A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The House Plant Forum Cacti and Succulents Indoors another jade plant problem

Hi, I have what was -- until a few weeks ago -- a very beautiful jade plant, that had been putting out lots of lovely new growth for a several years. But now I apparently over-watered it, and it is losing leaves (although the leaves themselves are as beautiful as ever) and some of the stalks are starting to get a little droopy. This is devastating, but there's no time for crying -- how can I save it? I've read your reply to someone who found a mushy branch on a jade plant, but on my plant the "mushy" part seems to be underground. Should I cut off all the growth that's above ground and re-pot it? Thank you so much for your help!

Have you changed anything else about this plant. Have you recently put it outside after wintering it inside?
Do not cut off the whole top. You will certainly shock it to death if nothing else.
Can you repot it? Give it the drier conditions it likes? I would mostly just wait and watch

Hello, thank you for the reply. I moved in my current apartment 7 months ago, and the jade plant took the move with no trouble at all (although, unfortunately, the light is not very good here. (It's a "garden level" studio apartment -- so I have no other room to which I can move the plant, and I have no "outdoors" either.) But the jade plant continued growing hardily until just a few weeks ago.

Now, I'm really afraid I can't just "wait and watch" because the plant is really ailing fast. I am holding off on watering it for now, but I need some expert advice about what to do to save it!

I joined this site specifically so I could ask for some advice about my jade plant, but my original post is not listed with all the other posts about jade plants. Did I do something wrong when I posted this? I certainly hope to hear some expert advice on what to do next.

Thank you very much for any expert advice you can offer!

I think the problem now may be light, then. I'm thinking you should add a full spectrum light to it soonest.

Lack of adequate light may be the reason for your problems. Jade are easy to grow and extremely tolerant of all conditions and even they tolerate long periods of dryness due to their succulent qualities, but if the soil is allowed to remain dry for a long period of time, then they will suffer from leaf drop. Avoid over watering this can lead to root rot. Keep the soil moist during warm season and make sure to give long intervals for watering again. These plants should be exposed to full sun atleast for 4 hours but you can use supplementary electric lighting for your plant as your plant is not able to receive adequate natural light and it is the least expensive way to provide enough light for your plant. Jade plant will tolerate lighting as low as 25 foot-candles. Try this method to solve your problem.