Wonderful World of Jade

Jade

Scientific name ....................................................................................................................................................................................... Crassula argentea

originated.............................................................................South Africa, but has been cultivated as a house plant in Europe and America outh Africa, but has been cultivated as a house plant in Eur

Growing conditionsope and America

Jade plants are best grown in very bright sunlight with low humidity, however if the plant is accustomed to dimmer light, you must move it into the sun in stages. Jades will sunburn if they are not used to the full sun. Jades are best grown between 55F at night and 75-80F during the day, however they will tolerate temperatures down to 40F.

Care

During the spring and summer months keep the soil slightly moist . Water liberally, approximately once per week but allow for slight drying between watering. Remove any excess water from pot saucer. Use a fertilizer mixture of 10-20-10 or 5-10-5 ratio soluble plant food every two weeks. African violet food is a good firtilizer for these plants. Keep plant dry during the winter months as plant has a slight dormancy. Do not fertilize from November through March. Healthy Jades will bloom, around Christmas, in the northern hemisphere. Jade plants will bloom due to the shortening of the days. If your plant is in a room which usually has lights turned on at night, it will more than likely fail to bloom for you. Try to find a suitable, naturally lighted place for the Jade sometime in early October, along with your Christmas cactus. Your plant will do the rest for you!

Jade Pests

From your description of the brown spot as a scar, I almost think that the problem might be caused by droplets of water remaining on the leaves, when the sun hits. The water will act as a magnifying glass and burn the jade, almost instantly, and it will leave an ugly brown scar.I doubt that you have an insect problem. At least from the 'brown scar' aspect, it just doesn't sound like it. There are really only four insects that seem to infest Jade plants (Crassula argentea) with much regularity. They are mealy bugs, root mealy bugs, scale, and to a lesser extent, spider mites.

Mealy bugs will be evident by their white cotton like covering. They are usually found in stem axis areas, or on the underside of leaves. If there are only a few, dip a q-tip in alcohol, and use it to remove the insect and cocoon. If it is a major infestation, it might be best to discard the plant. There are insecticides which will kill mealy bugs, but be certain that it is safe for use on Crassulas, because some of them aren't! Root mealy bugs are obviously found on the roots.duh! Once again, noticeable by their cottony covering. They are very tough to control, and can infest an entire plant collection rapidly. The only total success I had with these varmints was to totally drench the soil with diazinon, and repeat in 2 weeks...I don't recommend this at all,,,,toss the plant. Scale are related to mealy bugs. They have a waxy shell that protects them from most insecticides, so you are faced with hand picking or scraping them off. This is pretty easy if there aren't to many.
Spider mites aren't a common occurrence on Jades, but it happens! You will find very fine webs across the bottom of the leaves, or hold a white piece of paper below the plant, and give the branch a sharp rap.. If there are mites, you'll see scurrying little specks on the paper. You can usually take care of spider mites by giving the plant a bath with insecticidal soapy water.

((www.google.com) (http://www.thegardenhelper.com/jadepests.htm))

http://www.ext.nodak.edu/extnews/hortiscope/houseplnts/jade.htm

http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/cacti/2002020340003484.html