60 y/o Jade

[Choppychan]

Nice jade! Those shriveled leaves can be a sign of rot. I know you said you water pretty infrequently, but if it's too rootbound then maybe it's trapping some water deep inside or maybe just lack of airflow/ oxygen in there. You can just remove the affected leaves with no worries.
When you repot, be brave and wiggle a chopstick in deeply from every angle to break up that rootbrick. Work in your new chunky soil really well so there are no big air pockets. Leave it pretty dry for several weeks or more before you water.
These things are tough as nails so it will be fine no matter what you do to it (except overwatering, lol).

I do think it's the soil that is suffocating the roots. It probably already has dead roots as a result of the soil being so compact. I think watering on dead roots might be causing some rot which is why I need to be even more careful with watering. I won't water for a while and will leave it dry even after the repot.

When I went to collect it the older lady who used to own it had it sitting in water. She said herself she might have overwatered it as she couldn't lift it to get the water out the saucer.
So that could have caused lot term damage which I can only fix by repotting and removing dead roots. If she's survived this long I think she'll be fine.

 

[penumbra]

Your jade is acting normally. It does not have root rot. Mealy bugs are a nuisance but treatable. Root bound is not a cause for concern. I just repotted one that had been rootbound in sane container for 6 years. I cut off well over half the roots when I repotted it. As I have already stated, I have dozens of jades and have a good friend with a greenhouse full of them.
Carry on and enjoy your jade plant. Just get rid of the mealy bugs so they don't affect every plant you own.

 

[leatherback]

Your jade is acting normally. It does not have root rot. Mealy bugs are a nuisance but treatable. Root bound is not a cause for concern. I just repotted one that had been rootbound in sane container for 6 years. I cut off well over half the roots when I repotted it. As I have already stated, I have dozens of jades and have a good friend with a greenhouse full of them.
Carry on and enjoy your jade plant. Just get rid of the mealy bugs so they don't affect every plant you own.

Thank you. I was about to make a similar post. There is nothing wrong with this jade. And compact soil is not an issue.
Important to note, there is not really an overwatering issue with jade, as much as them not liking wet & cold. When actively growing in summer and weather is warm, these can grow really fast. Just do not water extensively when the tree is dormant.

 

[amcoffeegirl]

You can take a cutting now and start a back up. That way you won’t lose the plant- you can always have a back up.
When I root cuttings I like to cut a piece then lay it on a shelf for 2-5 days. After that time sit it in a narrow vase with the cut end just above the water level.
The roots will grow into the water and can be planted in dirt after you have many roots.

 

[Choppychan]

You can take a cutting now and start a back up. That way you won’t lose the plant- you can always have a back up.
When I root cuttings I like to cut a piece then lay it on a shelf for 2-5 days. After that time sit it in a narrow vase with the cut end just above the water level.
The roots will grow into the water and can be planted in dirt after you have many roots.

Thanks, will do so. I don't think it's in immediate danger atm but good shout

 

[leatherback]

Not sure how much experience you have with the species. This video provides a fairly comeplte overview from repotting to propagation and wiring / pruning.

 

[Choppychan]

Not sure how much experience you have with the species. This video provides a fairly comeplte overview from repotting to propagation and wiring / pruning.

Thanks. I do have a small collection of succulents, around 10, but I only have one jade plant.

I have ordered a bonsai terracotta training pot and good quality cacti soil. I'll take some propagations/ trim it down but nothing too drastic for now. Want to let it settle in the new pot/ soil first.

 

[Choppychan]

Hi guys,

Repotted my jade 3 weeks ago. Very happy with how it looks in the pot. Granted I have not done any styling to it as I just was to let it be for a while. It seems that it's doing fine and pushing new growth atm. I watered it before repotting, let it dry for a week then removed 90% of the soil and replaced it with a cacti chuncky mix in a terracotta training pot. Crazy how just changing the pot makes it look so much better. I have not watered it since and I do not see signs that it wants watered. I might wait another week then water it.

Overall the repotting was successful. Any more tips going forward are much appreciated