Does your Jade plant appear dehydrated?
Dehydration can cause many issues in indoor as well as outdoor plants.
In the case of the Jade plant, it can make the leaves turn yellow or shrivel.
These are some of the early signs of this process, and it's important to deal with the issue at this stage.
So, in today's guide, let's understand the causes and revival steps to solve this problem in your Jade plant.
Why Does My Jade Plant Look Dehydrated?
The Jade plant looks dehydrated because of the lack of water content in the plant's system.
As you know, most plants require water to survive and continue their growth over the period.
When they don't receive a sufficient amount of water from external sources, you will have similar issues with such plants.
As for the Jade plant, you will see wrinkles on the stems early on.
If the condition worsens, you will see similar characteristics on the leaves as well as roots of your plant.
This is typical behavior from the Jade plant, as it tries to thrive using the available resources in the system.
When the resources begin to deplete, you will see more widespread effects on the plant.
Even though the Jade plant belongs to harsh conditions, it still needs water to maintain its growth.
Without enough nutrients and water supply, you will have difficulties growing this plant in your home garden.
Meanwhile, there are a few things you can do to revive the plant from this situation.
Of course, there is no quick fix for this issue, but you can surely get your plant back to life if you follow the guidelines listed below.
How To Revive Dehydrated Jade Plant
Here's what you should do to rejuvenate the Jade plant -
1. Water The Plant
It's pretty simple!
If you see your plant is dehydrated, the first thing you should do is provide some water.
It will help the plant receive a quick supply of water content, which will be useful to get things going in the initial phase.
Now, don't overwater the plant, even if it looks dehydrated.
If it has survived for so long, it means it doesn't need too much water.
Just water it well till it comes out of the drainage holes.
This will ensure that the entire root system has received enough water.
In case the plant is not doing well and appears limpy, you should think of following the other steps mentioned in this guide below.
2. Prune The Wrinkled And Yellow Leaves
Watered the plant well?
Great!
Now, it's time to go ahead and prune some of the leaves and branches off the plant.
But you may wonder why this step is necessary at this stage.
Well, there are quite a few benefits of using the pruning method on your dehydrated Jade plant.
Firstly, you will be able to get rid of the dead and damaged leaves from the plant.
It is very important to remove such parts from the plant because you won't be able to get them back again.
If you keep them on the plant, they will wilt anyway.
Secondly, the plant will be encouraged to produce new leaves and stems after pruning.
This is a standard response from the plant when you prune the unwanted leaves or branches.
So, these are two benefits that play a significant role in this type of situation in the Jade plant.
As for the pruning process, don't go harsh on the plant.
Simply remove the unwanted leaves and branches from it.
If you perform hard pruning, the plant will come under a lot of stress.
And that's something you need to avoid in all situations, especially when it has not received any water for a long time.
3. Repot The Plant With Fresh Soil Mixture
Once you perform the pruning, make sure you also plan for the repoting.
If watering your plant doesn't help much, you should go ahead and put it in the new soil mix.
The new medium will allow the plant to acquire fresh nutrients and growing media to develop new growth in terms of roots, branches, and leaves.
However, you should avoid adding fertilizers at this stage.
The fertilizers can cause root burn in the already stressed plant.
So, do not use them at all.
When the plant returns to life, you can think of fertilizing it in the future.
Also, when you are going to repot the plant, make sure you add some vermiculite or sand to the soil mix.
It will help make the potting mixture more porous, which will eventually help in creating a way for excess water to move out of the pot.
4. Keep It In A Shaded Place
Excess sunlight can also add to the issues of dehydration in your Jade plant.
To avoid further issues, you should just move the plant away from direct sunlight.
This plant prefers natural light, which you can provide by keeping it in a slightly shaded place.
This way, the plant won't feel the stress of having exposed to direct sunlight, and it will also receive adequate light throughout the day.
5. Observe The Plant For A Week
Followed all the steps correctly?
Now, you don't have to do anything else at this stage.
Just follow the standard practices and take care of the plant as you usually do.
If you do these things right, there shouldn't be any problem reviving the dehydrated Jade plant.
But make sure you observe the plant's condition regularly.
6. Propagate The Plant If Needed
This is an optional step.
The propagation technique is only useful if you are not sure whether the plant will survive or not.
If you feel the plant is too wrinkled and may not do well, you can remove a couple of fresh branches from the plant and try to propagate them.
It will help in creating a backup for your dehydrated plant.
So, do try to propagate the branches using the water or soil propagation method.
The water propagation might be ideal for this condition, as you can observe the growth of root formation in the cuttings.
Once you confirm the root formation, you can put them in the soil and grow them as individual plants.
Moving on, let's take a look at the FAQs below.
FAQs
The Jade plant can shrivel up due to a couple of reasons.
The most common reason is dehydration or underwatering in your plant.
When you don't water your plant for a while, it loses water content from its system.
This is the time when the plant decides to go into survival mode, which makes the leaves and stems shrivel.
The other reason could be the possible heatwave or sudden temperature change in your area.
Now, it's highly unlikely that your plant might be suffering due to this reason, but you shouldn't rule out the possibility.
It's quite easy to find out when the Jade plant needs water.
Initially, you should check the surface of the soil.
If it seems parched, you should water the plant immediately.
You may also put your index finger in the soil to feel the moisture content in the topsoil.
Apart from these two observations, you can take a look at the plant carefully.
Check for the leaves and branches.
If they seem droopy, you should water the plant.
The Jade plant can go without water for 15-20 days, but you don't want to put your plant in such conditions.
As you know, it needs water for its everyday activities.
So, try to water your plant every week or so.
No, the Jade plant cannot grow in water.
It needs a soil-based medium to receive nutrients for its growth.
If you have an aquaponics or hydroponics system, you may keep the Jade plant in it.
However, it's always a good idea to grow your plants in natural conditions.
There are a couple of reasons why you might find your Jade plant leaves dull and not so shiny.
Well, it happens primarily because of the lack of water and sunlight.
When you don't water your plant for a long time or keep it in a dark room, you will see the plant losing its shine in a week or two.
The plant needs both these elements to grow vigorously in indoor settings.
Therefore, it's essential for you to provide such conditions to your plants.
Over To You
As explained in the above guide, dehydration can make things difficult for plants like the Jade plant.
But thankfully, there are a few ways through which you can tackle this situation.
Still, it's not a great thing to deprive your plant of the required resources.
If you keep on neglecting the plant, it may not grow well and may even succumb to harsh conditions.
In the meantime, do let me know if you have any queries related to this topic.
If you liked this guide, please share it with your friends and family.
Oz says
Hi I read somewhere that I should not water the my jade plant much and only do it when the leaves start to show wrinkles, so I did not water the plant for like a week and due to a lot of work I couldn't care for the plant much so it was kinda in a dark environment for some time, when I did look at it majority of the leaves were wilting and falling off and the soil seemed dry, I panicked and over watered it, so now I have it in a place where there is plenty of sunlight but it's not direct, I am clearly very new to this and is my first plant please advise me on what to do next and take care of the plant in general.
Thanks!
Harshad Sawant says
Hey there,
You are following the right practices. Do not overwater the plant next time, and keep the soil moist. The Jade plant will recover in a week or two, so keep an eye on it.