Wanted: Dwarf Jade help

[XJ-jeep]

I am posting on behalf of my daughter

For Christmas she received a dwarf jade and she has read all that she can find on the subject, however her tree has started dropping leaves. The leaves look healthy but they are falling off.


We need to find out what is going on and how to help it survive.

We were concerned about over watering, and root rot. so we recently re-potted it.
The roots looked good.

Thanks

Jeff

 

[mat]

Hey Jeff. Where do you live? Is it outside? Got any pictures?

 

[sorce]

Yeah Jeep!

Sorce

 

[carp]

if you've been watering it, stop. you don't water jade after a repot, you drought them until it begins to push new growth again.

 

[ward0]

Please upload a picture.

 

[XJ-jeep]

Thanks for your posts...

We are in Ann Arbor Michigan.

It was re-potted about 5 days ago... It is potted and currently sits in the west kitchen window for now.

Before it was in an area where it got morning sun and then was shaded for the afternoon. It is getting more light in the west window than it did when leaves started to drop.

I am currently at work and we will post some pics when I return home.

Thanks

Jeff

 

[ward0]

Bring it outside when temperature higher then 12 degrees. A dwarf jade loves full sun.

Only give water when top soil is dry

 

[skrit]

Note that's 12C, or around 50F. Based on your local forecasts, it looks like it should be staying at or above 50 for at least a while. Solely on temperature, I'd suggest placing it outside in full sun, however, it also looks like you might be getting a lot of rain on and off this week, and into the forseeable future. I'm not that familiar with Ann Arbor, do you get a lot of frequent rain? If so, it may be best in the window getting as much sun as possible. As Carp noted, letting the Jade dry out will tend to cause it to push new growth. These are arid climate trees from South Africa. They are quite drought tolerant and store a lot of water in their leaves and branches. Try letting it dry out a bit. It can probably go a week or more without water without too much trouble. Just keep an eye on the leaves. If the healthy green leaves start to get wrinkled, it's about time to give it a drink.

As ward0 said, pictures would be great, but it sounds like overwatering to me. What kind of soil did you pot it in? I hope you stayed away from a potting soil mix, which will likely stay far too wet for this plant.

 

[ward0]

@skrit : Just to inform you , i think i have 2/3 potting soil mix , 1/3 lava , and the rest pumice ( first time ever i repotted .. ) And my jade is going mad this first year.

But your advice is correct regarding to me.

 

[skrit]

@ward0: Sounds like I may be might be wrong about the potting mix then, I honestly haven't grown any Jade in a mix including potting soil. I'm sure it's possible with the right watering schedule, as you've proven. Sorry for any confusion!

 

[ward0]

@ward0: Sounds like I may be might be wrong about the potting mix then, I honestly haven't grown any Jade in a mix including potting soil. I'm sure it's possible with the right watering schedule, as you've proven. Sorry for any confusion!

Many will advice : Akadama , lava , pumice

Others will say : 100% akadama

Others will do like me ... it all depends on where you live and what your water possibility is.

 

[XJ-jeep]

Here is a picture of the sickly dwarf jade. It was purchased from Longwood Gardens in PA.

We are moving it out to the deck for afternoon sun and bringing it in at night. We are still getting temps that are about 50F at night.

We have also stopped water for now.

When it was re-potted it was re-potted in bonsai soil mix... very loose and dry.

Here is a link to the picture... I have shared it for anybody that has the link.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxSxDh82HyPrOUJZRE9seDZiMi1vZWF4NWRId2p6dW1NRTVn/view?usp=sharing

Thanks

 

[skrit]

Your soil looks great, but I'm afraid that your description may not have fully described just how many leaves had fallen, or perhaps I misinterpreted. It sounded like leaves had started to fall off and you were concerned and taking appropriate measure by asking for some advice before things got out of hand. From your photo, your tree looks pretty bare, with maybe 3-4 leaf clusters on the entire tree, and many of the branches look dessicated (though it's hard to tell on my phone). I think others should probably weigh in on recovery at this point, as I've never experienced defoliation to this extreme. I had a few cuttings that were going pretty strong for about 3 months that got over-watered a few weeks ago. They looked a lot like your tree but much smaller. Sadly, they didn't make it. Good Luck.

 

[XJ-jeep]

Leaves started falling about 3 weeks ago and as you can tell many have fallen.

We are still hopeful and want to learn more about the care of these trees

 

[mat]

It looks pretty rough.

My advice (for this one, or maybe for the next one you try). The soil looks good, but may have been put in it a bit too late. It should be outside 24/7 now. 50degree temps won't bother it at all. It also doesn't need the tray of rocks underneath it. I think you should leave it alone for now (outside) and hope it comes back.