Question
QUESTION: My Jade, out of no where, began to droop, (that is, all the major stems, the ones that are tall enough, are bent over, almost as if they cannot hold their own weight.) If this is a disease, what can I do? I am considering attempting to re-pot all the stems, I have various types available, most are light and mainly peat based. I had used a product called 'Messenger' on it recently, apparently a protein which turns on growth signals in plant cells, etc. I also used a 10-54-10, in other words, a bloom or flowering fertilizer, on it. I was told by people running an exemplary plant nursery/store in the wholesale district of NYC that it was fine for jades. They insisted that several of my plants could benefit from this highly acidic fertilizer. (I needed to buy it anyway because I have an African violet and several coleus plants.) I was careful to use less fertilizer than suggested, as i know succulents don't need a lot of fertilization.

When I saw it in this condition, I thought it needed a good watering, ( though I had been very carefully watering the stems of some transplant jade cuttings almost daily, I was sure to be very narrow in my watering, and only let a small stream of water run down each transplanted stem, not effecting the soil of the entire plant, or so I thought). When I checked the soil around the plant, w/ the exception of the small areas where the trans-plants were, the soil was bone dry. I felt that i had neglected the Jade as a whole, being so careful to water only the cuttings. So I gave the entire plant a thorough watering, letting any excess water run out of the bottom until it was well drained.

After the watering the plant did not change at all. It seemed to be as bad as before, no better, no worse. What should I do? Could this be a disease, a fungus, or (I have not changed the soil in this plant since it was acquired over a year and a half ago) would a changing of soil help? Could it be a classic case of built up salt and mineral deposits beating down my plants? I have no idea. Please help. And thank you in advance for your consideration.

Warm Regards,
Micah Metts

ANSWER: Hi again Micah,

If your plants are green and healthy, then do not use any sprays or supplements.  "Messenger" is a bacterial protein, harpin, which is used to simulate bacterial infestation.  This product is not proven to benefit healthy plants, and there is only limited research to support the claim that fruit trees treated with Messenger produce more, larger fruit.  

In neither case have common, ordinary houseplants been shown to benefit by treatment with "Messenger".  I recall that your other plant (Ming Aralia) that you treated with Messenger also showed a decline.  I strongly advise that you NOT apply this product until you are certain of the benefits.  Since both of the plants treated have shown a rapid decline after application, there may be a correlation between the application and the decline in vigor.

Soil acidity is NOT required of most houseplants.  As a matter of fact, houseplants and most exotics thrive in a wide range of soil pH, from approximately 6.0 to 8.0.  Succulents, like all plants, require nutrients only WHEN ACTIVELY GROWING, i.e. in bright light with adequate water.  

Plants are very, very forgiving, and most tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions; that is why they are suited to indoor growth in a wide range of environmental conditions.  

As far as taking cuttings of or repotting the jade, inspect the root system for signs and symptoms of root disease.  If you find sour, foul smelling soil, then it is probably too late to save the jade plants.  If you find nothing unusual in the soil, then you may be able to cut the tops off, re-root the cuttings, and then plant in fresh soil.  Jade plants are very easy to root, and one important step is to allow the cutting to air dry for approximately 24 hours.  This allows a thin covering to develop which seals the "wound" from pathogen entry.

When jade plants are underwatered, they will exhibit a "wrinkling" of the leaves.  In severe water stress, the stems may also droop.  Upon ample watering, these symptoms will take from 24 to 48 hours to fully hydrate the plant cells, depending on the severity.

Salt build up usually occurs over a longer period of time, so if you re-pot your plants yearly, then you probably do not have a problem with salt build up.  Salt accumulations are visible as white, crusty deposits on the top of the soil and along the pots at the soil line.  Salt build up would NOT produce these drastic symptoms.

A recommendation about "fertilizers", use 1/2 teaspoon (water soluble) per gallon of water instead of the recommended concentration.  Fertilizing plants that are not actively growing is a waste of fertilizer.  Plants cannot use the nutrients unless they are actively growing.  In many plants, especially the succulents, there is a dry period in the winter during which they need no water or fertilizers.  




---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I found the stems of certain parts of my Jade to be wrinkling/drying up, a sure sign that something below had gone way bad. Tonight I took a big step and cut the stems, (all the leaves and stem cuttings I used were healthy looking, green, and non-wrinkled/shriveled). I after cutting the stems to the point where there was no sign of rot or ill effects, I collectively soaked them in a glass of water with a small amount of seed starter powder mixed in (Messenger, and yes, I know what you think about that, but in both cases the plants had started "going bad" before I ever even acquired the product, esp. w/ the Ming, which was, by the time i applied messenger, prety much a lost cause, though I did find new white root growth after using it on the bottom trunk, alas, too little, too late, me thinks.

Back to the Jade. I was not aware that the roots were rotting in the pot until I saw the withered looking stem bottoms, (that explains the sudden bend of the stems, drooping down, the roots were rotting and slowly moving up through the lower trunks). I made a new soil mixture, largely peat moss, light sand, organic matter, including a lot of airy substances which create great air pockets for the roots. I only sterilized one part of the mixture, as i was quite confident that the rest was either from new, store bought bags, or had been stored after re-potting new plants (for size issues, not soil ones, of course). At any rate, I was not aware that drying them was a good idea. I figured they had been starved enough at that point, despite looking healthy, so I went with the soak and plant method. There were two stems that did not exhibit root rot, looked healthy down to the core, so I replanted them with some roots in-tact (after rinsing them thoroughly and soaking them in solution). Most of the stems are buried roughly two inches deep, some a little more, some less, depending on their sizes and leaf growth. I did, of course, cut back the lowest leaves, burying the trimmed parts in hopes that they will produce new roots faster. I mixed a small amount of fertilizer, (very small) in to the soil mixture prior to re-potting, soaked the soil, drained the pot, and misted the plant cuttings lightly to remove any soil or other matter stuck on them from the whole mess.

I have in the past, and recently had great success with simply planting stems this way and keeping the soil around them damp until they began to show signs of rooting, at which point I cut back slowly on the watering until they are treated them any other Jade. I did this tonight, before reading your reply. In hind sight, I could, perhaps, have taken some better steps, but I feel better about my actions in being aware of my past success with this approach, so I'm going to leave them alone for now.

If you have any suggestions, pointers, or "that was stupid" type comments/answers, please feel free to write me back. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to write me back, and certainly I will do some more research on this "Messenger" product that another expert recommended to e (as a last ditch effort, I should add. Not exactly a huge endorsement on his part, but.....)

Thank you so much for the advice. I am learning more all the time, and it's great to get various perspectives from the experts in different areas. I wish you well, my friend.

Warm Regards,
Micah Metts

Answer
Hi Micah,

If you have found root rot, you have done the right thing by removing the old potting mix from the roots.  Your plant may not recover, but you now know what you are dealing with. In the future, with succulents such as Jade, allow the soil/potting mix dry out thoroughly before you water again.  Most root rot pathogens thrive only when there is abundant water soils high in organics.

For other herbaceous plants, allow the soil to dry down to "one knuckle" before watering.  Watering is better done by placing water in the saucer of the pot.  If you must water a plant in a container that has no drainage hole, water very, very sparingly (small amounts and only when necessary.)

In the future, if you want to try rooting some cuttings of succulents, let them air dry.  This drying process allows a callous to form over the wound and effectively provides a barrier to pathogenic microbes.  After the callous has formed you may also dip the root in a 10% solution of household bleach, rinse in distilled water, then air dry before placing in damp soil.  This is especially important if you have root rot diseases.  These pathogens move throughout the plant in severe infections, so though the tissue may appear to be healthy, there may be bacteria already in the tissue.

I am not necessarily "down on" Messenger, it is just that this particular product has a very, very specific usage, and it questionable whether that use is every experienced in houseplants.  The active harpin protein (Hrp N) does elicit these common "defense" mechanisms, but the production of these terpenoids also cause stress on healthy plants.  So unless the threat of disease outweighs the purported benefits (e.g. larger fruit), then do not use Messenger as a "cure-all"; it is not.  

If you do propagate plants often, there is a product that might help in the more difficult species.  It is RootOne which contains a plant hormone in an easily-applied talcum powder that contains antibacterial and antifungal compounds added.  It is easy to use, and it really helps.