Question

Blue Fungus  

Lucy   We have a medium older Jade nicknamed Lucy.  We keep her in a window in our kitchen and water her rarely.  Over the summer, the tips of her leaves got a bit burnt and she may have been over watered.  It's been a few months but she started looking a little sick.  We repot her about once a year to give her roots room to breath.  We were doing that today and one of her stems broke off and looked rotted out.  On one end she had a blueish fungus growing inside her.   It only appears this fungus was affecting this limb and the rest of the plant looks good.  The spot that the limb broke off from show no signs of fungus.  

Should we do anything to combat this? Does it sound like over watering and rotting?  


Thanks,
Alex

Answer
Hi Alex,

The photos you posted are too small to be of much help, but from your description it is likely to be a root rot problem.

Repotting to provide room to breathe is a misguided notion. In fact, it does the opposite. As long as plants are potted in good potting mix, the roots will receive all the oxygen they need as long as the soil is allowed to dry out about halfway down into the pot before adding any water. When you repot into a larger pot, the added soil retains water longer and keeps the soil from drying out properly soon enough to alow oxygen to re-enter the soil.

In addition, each time you repot and remove some of the old soil, you inadvertently damage many of the fine root hairs that do most of the work. This makes it more difficult for the roots to absorb oxygen even when it is available to them.

You have two options. The first is to leave the Jade alone and allow the soil to dry out much deeper in the soil before watering. Add only enough water so that it reaches that same level of dryness again in 7-10 days.

The other option is to take the plant out of its pot and inspect the roots. Remove any dead or mushy roots. Leave only the soil that is in direct contact with the roots. Then, repot into the smallest pot that will accommodate the roots and just enough soil to barely cover them. Make sure the pot has drainage holes. Do NOT put "drainage material" in the bottom of the pot. The smaller pot and reduced volume of soil will help your Jade dry out more quickly and prevent further root rot.

Root rot is something that happens gradually as the soil surrounding the roots stays moist for too long in between waterings. It takes a long time before the symptoms of root rot show up.

I have written articles on repotting and on Jade care that I will email for free to you (or anyone else) who emails a request to me at [email protected].

Please let me know if any of this is unclear or if you have any additional questions.

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Will Creed, Interior Landscaper
Horticultural Help, NYC

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