re washing planting medium off them. Maybe Rina will weigh in on my advice ro you?

ETA: Well I see Rina beat me to my request for more input from her! I’m happy that she validated what I said about pruning! And, wow! Indoor flowering! There’s hope for mine - it’s only @ 5 years onld on this pot.

KW

They bloom indoors, some every year. The photo I posted was from last year, I'll post this years as they bloom (if, lol). I had also Akai to bloom, so far 3 years in a row. Hope it will repeat. I got it in 3/2017 & it bloomed 1st time in 12/2018 so I am not sure how mature they need to be. Photo of original is below, and also bloms in 2018:

I pruned off & potted some blooming branches to see if previous blooming means they will again - I don't know if it does. We will see. "Green" jades took longer to bloom, maybe 5-6 years? (maybe longer, not sure)

I agree with you to get rid off all old soil. Wash the roots if needed to do so. I try to crumble old soil off, and also 'swish' the root ball in a bowl of tepid water to help. I cut off all damaged-sick-dried up roots & trim off broken ones. Then I let the cuts to callus and plant to dry up; couple of hours or even few days - depends how wet plant was. Then I pot it in fast draining mix. Secure the plant (I use larger rocks or sometimes tie it down) so it doen't get knocked over. They are taken off when roots anchor the plant. Watch watering: water when mix is almost completely dry.