Do I get ALL the soil off or just most of it? Would trying to moisten or soak it off do more harm than good at this point? It's really packed on there. I am now wondering if another one of my succulents is having the same problem. barely brushing the leaves cause them to drop off despite them being seemingly healthy ones.

I wouldn't moisten or soak anything at this point, you don't want to add any water until after you have re-potted it. The best way to get the soil off is when it is dry. I think this is common among plants potted in soil like yours and takes several months to see the effect it has. I have the same problem with mine, but am switching to the 1:1:1 gritty mix. Even with all the perlite in your mix the soil is becoming like concrete around the roots and when you water it the water probably just runs along the sides of the pot and out the bottom.

If you are interested in making your own gritty mix, try searching for Al's gritty mix or 1:1:1 gritty mix. There are a lot of threads that walk you how to make it. It is made up of equal parts bark, turface, and grit.

Good luck!

-Erica

Erica has a very good point about adding more water to the problem. I have done it both ways - soil dry and soil wet. Soil that was rock hard didn't really get any softer or more manageable by soaking. Luckily, these plants will root easily once in a good mix.

Josh mentioned why you are shedding leaves. I've had entire branches fall off. Surprisingly, they rooted and more branches eventually sprouted on the original plant.

On this one, unfortunately it was the main/middle branch that fell off.

I know I can pick up a ready-made cactus mix and cut it with perlite. Not sure if I can find the Al's Gritty Mix components in the dead of winter here.

This is all very new to me, but I am starting to figure out why all of my plants die. Hopefully not too late.

If you use cacti and succulent mix I would do at least 50% perlite. I actually bought everything for mine off Amazon (I have Prime so it's free shipping), which is usually cheaper than anything I can find at a store. The gritty mix is just something to keep in mind. I have been reading a lot about it on here, success stories as well as the science behind it, and it is an endeavor I am pretty excited about.

Crenda - I've never had an entire branch fall off! I did have half of my larger jade drop every single leaf on one side of it from being left out in the cold too long, but then it just grew back...

-Erica

Off topic - Crenda, I saw you lived in SWFL so I checked your profile. My aunt actually lives in Cape Coral... Small world :)

-Erica

After many hours of work the compacted roots have been freed! I cut off the wilty stems and am hoping the main stem they were attached to will be okay.

There was no cacti mix to be found but I picked up an orchid mix of fir bark, charcoal, and perlite. It was pretty chunky so I crushed it up until it looked closer to the pics of the gritty mix. Then mixed it in with some small, decorative gravel.

From what I've read I should wait at least a week to water? Anything else I should know?

do you have a terracotta pot? It allows airflow & soaks up some extra moisture, plastic or glazed pots do not. (not that you can't do plastic... just have to be even more careful about watering)

Nicely done...and yes, an Orchid mix was a decent choice off the shelf. And the gravel a good touch. I assume that the container has drainage? Wait at least a week before watering again. When you see new growth emerging, begin watering more frequently and more thoroughly. Since the mix will be largely devoid of nutrients, consider beginning a fertilizer regimen this Spring (in a few weeks to a month or so).

Josh

Looks great! It looks like you have a pot within a pot. If that larger pot doesn't have drainage holes in the bottom I would take the smaller one out. You never want to leave water sitting in there.

Yes, it does have a good amount of drainage. I guess now I wait and see what happens.

I am going to see if I can grow new plants from the leaves that fell off too.

Thanks everyone for your input!

Looks nice, din! You'll have a little forest of jades in no time!

ehuns, good observation, it is a pot within a pot, but they both have holes in the bottom! I also take out the inner one when I water and make sure it's stopped dripping before I put it in the "nice" pot.

The Jade should bounce back nicely. In a couple weeks, start fertilizing. I can't express how much of a difference it will make in the new growth.

Josh

It looks much better now. If it does not improve I suggest cutting the roots off and rerooting the whole plant this is garanteed to work but use it as a last resort. Good luck. Xx

A couple days after repotting and some leaves are getting a bit wrinkly looking... Should I leave it alone? Normally I'd be tempted to water but I know I shouldn't yet.

Don't water yet. Yes, it will drop a few more leaves before the roots are back online.

Do a very light watering about one week after the potting, then wait again.

Josh

Two stems went mushy and have been removed. They were originally connected to the other rotten one. So... One stem left! I don't know what the roots should look like though. They don't look white like I've read about, but here's a pic.

Jade roots are tan or brown for the most part.

If the roots are healthy, they will have an earthy, vegetable smell.
The roots should also be firm and flexible, not dry, shrunken, or brittle.

Josh

Before I switched to full on gritty mix, I had problems with rot, too. My summers are high humidity, high temps, and lots of rain. I'm still getting the hang of where to place my jades for the summer months.

Your roots look pretty good compared to some I have had. You can really see the rot and the lousy roots on this one, and his friend to the left -

Thanks Crenda, that gives me hope! The last stem has no rot as far as I can tell. It's back in the gritty mix but since it's all by itself now I used a smaller pot.

I've repotted an echeveria (I think) in gritty mix as well since it wasn't looking so hot either. The roots were in very compact soil similar to the jade, but no rot at least. Both are going in my south facing window for lots of sun.