First of all, jade plants will drop leaves during their "winter" period. Leaf-drop alone is not necessarily a bad sign.
When you touch the green leaves, are they soft and leathery, or are they firm and resilient?
What about the yellow leaves?

The biggest threat to a jade plant is over-watering.

So I'll ask, What kind of soil is the jade in?

How are you watering, and how often?

Josh

The green leaves are firm feeling. The yellow one that fell off was actually pretty firm as well.

I didn't plant the jade as it was given to me by a friend. It's in a clear plastic cup with holes drilled in the bottom. There's also about an inch of gravel, and it appears to be just ordinary potting soil. I don't have it on a watering schedule, I just water it and wait until it's dry before I water again.

It's good that you're letting it dry out before watering again. That's a primary key to success!

But...I think you should put it in a proper pot/container with new soil, no gravel layer at the bottom. If it's really just ordinary potting soil, the plant will much prefer a gritty, course, peat-free mix.

Re: leaves.
Quite honestly, I pinch/prune yellow leaves off of my jade plants when they appear. I give the leaf a pinch or a nick to get the plant to salvage moisture, et cetera, from the leaf; then, I wait for the leaves to fall off when dry, or I worry them lightly to get them to drop.

Can you post a picture of the plant?

Josh

Sorry that it took me so long, I've been having computer troubles. But, here are the photos. In the first pic, you can see the green spot on the stem where the first leaf fell off. The second is of the other leaf that is yellowing.

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you definitely need to get the jade into a container that has drainage holes!! best thing for jades (since they like to dry out before rewatering) is an unglazed clay pot. i put it inside something larger and more decorative to hide the clay. use a cactus soil and no need for that layer of gravel at the bottom.

i also water from below. that is, i set the pot in a dish/bowl and fill that with tepid water and leave it. the water is soaked up into the soil. i'll refill the dish and let it be pulled up into the soil until the top of it is just starting to feel moist.

even with being in the less-than-optimum container, it sure looks pretty healthy! so, you've done something right!

Depending on where some one lives and the amount of mineral undissolved solids in their water, only watering from the bottom can be fatal. All that stuff builds up on the top of the soil, trunk of the plant, and the edge of the pot. Since you are always watering from the bottom and not from the top, those minerals aren't flushed or drenched out of the pot. At some point it looks pretty nasty and can be toxic.

randy

Randy,
would you suggest a combination of top and bottom watering?

Josh

I've done it in years past when watering freshly potted bonsai, but don't do it anymore. I just use a very fine water breaker like a Dramm 1000 on the end of my hose and move it back and forth quickly over the plant so it gets a gentle rain shower.

Personally think too many bad things can happen doing that, BUT that's only my opinion. I prefer just a bleach bath instead of bleach, vinegar and bristle brush when cleaning old pots.

People have brought nice trees to me before wanting to know how to fix a nasty calcium buildup on the trunk of their plant. A little late for advice then.

randy

Thanks, Randy! Makes a lot of sense.
I think I need to purchase a Dramm or similar, so that I can simulate a gentle shower. I don't think I'm getting a very thorough "flushing," and that's exactly what I want.

Of course, I'm dealing with the calcium build-up on my favorite jade trunk now...Alas! (actually, the build-up seems to have decreased after I gently scrubbed with a Q-tip and rainwater in a spray bottle).

Josh

Josh,

Just a photo to give you an idea of what I like to use. When you have to water a lot of things something like this comes in handy.

It's a 3/4 inch gate valve with brass iron pipe to hose thread adapters on each end. Then a in line fine mesh filter screen to keep my water breaker clean so it lasts a long time and then the water breaker. I've been using a setup this for about 10 years.

clickable thumb.

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randy the thread hijacker.

I said gate vale. Duh, it a ball valve.

Ah, very nice. I'll assemble something similar this weekend. In-line filter is a great idea...multiple checks and balances ;)

Josh

Injecting my opinion... I've never been a "bottom" waterer. I water from the top, let it sit a half hour or so, then water again. Whatever is in the cache tray below after an hour or so, I empty. I don't have the patience for the "let it suck it up" method...

Whitefrost... Your Jade looks perfectly healthy. I see that you said there were drainage holes drilled in the pot, which makes it ok. When spring gets here (which should be soon), I would say repot it into an unglazed clay pot slightly larger than the rootball. Keep watering when dry and put it outisde when it warms up, moving it SLOWLY into full sun over a few weeks. You'll have a prize plant by summer's end!

Denise in Omaha

Thanks for the info! If only there were any signs that spring may every come... It's snowing like crazy right now.

that little jade looks pretty healthy to me.just repot in a month or so in a good succulent mix.see tapla;he is king of potting mix.

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It's been almost a year since I made this thread. I just wanted to post an updated photo and thank everyone for the advice. My Jade seems to be doing great!

Huzzah! You've done a great job!
Thanks for the update.

Josh

Excellent news; it's always nice when folks come back to show us that advice gotten here has been helpful. Keep up your good work!

your plant looks good. I just potted a jade cutting in the same pot yours is in!

I doubt it was the SAME pot because I made the one mine is in. haha. Thanks for the compliments everyone! :)