Hi there, I know this is a pretty old thread, but I'm hoping some of the experts here can help me. I have the same issue as the one described by scottinthebox (branches dropping off my otherwise healthy Jade). I'm almost certain too much watering is not the issue because (*ahem*) I'm not the most reliable when it comes to watering my plants. I usually go at least 1-2 weeks before watering my jade plant. Not sure if that can still be considered too much for these plants, but the soil is always bone dry before I water. I've had leaves fall off regularly in the past (I think that is normal?) but this is the first time entire branches fall off (3 or 4 so far in the last 2 weeks.) I'm adding some pics for reference of the latest branch that fell today. Thanks.

Hi, i had the same problem with some of my jades that i kept outside on the balcony. However, none of the plants i kept inside was affected. I think this "leaf-falling syndrom" is related to the very wet and quite cold spring and early summer we had this year in Germany. It is a kind of rot that might be induced by some fungi ... All of the stems that showed this syndrom finally died. The problem is, that the rot is inside the stem (in the vascular bundel) and that it will continue to "grow" to other plant parts and finally most probably will kill the whole plant. I solved this problem by taking cuttings of yet uninfected stems and rerooted them. Like this i at least could safe the plants ... You could easily test if your plant has the same disease by cutting your affected stem and look if there are brown, "soft" parts in the vascular bundel. Good luck. All the best from Hessen, Ben

To echo Rina, needing less water doesn't mean to water in sips, though I can see how people could take it that way. When soil is moist, the plant drinks up all it can. When soil dries out, the roots grow in search of moisture(a good thing). When soil is dry and you water it, at first the soil resists water. Thus, to 1. water it until it runs out the bottom then 2. wait a few minutes, then repeat that cycle two more times, you ensure that all the soil in the root ball actually gets wet. The wait time depends on how long the soil holds on to water. There are several factors that go into how fast the water left in the soil evaporates, so you have to evaluate dryness each time before you water. If it were mine, I would prune it back significantly and try to find a better lighting situation. By significantly I mean in this case about 6 inches off each branch. This allows for increased branching, and gives the main branches time to harden off and be more resistant to flopping in the future. I assume that by saying the leaves are mushy, you mean they are dehydrated, floppy, flattened. Is that true? I have never seen rot in the leaves and not in the trunk, so rot seems unlikely in this case. Keep in mind that it is MUCH harder to kill a jade with dry conditions than with wet. Which brings us full circle back to Rina's question about well-draining mix... ez

What's the bulb's wattage, and is it soft white or bright white? Most plants need a brightness of 100W or brighter, and the light frequency has to be 5000k-6500k. Bright white bulbs are very white, even bluish, while soft white bulbs gives off yellowish light that doesn't do much if anything for plants. The numbers should be on the bulb's box or somewhere on the bulb itself, though you may have to look on the manufacturer's website or even ask them. As for effectiveness, a combination of CFL and LED 100W, 5000k bulbs for about 14 hours a day had had a big impact on my little collection of light-loving plants (I get very little natural light in fall and winter). Some of them had stopped growing and a few really neglected ones were dropping leaves like crazy. Some of the improvement was from getting rid of spider mites, but I credit the supplemental light with the major flush of new growth. Get a cheap grocery store timer for your light so you don't have to think about turning it on and off. Good luck; it looks like a nice little plant!