Sick jade plants: please help!

last year

Hello,
I hope you can help me same my two outdoor jade plants that have started getting sick over the past few months.
They are placed next to each other in two terrazzo outdoor pots on a balcony and get morning light all year round and some afternoon light in summer. Pots were filled with some porous red rocks at the bottom, succulent pot mix & extra sand all mixed together to allow more drainage, then topped up with white pebbles.
I never water them in winter as they are exposed to the weather, always water them every couple of weeks during summer and fertilised them with slow release fertiliser in spring.
I noticed brown/dark spots growing in the leaves a few months ago but didn't think much of it. Now the spots amount has increased, with some brown spots really big. One of the plants has its leaves now getting slimmer as if they don't have enough water, however going yellow too as if they had too enough. New growth is still spotless but don't think will last long.
It may be worth mentioning that I have also found both plants have been raided by a ringtail possum which I have occasionally caught red handed on my balcony at night.
Is this edema or could it be a fungal infection caused by the possum or other parasites? Photos of both plants affected (next to each other) attached.
Thanks in advance to whoever can assist.
Alessandra

Comments (7)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last year
pix failed... please try again .. wait until they focus before hitting send ..

where are you.. big city name ...

vermin did not directly infect your plants with anything ... parasites i mean .... stuff could happen after rough handling ...

water when a plant needs water.. not on some3 schedule ...do you let the plant dry between waterings.. are they exposed to rain?? .. do you skip water if it rains????

ken
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
last year
I take it that the containers do not have holes in the bottom for proper drainage. That is never ideal. Thinning leaves can mean root death, as well as dessication. In other words, an indication of too much OR too little moisture at the roots.

I suggest that your plants may suffer from both lack of and an excess of moisture at the roots, depending upon what’s happening in your Australian winters and summers.
alebal81 thanked rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
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socks
last year
I'm with rhizo...if the pots have no holes, that's not beneficial to the plant. If it's summer for you, you could repot in pots with holes and drainage trays to protect patio or whatever, leaving out the red rocks. The potting mix should be commercial mix combined with pumice or perlite, not sand. If you do repot, it will give you a chance to see what is going on with the root ball, whether it's dry in the center, too wet or what.
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
last year
Pots were filled with some porous red rocks at the bottom, succulent pot mix & extra sand all mixed together to allow more drainage, then topped up with white pebbles. There is nothing in what you said (in bold) that would make me think drainage is adequate, even if there is/are drainage hole(s) in the pot bottom.

Morning and 'some afternoon light' is likely an inadequate photo load for your plants. IOW, they likely want more light than that.

Can't comment further based on what info was initially supplied. Some sense of temperature and humidity levels summer and winter, along with how much seasonal rain you get and in what season it falls. If I were growing jades ion a large pot, they'd be in a medium like this:

Al
alebal81
Original Author
last year
last modified: last year
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last year
thats 2 different plants.. did you mean such?
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
last year
Compare to scale pests.

What is the location where these plants are growing? Are you able to add a pic of each whole plant?