what is this jade doing? (pics)

10 years ago

About a month or two ago, my jade tree started dropping leaves. They would first turn yellow then fall right off, not looking shriveled or unhealthy (other than the color). Well... ok they would turn a tiny bit shriveled but nothing drastic-looking. The only 2 things I could think of as to why this was happening were that I had recently re-potted the plant, and also had recently begun using fertilizer (Miracle Grow). When I re-potted, the roots were unimaginably healthy looking, as was the whole tree. I potted it in half perlite, 1/4 potting soil and 1/4 bark. I wondered if the leaf drop was a light issue, so I moved the tree to a south facing window, and got a grow light as well. Ever since the move (and the grow light) the tree is developing beautiful red tips, and it's growing like a champ, but still - though now very very slowly - still doing the yellow leaf thing. It used to be several a week, now it's more like once a month, but it's still happening. Why could this be?? I am noticing though, where some of the old leaves fell off, new ones are forming. So that's encouraging. Is this normal? Should I be worried?

Here are some pics:

(above is a little example of some new growth popping up)

The red tips forming. Though you can see how leggy it looks from having lost so many leaves :\

Featured Answer

greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a

10 years ago

It's slightly overwatered, I believe. Plump or mostly plump yellow leaves are a good indicator. I would just reduce the frequency of watering for the next month or two.

The initial leaf-drop was probably a combination of diminishing light values and excess moisture in the root-zone.

Looks good otherwise, especially now that it has more light.

Josh

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Comments (8)

Carolyn Mittens (6b)
Original Author
10 years ago
I should also mention, I know from the photo it looks like more soil/bark than perlite, but I simply placed a layer of bark over top of the mostly perlite mix because I hate the way perlite looks, and also it's so light it would just blow right out of the pot if given a strong gust of wind. So, don't worry, it's very fast-draining! ;P
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Carolyn Mittens (6b)
Original Author
10 years ago
Hmm.... how long would you say is safely appropriate to wait in between waterings? I never water this guy less than 4 weeks in between. I'm a little afraid to go any longer!
PRO
shay_fox
10 years ago
Agreed with you josh. The initial leaf-drop was probably a combination of diminishing light values and excess moisture in the root zone. You don't need to worried about him.
rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
10 years ago
4 weeks in-between watering is plenty of time; it should have been completely dry by then. What is your soil like? - you said it's mostly perlite? What are the temps where the plant is? Is there drainage hole in the container?

Rina
Carolyn Mittens (6b)
Original Author
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
Rina,

Yes the soil is always bone dry by the time I water. It's 50% perlite, 25% potting soil and 25% bark (from an orchid mix). There are drainage holes at the bottom. When I water I flush it thoroughly for a couple minutes and let all the water drain out of the bottom (it runs through immediately). The indoor temp in our apartment as of now is usually between 55-60 degrees when we're not home, mid 60s when we are home. This apartment doesn't get very warm, even when we blast the heat!! But in the summer time we have the windows open 24/7 and it gets very nice and warm and humid, the plants really seemed to thrive over the summer. Now admittedly it's colder in here than I would like but we just can't seem to get the temp up most days, even with an additional space heater I just bought.
breathnez
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
You could place a wooden chopstick or skewer in the soil for about 10 minutes. If dry when you pull it out, time to water. You might check every week for a while.

ez
rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
10 years ago
Carolyn

Those temps are OK. I have many succulents (way too many jades! :) in the basement, under lights, and temps are no higher than 55*F. I water them approx. every 2-3 weeks. Your mix sound fine too, while bark may be little too big? (I don't use it, but I believe orchid bark comes in few sizes? - and sorry, I just realized you did describe your mix in original post...). Hopefully there won't be any more excessive leaf drop, only old leaves that naturally fall off (they usually dry out). Good that you gave it more light.

Rina