Jade plant
Polinia
Posts: 6
Good morning everyone.
Few months ago I found this Jade plant in house of my parents. I liked it immediately, mostly because of the red colour. But the leaves were wrinkly and some parts looked very dry. I decided to take care of it and took it to my apartment. It was on top of a shell, where its not too sunny, so I thought it would need more light. I watered it throughly and put the jade plant few cm from window. Then I also supported the little branches falling down and repotted it to slightly bigger pot. But the plant is not getting better, its maybe even worse now, since I put it on sunlight. So I put it on sunny shelf between two windows.
And thats the question I wanted to ask you - why is this jade plant having wrinkly leaves, dry branches and its apparently not liking the sun much? Did I put it in too deep pot? For solving the deepness and creating better environment for it I put little stones on bottom. So what is the problem?
Posts
Perhaps you are giving it too much water?
This plant is a succulent, adapted to drought conditions and can store water in its leaves. When water is in short supply it uses up some of its store, so the leaves wrinkle .They plump up again when it 'rains' it is happy in sun and the reddish colour develops.
What it cannot cope with is too much water. Its roots will rot and then it will not be able to replace the water it uses with any more that you give it.
In this situation, placing it in the sun just puts it under further stress. Check the compost - it should feel only slightly damp. Give more water only when if feels dry and the leaves lose some of their gloss.
I would also suggest that you carefully shorten those long side branches, both to improve the shape of the plant and to reduce the load on the roots, giving them time to recover. You can use the side shoots to grow new plants - just stick them in gritty compost and keep it just slightly damp. They root very easily. They will also root in a jar of water - just pot them up when you see the roots.
The plant looks like it's had quite challenging start already. The shape of it suggests it may have not received much light previously and then it may have been put outside in the summer time? These plants do not need to be watered excessively. It's just so the soil is damp. It's best growing it in a lot of light, so no need to put it in shade. It does have a lot of character, so I think for now, no need to do anything drastic, just find it a place where there's a lot of sun and keep an eye on the soil.
It doesn't actually look too bad but seems to have a lot of sideways rather than upright growth.
I would give it a good prune,taking out the worst looking branches and shape it a bit.It shoots out again quite readily.Take some cuttings as well.
Jades are pretty easy to keep.Don't over water.It may even like a holiday outside,not too much direct sun.The pot it's in should be OK as long as it is well drained.
It's got the makings of a nice plant!
Last edited: 03 June 2017 10:02:47
Thanks for all answers and helpful advises.