I have 2 jade plants I have been growing since they were a few leaves big, about 7 years. I was travelling and there was a frost overnight. Got them in when i got back, and a few hours later when they melted the branches and stems and leaves started pointing downwards. I think the damage is unrecoverable. This is the saddest thing that’s ever happened to me with my plants. I am devastated. Is there anything i can do?
by OphthoRobot
20 Comments
Unfortunately, if it was a hard frost then this growth might be dead. As far as I’m aware, when a plant freezes the cell walls will burst so this can’t be recovered. However, I wouldn’t give up on them. Keep them indoors and see what happens. If new growth appears (probably lower down on the stem or branches) I would then prune above that new growth. Watch out for rot.
I wouldn’t fully give up on them, yes they don’t look too happy right now but there is a chance of recovery if you continue to care for them as normal. They look stressed but not dead by any means. Maybe as a backup take some cuttings just in case they continue to decline?
Don’t water them til the soil has dried out completely and some – that will give them the best chance!
I’d agree with taking cuttings/leaves to prop as back-up – leaves will be safest as cutting stem when they’re damaged could leave ‘open wounds’
I’m so sorry I don’t have an answer to your question (looks like others have some though!) and I wish you the best of luck with your plants!❤️ I just wanted to ask, are you by any chance in Germany? (Asking because of the Getränkekiste + the weather, as I live in Bayern and we’ve had a freeze overnight/today)
If you are in Germany and ever need an emergency plant rescuer (like if you’re travelling and there’s a freeze coming!) or plant sitter, I’d be happy to help out if you live within a couple of hours of my city😊
My condolences :/ this sort of things is rarely recoverable, like you said.
Over the next few days, as parts become obviously dead, trim those parts off. Even if you’re left with just the trunk, if the trunk/roots didn’t freeze through, it will come back. Treat it like a prop.
Hate this for you. It has happened to me too.
I would just die inside, i am so sorry this happened to you they were so beautiful
Wait then cut them back. Unless it was frozen solid. The roots are alive.
I did opposite and left mine out in sun. They had severe severe sun burn. I did hard pruning back to stems only.and they revived.
This is the before my stupidity.
https://preview.redd.it/q9tv4a2lk03g1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ef6e229ac19c5958deb3d1cf8ff7c177c3f16e0e
This happened to me last winter. I let it dry, cut down all the dead parts. It has regrown from the lower parts of the stem. This is what it looks like 10 months after. Don’t give up!
https://preview.redd.it/sg82v2txl03g1.jpeg?width=4080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2d451d6ca658401b2308e1202683a76e8ee772a4
give it time, they will recover. they store a lot of energy in those trunks.
So sorry this happened. My jade is doing the inside outside dance right now and I am so scared to forget to bring it in. Next time (which hopefully there won’t be) I would advise letting it warm up slower. If you brought them straight in for the cold quickly to a warm house they get a bigger shock and a greater impact. If you leave them out until the temperature is closer to indoors then bring them in sometimes there is less impact even if cells were frozen.
That said a hard frost would still be devastating.
Lots of good advise here. Just trim off the dying parts and hopefully the main base pulls through. Good luck!
Don’t give up! I once (very very stupidly) put all of my plants in the car I was towing while moving across the country. I figured they’d be fine because they were getting good sun, but did not consider that the car would turn into an oven (not a proud moment). On day 2/3, I checked on them and they were all burnt. By the time I got to my new apartment, every plant was black, crispy, droopy, and so sad. After chopping at them and giving them some time to heal, 14/15 plants survived and are looking amazing now (5 months later). You can do this!!
Did the same thing a couple of years ago. My jade and aloe plants looked dead dead dead but I just cut them all back, made sure the roots weren’t goop and continued caring for them and they’ve all bounced back.
This also happened to me and the plant lived and is still growing, not all hope is lost!
They’re big enough to have bark they may perk up in a day or two. You may loose a lot of leaves tho
When succulents freeze, the water in their cells burst. So anything mushy is dead. You need to remove every mushy bit on the plant, because it will start to rot and the rot will spread.
So for any chance to salvage these guys, remove all of the mushy bits. This may involve essentially removing everything above the ground. If this is the case, it’s possible that the soil insulated the roots and base of the stem enough that it survived the freeze and will eventually push out new growth, though it’s a slim chance.
You can find more info/help on r/succulents. But again, do not leave the mushy bits – those need to be removed asap.
Just keep an eye on them and remove anything squishy. If it’s still firm it can recover! Even if you’re left with just a stump in the pot that can grow back
Let it be. As bits go black/squishy/droopy, prune it back. It might look bald for a while, but it will come back. I did this to a variegated jade in the spring, it’s now pretty much back to it’s former self, but it took a hard prune and a few months before it really started to bounce back.
Wait wait and then wait some more they might come back from the roots
i feel your pain. the leaves may not survived but the stem probably did. wait and see what dies off and trim it off. i had similar experience but in the opposite extreme. i left mine outside and it was the extreme sun that did its damage and turned all the leaves into mush. the stem survived and eventually it sprouted new leaves.