Good day to you,

Couple things I'm noticing from your picture and description:

1. Pot seems large for this sized plant. I keep my succulents and jades specifically in as small of containers as possible. This allows the plant to uptake the moisture quickly and allow the soil to dry out completely as quickly as possible.

2. Your soil looks completely broken down and very water retentive. These plants want to dry out as quickly as possible. If you soil is still moist a few days after watering, something is not right with your growing conditions. What kind of mix is this potted into?

3. Northern window light exposure is the horrible. South, west, east are all much better than north - especially at your latitude in NY during the winter months. The fact that your growth is trending downwards and very leggy is an immediate indicator of not nearly enough light. This plant should be hacked down and pruned aggressively ASAP come spring time when sunlight exposure increases. I have pruned my jades down to a stump with zero leaves left and placed in full sunlight. Few weeks later, new leaves and branches form and due to full sunlight will grow much more compact and attractive.

All these factors are explaining your black leaves, fungus gnats, etc. You most likely have a very week root system for this plant and its responded accordingly. I would repot into fresh mix into a much much smaller container ASAP. Please give max sunlight possible to help soil dry quicker and give the plant its much desired sunlight levels. On this note, be wary as this plant loves sunlight but due to its inadequate sun exposure its been growing under will be prone to sunburn if moved too quickly. Being in NY and still in January, you should be able to move to the brightest location possible with no issues or further damage to the plant. Do you have a southern window you can use? All my succulents are in full south exposure this time of year as that is where you will receive the most rays.

Good luck!

Also, notice the little roots starting to form off of the branches? This means the plant is preparing itself for worst case scenario (ie: dropping branches and starting new plants) as the main root system is most likely in very bad shape. Leave these roots be for now but just another indicator that the plant is not happy at all.

Good info given to you above, but could you send us a full picture of the plant to give us a better view. I do agree with the comment that poor light, wrong soil, dying rootball, etc have all played their part in it growing the way it appears to be doing in your original pic. It could well be saved though with a drastic cut back and re-pot....and much better conditions, so please get back to us.

Gill UK

one option.. will be to root some cuttings .... and when they start the thrive.. just get rid of this old headache ...

even if this plant has some sentimental value ... a rooting of it.. is still the same plant ...

sometimes its not worth the effort to make grandpa into some type of 18 year old stud ...

ken

Hi Calzoner,

Thanks for your feedback.

What you can't see from the photo is that there are a lot of stalks in that one pot, but I see what you are saying about it needing a smaller pot. It actually was more packed in there before but a lot of leaves have died off!

The mix that the plant is in is just standard organic potting mix, but I am thinking that since I had problems with fungus gnats etc, I should repot it. I sterilized what soil that I had leftover in my oven so I may use that, along with some fresh compost from the farmers market to keep it healthy. Or should I just get some completely fresh stuff?

Unfortunately all I have is northern exposure, but my windows are huge, so I'm hoping that is not the problem. I have other succulents that seem to be thriving, even in the indirect light.

Should I repot now and prune in the spring?

Do not use organic potting mix, especially 'fresh compost from farmer's market'. That is excellent for garden but not in pots, especially indoors. That is one of the reasons for fungus gnats.

Best would be to use mostly inorganic ingredients. At worst, buy a bag of perlite (not vermiculite), sift it thru window screen or kitchen sieve. Discard what falls thru. Rinse what is left in the strainer. Mix that with the soil you have sterilized, minimum 50% or more of perlite (it will help with drainage). And make sure container has drainage hole/holes.
Prune in the spring (don't re-pot & prune at the same time). But take off any dried stalks/branches and leaves and any (if there are) mushy ones.
You could divide plant if there are separate stalks crammed in your pot - and get few new plants growing.

Previous posters already gave excellent advice about soil...and better watering.

You may want to consider supplemental lighting to prevent more of the plant etiolating - stretching for the sunlight.
What other plants are you growing? If you have lots of gnats, that indicates wet soil that contains lots of organic matter.

Lots of good advice here. I thought I was doing well with my plants until I started using a more open mix (as Rina suggests with the addition of perlite).

Supplemental light can be as simple as adding a florescent daylight desk lamp, it doesn't have to be a complicated set up.

Also, I too would like to see a pic of the whole plant to appreciate what's happening in it's entirety.

As stated above, wrong soil, and not enough light. I would go with a terra cotta pot. If you have a problem with fungus gnats, it is a sign of improper watering of a poor draining soil. Fungus gnats are only found in organic soil that is too moist for succulents. A photo of the entire plant would indeed help.

Christopher

Thank you all for your advice. I just purchased a new bag of soil that is for cacti and succulents, and will transfer the plant to a new pot with better drainage, hopefully I can save it. Seems like I should do the pruning / cutting in the spring, correct?

Here's a photo of the entire pot for those who are still interested.

Step in right direction. I would still add perlite to that bag of soil (perlite is probably easiest to find).
Looks like they are individul plants, they could be all potted up separately, in pots no larger than 4". Existing pot is large and looks like it is pretty deep too. Consider smaller pot (already suggested).

Try turning pot 1/4 to 1/2 turn 1x/week or so to expose all sides to more light to lessen all stems growing-stretching in one direction. It could really use some supplemental lighting.
When repotting, you can plant them little more upright - it won't solve the problem but will help with 'droopines'. If the plant can't stand up on it's own, prop it up/support with a rock (they could be removed when the plant is established).

You could have few nice plants if growing properly.
Good luck.

Some excellent advice. Something you may want to do this spring, is whack your plant back. Don't be afraid to cut it back rather severely; it will grow new leaves and stems. This will remove the leggy growth and allow the plant to sprout new growing points that will provide a nice canopy. I personally have no problem with pot containing multiple stems but your pot, even if you keep all of your stems in the same pot is too large. The pictured plant is several years old and I routinely cut it back to maintain a full head.

Howard

That jade is beautiful, I remember you posting photos of it before, pre and after pruning. Very nice color.
I see it is overwintering in your GH. I am sure you mentioned it before - but what temp you keep in your GH?

Rina

I know this looks rather severe but it will regrow and you can callous all the cuttings and plant in the same pot or another pot.

Rina, I usually aim for about 68 ~ 70 day and 60 ~ 62 night because some of the orchids and certain succulents don't do well in the 50's.. Today the sun is shining and should get up to 78. Unfortunately, the natural gas heater I use doesn't have a thermostat to easily regulate the temperature, so I try to set it to an "average" temp and hope for the best. We've had especially cold weather so it's been difficult.

Howard, we have very similar outside temps as you. I have my plants in only abt. 58F, but use lots of CFL lights - they add just a bit of warmth (not much!)I just make sure I water them less.

I have done similar chopping as Howard suggested on many jades recently. Timing may not be perfect, but I did it to fit them all in, lol...

One of them before (March 2014):

Same plant now, after being chopped up drastically sometimes in Sept-Oct. 2014:

It think it would have grown more in same period of time if it had sunlight, higher temps and some fertilizing.
Regardless, it is growing well and I am sure it will 'explode' when it gets warmer, and I'll start fertilizing then.

Rina

Hey! Did it ever grow? My plant is going through something very similar.