Jade plants are some of the most notorious types of houseplants you can find these days.
They are just everywhere and can go well with all types of homes and gardens making them a top choice for tons of gardeners and the like.
With that said, you are here to find out why my Jade plant leaves are turning yellow and the reasons behind this change of color.
So here are the most common causes for a Yellowing Jade plant, how to prevent and what you can do after this is all said and done.
Overwatering a Jade plant
The very most common cause for a Yellowing Jade is in fact overwatering.
This is likely due to the fact that Jade plants need to stay at least slightly moist to continue growing well and that can get confused for constant watering or standing water.
You should only be watering your Jade when the soil feels dry to the touch not continuously watering or letting water stand for days on end.
This is a recipe for disaster and will not only lead to root rot but it can also ruin the roots by not allowing them to uptake water properly, which in turn will cause dehydrating effects as if you were not watering your Jade plant much at all.
This will certainly cause the leaves to turn yellow and is also a main cause for leaves on Jade plants to curl due to this dehydration.
Now if you have been overwatering or using poor draining soil for some time, then it’s time to check the roots to see if they are rotted.
If you notice mushy roots or a weird odor coming from the roots or soil then you will need to save your Jade because it has rotted.
In short, remove all soft or mushy roots, keep all firm roots, rinse the roots and repot in fresh well draining soil and a new container.
Underwatered Jade Turned yellow
As mentioned before, dehydrating your Jade plant can most certainly cause yellowing of the leaves among other issues.
You want to make sure this plant is getting enough water and don’t allow the soil to become bone dry for long periods of time, but rather keep the soil slightly moist.
If you haven’t watered in some time, don’t panic or continue to drench this plant with water, but rather water fully once and then keep the soil consistently moist but not always soaked.
You can just remove the yellow leaves to allow the healthy ones to be able to uptake nutrients much easier without the ruined ones to hold them back.
Pests causing yellowing
Pests are another annoying thing that can affect all types of plants and Jade’s are no exceptions.
Mealy bugs, scales and other types of pests can infest your Jade, feed on the plant, which in turn will drain the leaves of nutrients, leaving them dehydrated and they will turn yellow.
If you notice white spots on this plant, then odds are you have either mealy bugs, aphids or scale bugs.
You will want to remove them quickly to prevent further damage.
Solution: Isolate your Jade plant from other nearby plants since these pests can spread to others. Use a cotton swab and rubbing alcohol to remove all of the bugs by hand. Spray your Jade plant with some high quality neem oil at least once a week to remove and keep the pests away. Just be sure to only spray at night and let the neem oil dry before putting the plant back in sun.
This will do the trick and you can once again just remove the leaves that have turned yellow and wait for fresh new growth to return.
Not enough light
A pretty common occurrence with Jade plant growers is that they don’t provide enough light daily to keep the plant growing well.
I understand this can be tricky during the winter months but this plant still needs plenty of light even during these times or the leaves can yellow.
Jade plants require at least 4 to 6 hours of bright light daily with a mix of bright indirect light and full sunlight, more of the former but both would be ideal.
Not providing adequate amounts of light can cause all sorts of problems with leaves turning yellow being one of them but they can also stretch out or elongate if this goes on long enough.
You really don’t want that permanent stretching of the Jade plant so you need to get better lighting asap.
If growing indoors and there isn’t enough light coming through any of your windows then I recommend getting a quality indoor grow light like this one.
You really don’t want to neglect proper lighting.
Too much fertilizer
More fertilizer doesn’t always mean your Jade plant will grow better or faster, in fact too much fertilizer can damage the roots of your plant and cause yellowing of the leaves at the very least.
You only want to be fertilizing during the active growing season such as spring and summer and not at all later in the year, especially in the winter as it will be a waste of time and money.
Not only that but you don’t want to be using too much fertilizer or super strong fertilizer as this is what will actually damage your plant.
The best thing to do here is prevention and knowing this information beforehand so you don’t burn the roots of your Jade and cause these issues.
Natural causes
Lastly, sometimes it’s just natural for Jade plant leaves to yellow and then fall off, especially if it’s older leaves closer to the base of the plant and not newer leaves towards the top.
If you’re sure that no other causes are likely attributing to the yellow leaves you have and it’s just lower leaves doing this, especially towards the end of the year then there is nothing to worry about and you are good to go.
Other issues
Below are some posts on other issues you may encounter.