A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The House Plant Forum Cacti and Succulents Indoors Branch cut off & now my jade is dying

hi all jade experts, i need your advice. i read the other threads re: jade and i couldn't find an answer so here goes mine...

i have a 3' jade plant that i've had for 2yrs and it was beautiful and healthy until march '08 when my sister came to visit and she cut off a branch (without my permission, i must say). she said my jade would be fine and the branch (which she placed in a vase of water) would grow roots and into a new plant. she was WRONG!!

a week later, my jade shriveled up, looks unhealthy and continues to drop leaves. i was horrified! the plant is not in direct sun (about 10' from the window) and i only water it once a month. i haven't changed it's position nor the watering schedule since the crisis occurred. the only thing i've changed is adding plant food (Schultz plant food plus) to the water whenever i water it once a month.

it's been 6 months now and my jade still looks horrible. in addition, the branch that was placed in water never grew any roots...i think it's dead. PLEASE TELL ME WHAT TO DO. below is the link to before and after pix. i only have 1 before pic but you should be able to tell how beautiful, plump and healthy it used to be. http://picasaweb.google.com/ellabaes/JadePlantBeforeAfter#

THANKS!!!
ella

I would stop fertilizing and give the plant a chance to recuperate. Also it's the time of year when you want to decrease the amount of water.

Stem cuttings I put in cactus soil and wait for them to root. Watering them just like I do with mature jade plants. Which is alittle more often but small amounts. I don't do much with water rooting because the water roots don't transfer to soil well for me.

tkhooper, thanks for the response. how long will the plant need to recuperate? it's already been 6 months. like i said, i only water it once every 4 wks. do i need to water it less than that?

and why did this happen in the first place? i don't understand why cutting off a branch can have such an effect on my jade plant. can someone explain this to me? thanks!

Well it's going into winter when the jade goes dormant so you probably won't see much difference until the spring. But is should stop loosing leaves and drying up.

If you ever want to take a stem cutting remember to take it in the fall after the plant has stopped growing. Let the cut heal for a few days and then put it in moist soil until it begins to make roots and then cut back on the water.

jades don't need fertilizer. just plain water. that's the problem - not the branch that was taken off.

watering once a month, as long as it's a thorough watering, is fine for that size container. continue with that schedule (minus the fert) and you should see the plant recovering over the winter.

mine seem to get a growth spurt around january. yours may as well - i'm not sure how higher elevation would affect that. most of mine are in southern to western facing windows - so the lower sun mid-winter gets to them better and i think that brings on the growth spurt.

it may take until spring to see any real difference. these are pretty darn hardy plants, so it should recover and stop pouting.

boy!!!! i'm envious!!! that's a real beauty - even in it's not-so-good state!!


edit:

jades should NOT be rooted in water. they can just go straight into soil once the cut end has dried/calloused over for a few days/a week. once planted, let it sit in the soil for a week and then water it thoroughly and then get it on a regular watering schedule.

thx joclyn & tkhooper for all your advice. i've stopped fertilizing for a month now and placed the cut branch in soil. no change yet. i'll keep you posted next spring and let you know if it gets better or worse...i'm hoping for better.

no change is better than worse jades grow slow this time of year.

i just wanted to follow up on my jade. it's been 7 months now and my jade is finally back to normal. many new leaves have grown and it looks so much healthier now. i notice some of the old leaves a still a bit wrinkled but not as badly as before. thanks everyone for your advice. i'm a happy girl now!! ;D

I just found this post and I'm glad to read that your jade is doing better. I went to your pictures and could have cried for you. So I was really glad to read your update. Never give up on a jade....my experience too.