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Jade Plant Leaves Falling Off
It can pretty distressing when you have a beautiful luscious plant and then all of a sudden you notice your Jade plant leaves falling off, especially when you don’t know why this is happening. Luckily for you it is normally quite clear what the cause could be you just need to know what to look for. So let’s get into it and take a look at why your Jade plant leaves are falling off.
Overwatering
The main cause that tends to cause Jade plant leaves to fall of is overwatering. Jade plants don’t need to be watered too often as they store most of their water in their succulent like leaves. Because of this it’s important that you allow the soil to dry out between waterings. If this is something you struggle with then you can try using a moisture probe like this one on Amazon to help you. If you think you might be overwatering check the moisture of the soil, does it feel wet to the touch? Do you let it dry out between waterings? Does your plant have a drainage hole? These are all things you need to consider with a Jade plant and if you don’t allow your plant to dry out and if you don’t have a drainage hole then there is chance you could be overwatering your plant.
Signs to look out for that overwatering is the cause of your jade plant leaves falling off include squishy leaves; the leaves of a succulent should be relatively firm, if they’re starting to feel squishy under your fingers then it’s very likely that you’re overwatering. Leaves may also turn yellow when they are exposed to too much water and if they turn black then this is a common sign and can even indicate root rot. Check out our article on best pots for Jade plants that should help with improving the drainage for your plant.
Underwatering
The other common cause of jade plant leaves falling off is underwatering, although this tends to be less common as Jade plants can tolerate a neglect a lot more than they can tolerate over care. But even though these plants don’t need to be watered as often as a Peace Lily, they definitely do still need watering. Like we said in the overwatering section, it’s important to allow your plant to dry out between waterings but once it’s dry you should definitely water it again and not let it sit for days or weeks without watering. Try touching your soil, if it feels bone dry then this is probably the cause of your problems. How often are you watering your plant? Is it less often than every ten days? Every fortnight? Then underwatering is probably the cause.
If you’re still not sure then look at the leaves, are they starting to shrivel up? Are they turning a bit brown or crispy? These are common signs of underwatering or even that your plant is being exposed to too harsh light.
Too Much Or Too Little Sunlight
These reasons can also link to the watering issue or at least influence how often you water your plant but too much or too little sunlight can play a major role in jade plant leaves falling off. A Jade plant likes bright indirect light. It can tolerate some direct sun as long as we’re not talking about full sun, all day every day, all year round. If you place your plant in a super sunny spot and you live in an area with incredibly intense sun like Arizona then this may be too strong for your plant. You may notice its leaves turning a reddish brown colour which can be a sign of sunburn and then the leaves could even fall off.
Similarly, too little sunlight can cause leaves to fall off. Try to place your plant in a bright spot. If you have it at the back of a room in a super dark spot with little access to natural light then it’s definitely going to drop some leaves.
It can be unsettling when you notice jade plant leaves falling off but hopefully this article will help you to identify the cause. Jade plant leaves falling off is a problem that needs to be fixed but it doesn’t mean your plant is dying yet. Find the issue, solve it and monitor your plant closely. If you can resolve the issue you can save your plant. One final point! If your Jade plant does drop leaves, try to propagate them and then you can have two plants for the price of one.
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