Repot in better, more porous soil, but bring the rootball/plant out of the pot immediately and let it dry for several days first. While it's drying out, do a search on this forum using 'jade' or, more properly, 'Crassula ovata' - you'll find a wealth of information from the experts here.

It's a case of overwatering/not enough light. When you water well (and it appears you have) you want to make sure you have superior drainage (and really, who among us doesn't?) and sun - you might not have at least one if not two. This plant grows better the more sun you give it.

ditto, with emphasis on more light. It needs as much as you can give it.

I'd LOVE for one of my jades to get that big someday. Although, it will be very crowded in my office if they do.

I'll third the light thing. You can't give Jades too much light inside. They won't do very well at all unless given unobstruced south sun in the winter, and they need to be outside in the summer. I don't know where you are in Calif., but if you can keep it outside year round, then you've got the best possible circumstances a Jade can have! But Jeff is also right about the repotting. If it's been in the same pot for a long, long time, it needs to be repotted, roots pruned back. And make sure your pot has drainage holes - no drainage = sure death for Jades!

Denise in Omaha

I will third that!!:-0)

That's a nicely shaped Jade, despite the thin new growth!

When you re-pot, you might consider pruning the plant back a bit....although pruning is probably too formal a word for what I have in mind - I would simply snap those spindly growth tips from the larger branches. A finger-pruning, as it were.

And I'll fourth, fifth, and sixth it....give it more light!
And please report back!

Josh

I second that Josh!

By the way, your package is in the mail..:-)

Repotting will help a great deal but also sun light seems to be lacking as you stated. Anything you can do to get more sun light will help a great deal. Is there someone who can house the plant for you? Just a thought.

Red

Thanks for responses everyone.

Here's a question, though -- if it needs more light, why has the growth been so tremendous since I've moved it inside (the falling branches aside)? I was shocked at how many new leaves and branch extensions have come out in the last six months, I would say it has added 3" in circumference...

It grew those leaves in its quest to obtain sunlight. ;)
The new growth isn't robust, however, which is how we know it needs stronger light.
The growth is spindly...etoliated is the word for it.

Josh

Could it be that it is finally tiring out from the challanges it has been facing all this time?

When you brought it in, it probably had alot of steam to move full speed ahead, now it seems to me it is running out of fuel..

I would not assume it is an all of sudden problem.
It could be that it has been struggling for awhile, and now you are seeing the symptoms from a tired plant..;-(

I hope you figure it out...:-)

Ok that makes sense about the new growth. Wow, that's a bummer. Well, unfortuantely there are no other options for light in this apartment (I'm learning to be a shade and ambient light gardner). I'll re-pot it and then see if I can move it into my office where it can get direct sun...

That's likely a response to its reduced circumstances of light - the growth increases but it's sickly-looking and won't likely amount to much.

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As a follow up question, do people think a sun lamp would work?

Using artificial light for a plant that big would be a real challenge. Incandescent bulbs are *worthless*, don't even bother. You could get a couple of those 4' fluorescent shop lights from HomeDepot, but you would have to mount them so close to the plant, that you wouldn't see much of the plant anymore! The bulbs would have to be mounted at some kind of angle to effectively illuminate the majority of the leaves. If you've got gobs of cash, you could go for some kind of High Intensity Discharge grow lights, which can be mounted much farther away from the plant (like a couple feet instead of a couple inches with the fluorescents). A decent setup will be at least a couple hundred bucks, and require some significant effort in getting it installed.

joscience couldn't of worded any better than I could!

She is so right.
But just one thing I will disagree with.
It doesn't take much effort to install at all.
They are so easy to install these days, that my 13 year old nephew did one in just 5 minutes the other day.

You can buy a complete compact flourescent, or a sodium or metal halide bulb and ballaster. Just hang them from the ceiling, or a beam, mount anywhere, then plug in..:-)

Cactusmcharris, those are lovely flowers!! I am still waiting for my Jade plant(I've had almost 3 years) to bloom. I wonder if it ever will? Keeping fingers crossed.Thanks for posting.

MeyerMike: She is a *he*! :-) And while I tend to agree that the installation certainly isn't rocket-science, it is at least an hour of work (more if you aren't so mechanically inclined) to hang the lights, which to me, is significant. Certainly more significant than just dragging the plant out into the sun! ;-)

Pug: Everything I've ever heard or read says Jades need cold nights to bloom. You may be out of luck in tropical Florida....

Crud!!!!!!

I am always so careful with that....I am sooo sorry joscience!

By the way, have a great weekend!:-)

Pug,

That's a very old (20yr, my guess) plant.

Josiah,

It needs cool(er) nights, that's for sure - the shorter daylight days sure help, too.

Of course, my definition of 'cold' has undergone some alteration since my move from SAN to YKA.

Those pics are from a plant that only saw direct sunlight for 5 months of the year.

OK everyone, it looks like bringing it into work is not an option, nor is a sunlamp, so I'll probably need to sell it. 8-(

Any recommendations on selling a plant this large? Was just going to put an ad on craigslist but some price suggesiontions would be appreciated...