It will be interesting to see if the scale comes back when the new foliage appears. I've been growing jades for over 40 years and never had scale on them. Had lots of scale on my orchids though. Wishing you good luck and hope you don't lose that jade plant.

There is no way you are going to lose the plant, it's too tough. To prevent re-occurrence of scale, use a systemic with imidicloprid. Do not get the products that contain fertilizer. An imidicloprid concentration of 1.47% should be diluted 1oz (2 TBSP) per gallon. That is 115 ppm imidicloprid which can be used both as a spray, and a soil drench.

In its current naked condition, you can easily spot treat scale with a q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol, whiskey, rum, or vodka. Glass cleaners like windex are equally effective, and won't harm the foliage. Your plant looks great!

Brad

Ditto that!
The plant looks great.
The root-flare is fantastic.

Josh

thank you guys for the comments.
special thanks to paracelsus for the tips on using imidicloprid. i am going to go out and get some of this.
i had been using bayer's systemic tree care product that supposedly gets rid of scale but it also had fertilizer so i think it may have actually made the plant weaker by over fertilizing.

i'll post some progress pics up. i hope for a speedy recovery. maybe i'll try writing it a get well soon card.

Tride26, I really, really hope you do not forget to post progress pics. Thank you.

my jade is already starting to leaf out again.
i'll post up a pic in a week or two once the first set of leaves gets a little bigger.
i'm going to water today for the first time in a long while.
i'm adding 1.47% imidacloprid to the watering like you recommended Brad.
using bayer's tree & shrub systemic insect control.
thanks again for the help everyone!

If you mean 'long while' to mean a period greater than two weeks, I'll suggest you're not watering often enough. This is their prime period of growth.

I'm looking forward to pictures.

(Jade) Plants without leaves don't use all that much water, however ;-)

Can't wait to see the update!

Josh

Were not some people saying it is best NOT to water jades in the winter when they are enjoying their dormancy out of the sunshine of summer?

i hadn't watered in more than a month probably.....maybe 5-6wks.
waited maybe 2-3 weeks before i lopped off all the foliage.
my thinking was i didn't want the soil to have very much moisture at all when i whacked it so it would be less likely to get rot.
it's been a few weeks since i chopped it and now that some leaves are starting to open i decided it might be time to start watering again.
now that it is actively growing i'll water more frequently.

Patann,

Some folks may have been saying it, but that doesn't make it correct. Crassula ovata isn't dormant in winter. Are you thinking of another plant?

Patann,

As some proof, these are full of new growth.

{{gwi:471229}}

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And I did almost whack my jade, but thought better of it and just pinched the lower leaves. Besides, those pots are danged heavy, what with all of the rock some pseudo-succulentist put in them.

I only water crassula ovata when it's leaves go limp. I must be putting mine into dormancy inside in the winter and let it grow and drink in the sun of summer. Don't know where I went wrong, but now I'll spend the rest of the morning hunting up all my "Jade Notes." Anything to get out of mopping the floors.

I think there's some confusion here.

Pardon me for being pedantic, but let's review the reasons for watering Jades less during Winter.

First, the advice to restrict water during the Winter applies *mostly* to those growing in soils
that have poor drainage - such as bagged soils containing a predominance of peat moss.

Secondly, if a Jade has been root-pruned recently, it is also a good idea to refrain from watering
until any root-injuries have had a chance to form a callus - so those nicks don't develop rot.

Thirdly, if a Jade has no leaves at all, it is not conducting photosynthesis the way a leafed
Jade would be - so you restrict water until the new leaves begin to emerge. Then, resume watering
so that those new leaves don't dry up and fall off.

Indeed, during the Winter, I continue watering all of my Jades whenever the leaves begin to soften.

Josh

Pedantic? You? Nope, that's my job.

My comments on your post, good sir.

First - absolutely in agreement. Patann, my soil is porous, and there's little damage of overwatering it.

Second - that's true with any succulent plant, but only four days or so are needed if the medium the pruned plant in put into is dry.

Third - Yes, but the key there is if the plant, pruned or not, has roots. If you mean 'restrict' as no water at all, no, I don't think this is good. Limited water is better in that situation. If one is really concerned for the plant at this point, a hearty spritzing will do, but the more water (providing you have it in a good soil, air circulation, and all the rest) you give it now, the faster it will grow. Restricting water for weeks at a time is not advantageous to growth, and given this is 'the season' for best Crassula growth, giving it proper waterings will result in the best growth.

Pedantic, indeed! ;-)

"Restrict" was too strong a word...*limit* is better, and what I intended to communicate.

Now, allow me to comment on your comments in return!

First - absolutely! Porous soils alleviate so many of the problems typically ascribed to Jades.

Secondly - yes! A callusing period is advised with succulents. I generally advise 3 - 5 days
(and 4 days hits the mark nicely!). Again, we must stress "*if* the medium the pruned plant is
put into is *dry*." There is a tendency out there to "rinse" roots when re-potting, and this
changes the game considerably.

Great discussion!

Josh

wanted to give an update.
lots of new healthy leaves.
still using a diluted systemic imidacloprid with every watering.
no sign of any scale....yippie!

{{gwi:471231}}

Hard to see such a tiny picture!

Excellent!
Any chance of a larger pic?

Josh

That's an actual picture of a new Crassula ovata cultivar, Crassula ovata 'Li'l Parvifolia'

ok, trying again.
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if you click on the little image it should take you to a full sized photo.

Awesome!
Good back-budding.

Josh

Looks great!

Tride26,
If your still around, could you post an updated picture of this plant?

1 yr after the wacking.
i can report that she is very happy and healthy again!

{{gwi:471233}}

recap:
my jade was severely infected with scale insects on the leaves and root mealies on the roots.
after losing the battle i decided to cut off all the foliage and complete replace the soil.
so i wacked it back, took it out of the pot and removed all the old infected soil.
re-planted it and then waited until it started sprouting some new leaves.
once new growth appeared, i watered with a very diluted systemic that had the active ingredient imidacloprid.
i used bayer advanced tree and shrub insect control.
for the first few months i used the systemic every watering.
now i just use it once every 2-3 months just to be sure those little bastards don't return!

Wonderful update.
As you can see, CG, there's no harm in whacking back a Jade!
The first cut is always the deepest...it gets easier after that ;-)

Josh

Awesome looking Jade. Your whacking was a great success, Thanks for the update.

CG, it's like a haircut, it almost always grows back. It's worth remembering these are particularly tough plants known to grow in often lousy conditions w/ bad soil it any, or just mineral-ly rocks.

Patann,

Folks seem to be easily confused about winter dormancy & Jades in particular. If you just remember that they bloom from Nov. to Feb. that should cure you from thinking they're winter dormant.

Don't know if you saw it but Jeff (Cactus McHarris) recently re-posted pix of his former Great Wall of Jade Where Kitties Lurked (GWOJWKL) & that was full of bloom, that too was from Nov. to Feb. that's how I keep it straight in my head.

Nice recovery to the OP, good work. May it inspire others to be brave & whack away!

i noticed my earlier photo was tiny.
trying again.....

{{gwi:471234}}

i glad to hear you guys enjoyed the story of this plant rescue.
everyone on this forum has been so helpful.
thank you for the invaluable advice you've all given me over the years here!