Crassula arborescens not looking well

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Ava
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Crassula arborescens not looking well

Post by Ava »

Hi all,

This problem started during the summer last year, I think, but it hasn't really improved. As you can see, the edges of the leaves are dying and some bark(?) has started to peel off the base. It's still growing though, and leaves that fall off grow into healthy young plants. It was watered once over winter and another a couple of weeks ago.
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Mal L
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Re: Crassula arborescens not looking well

Post by Mal L »

I have to first confess that I do not have one of these plants, and indeed never have had, which probably puts me in a small minority of C&S growers, so my comment does not come from experience. The fact that the leaves look shrivelled and rather bleached, and you mention that the problem "started during the summer last year" makes me suspect that it got far too high a dose of UV, and very high temperature, that fried the leaves. Did it receive full sun for an extended period, and maybe in a poorly ventilated place? If it isn't that then it may be a problem of root loss leading to the shrivelling of the leaves. They seem to be tough plants , so if it is still alive then it will probably regrow new leaves in time, though I suspect that all the present ones may slowly dry up and drop off. But you may need to change where the plant is situated!
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Re: Crassula arborescens not looking well

Post by Pattock »

If leaf cuttings are perfectly healthy, I would inspect the roots.
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Re: Crassula arborescens not looking well

Post by esp »

It looks sort-of healthy, but absolutely bone dry.
Try watering it thoroughly, so all the compost is wet.
Does its pot have drain holes? They are more-or-less necessary.
If it does, place it in a large bowl or container, water it thoroughly so plenty of water has come out of the bottom of the pot. Leave it standing in a pool of water for an hour or two, to enable it to soak up further water, then place it on a dry saucer to drain off/dry out. Empty any water that collects in the saucer, so having been thoroughly wetted, it doesn't remain standing in a puddle.
These are very drought resistant plants (most houseplants would be long-since dead if they had only been watered twice in the last 4 months or so), but do need at least moderate amount of water to thrive.
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Re: Crassula arborescens not looking well

Post by Aiko »

Could frost have been the issue? I have similar experience with a large Crassula. The leaves died real fast after a night with some frost when I left it outside in the autumn. A few weeks later the branches and the trunk followed to decay, starting to go black from top to bottom. There was no stopping it.
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Re: Crassula arborescens not looking well

Post by MikeT »

esp wrote: Sun Apr 11, 2021 10:58 am It looks sort-of healthy, but absolutely bone dry.
Try watering it thoroughly, so all the compost is wet.
I'd agree. it really does look very dry. If it's potbound, it may not be easy to get water penetrating into the rootball.
Pattock wrote: Sun Apr 11, 2021 10:37 am I would inspect the roots.
especially if you ever have vine weevil trouble. If the grubs are eating their way through the roots and up into the lower stem, then no water will get to the leaves.
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Re: Crassula arborescens not looking well

Post by Skribbane »

It looks thirsty to me, may need more regular watering. Don't worry too much about the leaf loss, when it perks up a bit it'll replace them fairly quickly in my experience.
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Re: Crassula arborescens not looking well

Post by juster »

I also think it looks very dry and thirsty. Is it grown indoors in a warm room? If so then it will need much more water than you have given it. Personally I'd repot it and water it more. I would also remove all of the old leaves, it will grow new ones and look better. Good luck!
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Re: Crassula arborescens not looking well

Post by Ava »

Ahh, I should have mentioned that the photos make it look paler than it really is.

Thank you for all the replies. I will unpot it and take a look. Not sure where I'm going to get/put a bigger pot if it needs one, that one is massive, haha. I had not realised it needed more water. It is indoors, though in an extension which is difficult to heat and hence very cold during winter.
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Re: Crassula arborescens not looking well

Post by Brian »

Unpot it & look at the roots. There may be mealy bug, if so wash off all the soil together with the mealies. Fresh soil with grit, no need for a vastly bigger pot. Brush off dead roots, you can be quite brutal, this is hard to kill. Not sure of the compost you are using, but it requires fair drainage. As somebody who tends to be mean with watering, I can confirm that this looks vastly under watered. When the cold nights are gone try putting it outside. You will be amazed how these plants do well outside and like the rain.
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