Indoor jade plants often deal with dust more than pests, so if the leaves are looking dull, use a moist cloth to gently wipe the leaves clean. Or take your plant outside if temperatures are warm enough and lightly spray it off with water from a hose to wash off accumulated dust.
Clean leaves with a bit of soapy water.
If water alone is not enough, try a mixture of all-natural liquid soap and water. You can dip a soft cloth in the soap and water solution and wipe the leaves carefully, or you can lather your hands with the solution and gently apply it to the plant.
Keep soil moist but not wet during the growing season (spring and summer) and let the soil dry out during the dormant season (fall and winter). Don't splash the leaves when you water. You don't want to expose your beautiful plant to weird funguses and such.
A healthy jade has erect stems and firm foliage that points outward, upward, or slightly downward. But when a plant is under stress, the young, soft stems may droop, and the foliage may hang limply, like fallen dominoes.
How to Water Jade Plants. Jade plants are succulents (they hold water in their leaves), so they don't do well when sitting in constantly moist soil, so let the top 1 to 2 inches of soil dry out between waterings.
USE BABY WIPES TO CLEAN HOUSE PLANTS
Larger house plant leaves tend to get dusty and need to be cleaned to keep them healthy. Grab a baby wipe to wipe down the leaves. It's easy and the wipes are gentle and won't harm your plants.
Instead of fully watering your jade plant during colder weather, mist your plant with a spray bottle. During the summertime when fully watering the plant, make sure the jade is placed in a drainage pot, so that excess water can escape and the roots do not drown.
It's best to avoid getting their leaves wet, but a dust cloth won't help much. Instead, try using a soft-bristle paintbrush, soft toothbrush, or pipe cleaner. Gently brush from the base of each leaf to the tip to dislodge dust, fuzz, and other debris.
Dusty, scummy, or grimy leaves simply can't absorb as much CO2 or release as much oxygen into the air. This will cause the plant's health and quality of the air to suffer. Dusting or washing your plants can go a long way in improving their health and increasing the quality of the air!
Spray all leaves with a solution of baking soda and vinegar (there are plenty of recipes online) and pinch off the affected areas. Avoid overhead watering in the future and make sure your plant is getting lots of bright light and decent air circulation.
It's best to water a jade plant from the top. Watering from the bottom is a dangerous habit to get into. When the water soaks up from the bottom, it's much harder to tell how wet the soil is.
Shriveled Leaves
If you notice that the leaves look shriveled, this is a sign of a lack of moisture. Healthy leaves should be plump, green and glossy. If the edges are beginning to look shriveled or wrinkled, that is a sign of moisture stress in the plant. The main cause of this problem is typically underwatering.
Changes to the leaves are the first sign of an overwatered jade plant. Leaves can turn yellow and droop, and may eventually brown and drop off. Other signs include the leaves and stem becoming squishy and soft. The whole plant may also appear droopy.
Place jade plants in indirect sunlight.
Too much direct sunlight can scorch the leaves of young jade plants or cause the leaves of mature plants to develop red tips. Not enough sunlight can stunt their growth or cause them to look leggy and stretched out.
Let the soil dry out between waterings. Shriveled or wrinkled leaves are signs of a thirsty plant in need of more frequent or deeper waterings. Waterlogged and squishy leaves indicates that the plant is getting too much water. Leaf drop is a symptom of watering issues, too.
WIPE THEM!
For larger plants that can't easily be moved to the shower, a clean, damp washcloth or paper towel is also effective. Gently wipe the leaves from the stem to the tip of the leaf getting both the top and underside.
Use neem oil, milk-water mixtures, or horticultural oil as an alternative. To ensure that your plant's leaves can easily feed and release oxygen into the air, regularly clean and shower them.
Shorten Leggy Stems
If an entire plant is leggy, you can cut up to one-third of each stem just above a node to encourage bushier growth. Avoid overfertilizing and provide bright indirect sunlight. You may also have a healthy stem that is much longer than the others and skews the general symmetry.
Your Jade plant should only be watered once a week during spring and summer. In the winter, water your Jade plant once every two to three weeks, or we recommend you to mist your plant with a spray bottle instead of thoroughly watering during this season.
What are the disadvantages of Jade plants. The only disadvantage of the Jade plant is that the leaves of the plant can tend to hold onto excessive water. Due to this, they become soft and mushy and fall off the plant.