Commonly known as jade plants and scientifically famous by Crassula Ovata, these plants are one of the most common houseplants that can be seen blooming at every second household.
Native to South Africa, jade plants usually grow and mature up to 3 to 6 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide. These plants are famous for growing indoors and are readily available in the commercial arena.
Some choose to make a direct purchase, while others prefer to propagate the plant.
Whatever the method is, some problems are mutual and are encountered each time you grow jade plants. Some might ask why my jade plant is dropping leaves, while others may be concerned about the yellowing of jade plant leaves.
Despite the problem, there are specific solutions that have been thought through to provide help to you while smoothly growing jade plants.
(Also Read: How Much Light Do Jade Plants Need?)
In the preceding article, we will be placing our focus on the causes that contribute to the unfortunate dropping of jade plant leaves. Additionally, there will also be some tips that are much needed while fostering those tiny and beautiful jade plants.
Let us begin the journey!
Why Is My Jade Plant Losing Leaves?
Overwatering or under-watering
Try to know a perfect balance. Too much water or too little of it is a hazard for your jade plant. If you indulge in either of these practices, you are causing your plant more harm than good.
Dropping leaves can result from an improper amount of watering jade plants. If you have a pot that has drainage holes meeting a sufficient need, then you can soak the plant up to the brim until water starts leaking out of the pot.
It is never advised to follow a set routine for watering jade plants. Instead, one should observe the top layer of the soil and examine it deep within 1 to 2 inches to ensure it is scorched before watering again.
Once you have watered the plant, check it after a span of 30 minutes. If the plant still seems to exist in excess and soggy surroundings, drain out the pot as soon as possible.
Ill drainage system
Following poor drainage, the regime does not only lead your plant to drop leaves but also causes root rotting, which can instantly cause death. Succulents like jade plants enjoy a well-drained soil made primarily of perlite.
You can buy soil that guarantees proper drainage. If you do not have access to such amenities, then you can use a wooden skewer to ensure that the earth is dry and draining. Avoid putting heavily dense soils into use, and check the quality properly before making the bed.
Also Read: How to Get Rid of Cutworms in the Garden?
Inappropriate quality of soil
What is the appropriate quality of soil that should be used for jade plants? For starters, if the soil is lightly fertilized and full of good nutrition for the plant, then your jade plants would be happier than ever to bloom in that soil.
Poor soil quality leads to dropping and yellowing of leaves, weakening of plant stem, root rot, and other inevitable harms to the plant and its body.
For providing timely food to your jade plants, feed them adequate nutrition once a season or every three months.
Not meeting light requirements
It is a stated fact. Jade plants love natural light, and they potentially thrive under complete exposure to sunlight. Therefore, it is always advised to place your pot containing jade plants at a spot where the sun lays its maximum light, and do not move your plant from that position until the requirements are met.
However, some people start taking this consideration way too seriously, exposing light to the plants way too often. Remember, sunlight is not the only light source, and if kept indoors, artificial light can also meet the plant’s requirements.
Ideally, more than 6 hours of sunlight per day is not tolerated by the plant, resulting in the yellowing and dropping of leaves.
Presence of pests
If you are growing your plant outdoors, then pest infestations can be one of the major causes of why your plants are starting to drop leaves. One can find a variety of bugs that can negatively imapct a plant’s health in different ways.
Before starting with the treatment plan, it is significant to identify the kind of pest that has infested your plant.
Mealybugs are the most commonly found pests on succulents like Jade plants. They can eat the plant, causing the leaf strength to become weak and ultimately fall off. In order to get rid of mealybugs, one can easily handpick them from the plants or spray the plant thoroughly with neem oil. General insecticides also prove helpful for getting rid of mealybugs.
Also Read: Best Potting Mix for Pothos
Fluctuations in temperature
Sudden fluctuations in the temperature in which your jade plant resides is another reason why your plants might be dropping leaves. This situation is most vulnerable when the plant is placed indoors. If you plant your jade outdoors, then it becomes familiar with the constantly changing climatic elements, but this is not the case when the plant is kept indoors.
Note that the ideal temperature for a jade plant to thrive ranges anywhere between 65 degrees Fahrenheit to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Further, it is also important to note that any temperature falling below 40 degrees Fahrenheit is fatal to the stability of jade plants.
Do not let the frost settle on your plant leaves. Instead, place it indoors and allow a minimal flow of air to avoid sudden temperature fluctuations.
Natural reasons
If you cannot find any of the above reasons causing damage to the leaves of your jade plants, then it is probably happening as a part of the leaves turning older, which is entirely natural. If the plant is undergoing its natural phenomenon, then one should not feel worried at all.
Jade plants drop their leaves naturally as they grow old and start to age.
If you have had the plant for a long time, then you can tally this process with an earlier time. However, if it is your first time, you should seek advice from a professional to gather more information.
Using artificial and chemically laid products
Last, but not the least. Dropping leaves of jade plants can be an adverse consequence of using artificial and chemically laid products like leaf shine products, to enhance the appearance and beauty of your plant.
If you are amongst one of those persons who think that it is beneficial to clean leaves and jade plants occasionally with detergents and other harmful products, then back off.
Jade plants do not react well to such behaviours and can often backfire. If you feel that you have already used such products on your plant, then take a cloth and lukewarm water and immediately clean your plant with the same, such that it doesn’t affect the strength of the leaves.
Also Read: Best Potting Soil for Peace Lily
Care and maintenance tips for a jade plant
We have looked at all the eight probable causes that independently or collectively contribute to the dropping leaves of a beautiful jade plant.
However, it seems that there are other problems that a plant faces besides losing precious leaves. And, most of these problems have similar solutions.
We have combined some of the most valuable tips that would assist you in growing and maintaining a jade plant that would be worth everything.
- While watering your jade plant, it is not essential to follow a schedule. In fact, it is highly discouraged to follow a fixed routine for watering jade plants. Since the watering needs keep changing, one should pay attention to water the plant only and only if the topsoil layer feels utterly dry.
- Jade plants should be fertilized at least once every six months. One can switch to a water-soluble fertilizer for maximum benefits. Another important consideration is to fertilize the plants only when they are moist. Dry soil fertilization can cause damage to plant roots.
- Observe your plants daily, and as soon as the branches become shriveled or die, prune them with a fine pair of gardening scissors.
- If your garden feels short of jade plants, you can grow more of them by detaching pieces and sowing them deep in the soil. Next, you only have to wait for these pieces to start forming roots.
- Identify the brightest spot in your home, and place your pot containing jade plants at that spot. It would reinforce their growth functionally.
- If you are planning to repot your jade plants, wait for the right season to kick in. The preferable time for repotting jade plants seems to be during the summer season, under warm conditions.
- This succulent type of plant blooms in the spring season and remains dormant at the opposite periods. Therefore, emphasize taking more excellent care of your plants during the spring.
Conclusion
Jade plants are friendly and forgiving. They do not demand much care and a high maintenance regime, as compared to other succulent plant types.
Nevertheless, the limited requirements they endorse need to be fulfilled with precision. Otherwise, they tend to backfire with a productive investment of time, energy, and money, in the long run.
Khaja Moinuddin, a computer science graduate, finds joy in gardening and homesteading. Join him on this blog as he shares his experiences in homesteading, gardening, and composting