Picture pls

Can we see a well-lit, close-up picture of the plant?

Absolutely. I will have to take the pic in the morning. I just brought it in and washed it with my spray nozzle from the sink, then I watered it well and gave it a few drops of Shultz fertilizer for cactus. I never removed the shriveled leaves though. I thought if it was under-watered, they might plump up?

If the roots are healthy jade leaves can and will bounce back from quite a lot of shrivel, but at some point they will slip beyond recovery.

I am a serial plant neglector at times, and it's one of the reasons I love jade. Have had very shriveled, completely flat/collapsed (in terms of thickness) very pink jade leaves bounce back to fat plump shiny status 24-48 hours after a single watering. Whole plants. They usually recover from the top down. Maybe a few older leaves will need to be snipped or snapped off (doesn't matter which - if you snip, whatever is left will dry up and eventually fall off on it's own. I usually snap, but with dessicated/shriveled leaves i snip).

Probably not the best way to get your plants to grow, but Jade can survive quite a bit of drought, even in hot sun. Recovery is all about the roots at that point. And it is amazing to experience (for me anyway), every time.

It's usually best to avoid fertilizing unhappy plants unless you have specifically identified a nutrient deficiency as the source of an issue. But probably not much harm done in this case.

Please do post a picture.

I took a couple of photos of my Jade plant this morning. After watering last night, some of the shriveled leaves seemed to have gotten a little plumper. I think perhaps it was so hot and dry, I let it go too long without watering it. How can I get my jade fuller like it use to be? While I have the photos up here, does anyone know what kind of jade plant this is? Thanks everyone?

To get jade fuller, it needs lots of light. Etiolated - stretched parts will not revert, but they could be pruned off.

Careful with watering - soil looks really dark (I know you just watered), and may not be fast draining. Is there a paper towel below the pot? Any extra moisture should be disposed of (good if you are soaking it, just don't leave paper towel there-it could get easily reabsorbed back). Adding lots of perlite could help, or even better, using much grittier mix (one that is made with grit & some perlite).

There could be too many trunks in the same pot, kind of 'interfering' with each other. Think about fewer, so they have lots of room and good air circulation. You would get nice, thick/fat trunk - still could have very full plant (even fuller than otherwise), without overcrowding - JMO.

rina ~ thanks so much for your input. What does Etiolated - stretched parts will not revert mean? Okay, I removed the paper towel. I just put it there to soak up any extra water. When I watered it, I also took a long wooden skewer and pushed it down into the soil so it would drain better. I'll look for some perlite and sand. If I have too many trunks on my jade, how would I prune them off? The parts I prune off, would I just plant those in another pot? So far, I've just been pinching off the new growth at the tips, thinking that would make the plant fuller. Not sure how to prune a jade plant. I really appreciate your help. Thank you kindly

Diane

Once the plants arms grew long ( = etiolated) with far apart spaced leaves, they will not shrink back, grow fuller. That happens if plant is not receiving as much light as it wants. It may be healthy otherwise, this etiolation will not kill it, it just doesn't look as good as it could.

I was meaning to separate some of the plants in that pot, if you are willing to. Looks like there are quite a few trunks - separate plants. They would have their own roots, and could be potted into another pot (or few). You don't have to do this - I just suggested what I would do.

Pruning would be cutting off elongated/stretched/etiolated parts. These cut off pieces will grow into new plants, so, potentially, you may end up with lots of jades :) Pinching plants (just about same as pruning, you just use scissors or blade and sometimes take bigger piece off) should be encouraging plant to grow fuller, but it will happen only if there is enough light. Otherwise, the new growth will be just the same, lanky (etiolated).

If you need skewer to 'open' up the soil to drain, I would say that it is too dense. Using mix that has larger particles in it (like grit or perlite or some others) will make mix much more porous, and any extra water will drain out freely.

Pls. do not use sand unless it has large grains - sold sometimes as Horticultural sand. Personally, I do not bother looking for it and use grit (small granite chips fed to chickens). If you get just perlite, adding that to your existing soil in 50-50 ratio would be an improvement.

I am assuming your plant is growing indoors. If that's the case, you could consider giving it some supplemental lighting (I have to do that for all my plants for the winter; they spend summer outdoors, but loooong winter inside, with help of lights).

Rina ~ you are awesome" ~ thank you soooo much for taking the time to provide me with a much better understanding. The soil felt pretty hard and compacted, which is why I used the skewers. I'm definitely going to get some perlite. Can I just add the perlite into the present soil or do I need to remove the plant from the pot to do this? For the past 3 years, I've placed my jade outside all summer, including this summer. Other than that, it's inside in a east facing window. I have a choice of east, west or north (no south-facing window) During the winter, I water it about once a month or when the soil dries out. Thanks again Rina.

Please don't confuse horticultural sand, (often bad as the majority of it is too fine grade) with horticultural gravel or grit, (what you need) and as used for alpine gardens and suchlike. Sand is often too fine even the hort kind. Aquarium gravel would also be good.

Gill

Thank you greenclaws. I'll definitely keep that in mind. Horticultural gravel or grit.

Thanks Rina, I have saved all the info you've given me. One more question please? How do I go about separating the trunks from the plant? and I can make other plants from the one's I remove? I think that would be fun to do!

Diane

When you repot, you'll be able o see how many separate plants you have. They will have their own roots too, and could be potted up separately. If roots are tangled up, just tease them apart gently, you can use your fingers or help with chopstick. If you find that soil has hardened up around the root ball (that happens a lot with peaty soil), you may have to wash it off. Get a bowl with tepid water and gently swish the root ball in it (I am more 'daring' and just spray it with garden hose if needed...:)

Some trunks, while they may appear separate above the soil, are attached below. You cold leave them as they are, or cut off with sharp knife/blade (best to clean up/wipe off after every cut). Pieces without roots (and that includes pieces pruned off from top of plant, and all leaves) will also grow new plants. Just let them callus (heal/scab over) for a day or so. Leaves can be left just sitting on top of the mix (easy to do :), or they can be stuck into mix - not too deep. Pruned pieces should be inserted into well draining mix, put in bright spot (not in full sun right away) and not water for a while - to make sure cuts are properly healed; plant can't take water in without roots (no roots - no water). Once you see sign of new growth, there are roots formed or forming and plant should be watered as usual.

rina, thanks again for all your help with my jade plant. I've learned a lot from you and really appreciate it.

Diane

Glad to help...and don't hesitate to post any questions - best with photos if having any problems...And the updates on your plant too :)

I will keep in touch. Thanks again rina and everyone else.