13 November 2016

loosing battle

I might loose my big jade plant. It was so nice just a few months ago:
Then I noticed tiny little bugs and sticky white residue.
I sprayed it twice with neem oil- the echeveria got this treatment also. Outside, because the smell is awful.
The bugs came back. I noticed they were only on new, smaller leaves on the top of the plant so I gave it a trim, and sprayed again for good measure.

The bugs came back.

I put the plant outside at night. There is a smaller piece of it growing in another pot, which had this infestation first- I think early summer I first saw it. That one I put outside, to keep it away from the other plants. I was going to throw it out, but just forgot about it. It was still outside when the temperatures started dropping at night. Then I noticed the pests on it were gone. I wondered if the cold had killed them.

So I put my big jade outside, too. That night it got a lot colder than I expected. I think I may have killed my plant. Its leaves are flattened and pock-marked now. When I brought it in and tried to rinse the dead insects off with spray in the sink, leaves started dropping off just from the plant getting bumped. In dismay I trimmed it further, cutting back to what seem healthier leaves nearer the base of the plant.
But it continues to drop foliage. I'm afraid it might be done for. It's also really off-center in the pot. I thought of knocking it out of the pot, giving it fresh soil with plenty of drainage, and replacing it more centered. However at the rate it is dropping leaves, the shock of being repotted might be too much. I'm not sure what else to do for it.

It's not much consolation that the younger, smaller jade seems to be doing fine. Also has a nice shape with thicker trunk and lower stems, but it will take a long time to reach the same size.

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