It’s always been a happy plant with nice thick leaves. Recently it’s turned this rusty colour and leaves are thinner and more wrinkly…
It’s in quite a sunny area, could this be the cause?
I water it once every 1.5 weeks and enough to just dampen the soil…
It’s in a very sunny spot – gets sun for most of the day. As U.K. has been having quite a sunny April…
Thank you!
by llovingawareness
7 Comments
I am not an expert by any means but I believe it could be too much light. I’m in the UK and leave mine on my kitchen window which faces the north west. It seems to do well there.
That being said, I do put mine in the garden over the summer and it gets more light when it’s outside and seems to live it. Perhaps wait and see if anyone else has any input.
Edit to also mention about watering. These love to be abused. I water mine like once a month if I remember. I fill it up to the top and let it drain then place it back by the window. They also love super crowded small pots too.
That’s a super sun stressed jade. Give it a good soak and the leaves will plump back up.
The darker color is a response to the sun and is sought after in some circles. The wrinkly leaves are because of the way it is being watered. The frequency is fine but it needs to be flooded until it drains out the bottom. If the pot does not have drainage, it needs to be repotted.
I’ve got 2 jade plants shorter than these and water them thoroughly once a month. Last time it very clearly showed it was thirsty where the leaves became very droopy and I could pinch them easily with light touch, even though they should be pretty firm. I’d check the roots in case it’s rotting.
Consider also replacing the outer pot to be more level with the top soil and throwing out any excess water that stays.
Also the red color is an indication it’s getting lots of sunlight and healthy.
Ok, so with succulents there are two causes for the leaves going thin and wrinkly – either underwatering, or overwatering. Underwatering? Great, it’s just thirsty. Overwatering? You’ve been watering it too often and it has root rot.
There is one cause for the ‘rusty’ colour and that’s sun stress (it’s not a bad thing)! The leaves change colour to protect themselves from sunburn.
With this in mind – and the fact that it has been *very* sunny in the UK – I reckon it’s probably underwatered. More light = more thirsty.
You say you water it every 1.5 weeks, ‘just enough to dampen the soil’. That’s not normally the recommended way to water succulents – rather than watering on a schedule, it’s better to check whether the leaves are starting to wrinkle (and the soil is dry). That means it’s time to water.
Ideally, a jade plant should be in super-well-draining soil. If it is, you can soak the soil until it’s dripping out the drainage holes. Just make sure you don’t leave it sitting in a puddle of water inside the cover pot. The other option is to fill a bowl with some water and put the inner pot into that bowl. It will suck up the water it needs – then just let it drain and pop it back into the cover pot.
If you want to share any photos of the soil or of where the plant normally sits, that would be helpful!
Also in UK, might be the sudden change in weather that’s caused the sun stress. They can live outside in tropical climates so I think it should be fine, but might just need some time to adjust to the sun we’ve been having. Looks a bit thirsty also
I mean, it’s a Monday. Let him get up and walk around the office a bit, have another cup of coffee, take a minute to get back into the grind. Checking emails after two days off can be rough.