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jen654

Jade plant is sick -- Help!

jen654
10 years ago

My jade plant suddenly started with this "rash" a few weeks ago and it's progressing rapidly. It started as black spots on the undersides of the leaves and now looks like what you see in the pics. The rash is just on the younger new leaves. The older leaves look normal. Is this a virus? Is the plant a gonner?

I have had the plant for over 2 years and had no problems until now. I haven't done anything differently to it.

Help. I would really like to save the plant.
Thanks,
Jennifer

Comments (9)

  • jen654
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Just adding another pic....

  • jen654
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    and another pic...

  • cactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
    10 years ago

    Jen,

    Most of those problems are traceable to a poor root system, which is usually caused by too much water/not enough air movement/not enough drainage. Any jade (Crassula ovata) soil thread here that's got a number of responses here usually contains potting soil advice, so please do a search for them and your plant will get healthy following that advice.

  • jen654
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    The only soil threads I'm finding are non-specific to jades and don't mention anything about leaf rashes or any symptoms the plant might have.
    I don't have any place to put 5 or 6 different bags of soil ingredients that are recommended to mix together. I don't have a yard or garage or patio or anything. I live in a small apartment.
    All I have is Miracle-gro succulent soil mix. Should I just repot my jade plant in fresh soil? It has been a while since I did anything to the soil.
    What should I do to the roots? How much old soil should I leave around them?

    I have removed some of the damaged leaves. If I removed all of the affected leaves, the plant would look horrible.

    If there is too much water trapped in the soil shouldn't I be seeing mushiness/rotting in the trunk?

  • cactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
    10 years ago

    Jen,

    Yes, take it out of the pot and examine the roots - post a picture of that when you can, as it will help diagnose any problems, if indeed there are some.

    As to the soil, it can be as complicated or as easy as you care for. Soil mixes are like opinions, everyone's got one or three. Get a small bag of perlite, sift the larger chunks of bark out of the MG mix, and cut the remaining soil with 50% perlite. You'll have a mix the plant will enjoy growing in. Wait a few days after repotting before you water.

    As to the specificity of the problem, I'd go with my original diagnosis. It needs more light and air circulation (these are mostly-full-sun plants when acclimated to same in AZ).

    I assure you, there are more threads on jades and soil mixes here than there are hairs on a cat, but for now your plant looks to be healthy, mostly, but it usually goes back to some problem with the soil.

  • nomen_nudum
    10 years ago

    What helps fungus grow, low air quality lower light condtions some moisture and a reliable heat sourse

    Just a thought

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    10 years ago

    I agree that the first place to check is in the root-zone, as Cactus mentioned. In looking at the whole plant, I can tell that it is receiving sufficient light (or else the growth would be etoliated, drooping, et cetera). Just to check things off the list.....is there any chance that it was sprayed with something?

    Also, do you fertilize?

    Josh

  • rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
    10 years ago

    Jen

    Do as recommended above, these guys know what they are talking about.

    And, in case you have to or want to take off all the leaves, don't worry. Read this thread:
    read and see here

    There are many before&after photos of 'naked jades' by other members. You'll see how beautifully they look after.
    Just to encourage you, I am posting couple of photos by americangolden posted in the above thread (hope he doesn't mind me taking advantage of his pics...and Thank you, ag!)
    And you can see other's jades too.

    Rina

  • jen654
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thank you to everyone for the responses and recommendations!

    I haven't repotted it yet (just haven't gotten around to it, but I will try it soon). I did decide to chop off all the affected leaves assuming it's a fungus infection and here's a pic of what the plant looks like now.

    To answer some questions...there is no chance it was sprayed with anything. The plant is indoors all the time. Also, I do use a small amount of plantfood each time I water it. And I'm very careful not to overwater it. It gets plenty of air flow and direct sunlight (these pics are of the plant in a place that was good to photograph it against a plain background -- normally the plant is by a window that gets opened quite often and gets a lot of sun).

    What I'm still confused about is how to go about doing the repotting....do I break off some of the old roots? Do I shake off the old soil? How can I tell if there is a problem with the soil or the roots? What do I look for?
    Do I put it in a bigger pot or a smaller one or the same one it's in now? I'm not really clear on what repotting does unless a plant is rootbound.
    Thanks,
    Jen