Hi, I’m a horticultural consultant (I have a PhD in Plant Protection Science) and today I want to tell you why the leaves of your Jade plant are Wrinkling. Healthy jade plants have thick stems and fleshy leaves and wrinkled Jade leaves tell you its cells don’t receive enough water. It can be due to:
- Underwatering: When there isn’t enough water around the roots, they send a little water to the leaves. So, your Jade plant leaves will be wrinkled.
- A problem with its roots: As you know, the roots are responsible for absorbing water from the soil. Any problem at the root system will destroy its task. So, the roots cannot absorb water from the soil, although you water your Jade plant regularly and its soil is wet. Hence, you will see wrinkled Jade leaves
- Very High Temperatures: The water lost from the leaves through the processes of evaporation and transpiration that are called “Evapotranspiration”. The rates of Evapotranspiration will increase with higher temperatures, especially in low humidity. So, wrinkled Jade leaves are a common problem in high temperatures.
- Tiny sucking-sap bugs like Mites: Mites suck the leaf’s sap, so, your jade plant leaves will be wrinkled.
Now, common to tell you how to solve every above problem to fix the wrinkled Jade leaves.
Underwatering and Wrinkled Jade Leaves
I encourage succulent fans to avoid overwatering their succulents to prevent root rot. However, excess of everything is bad. Sometimes people give them so little water that their thirsty succulent shows wrinkled leaves, and finally die.
The best time for watering your Jade plant is when several inches of its topsoil is dried out, but how to detect it? Let me tell you a crick to water your succulents right without any risk of overwatering or underwatering and the leaves of your jade will be plump forever:
- Insert a wooden skewer into the soil and gently pull it back out.
- If the soil particles are stuck to the skewer, the soil is wet and you should avoid watering.
- If the skewer is clean when removed from the soil, the soil is dry and your plant is thirsty, It’s time for watering. I recommend watering them heavily and waiting until the excess water is removed from drainage holes (in the bottom of the pot).
Succulents don’t like you to add little water to their soil frequently, they love to water them heavily when their soil is dry.
Root Problems and Wrinkled Jade Leaves
If your Jade plant soil is wet but its leaves are still shrivelled, you must consider the health of the roots. Remove it from its pot, clean the soil around the roots and check them:
Are its roots soft and rot?
Prune the rot, soft and brown parts, then treat the healthy roots with cinnamon powder. Wash its pot and check its drainage holes, they must be enough. Provide fresh light soil with good drainage (a special potting mix for cacti and succulents is good) and mix the soil with some cinnamon powder. Finally, plant your Jade into its pot and water it as I told you above.
If you are interested in pots without drainage holes, you must know how to plant your Jade into them and water it. I discussed these topics in my other posts, I recommend reading them:
- How to plant in pots without drainage holes?
- How to water plants in pots without drainage holes?
Do you spot tiny bugs in the soil of your wrinkled Jade leaves?
while repotting your Jade plant you may find tiny insects around its roots or in its soil, they may be root Aphids, Mealybugs, or even larvae of Fungi gnat. They can cause trouble if you don’t control them quickly.
Anyway, to get rid of them, first, you must detect the exact culprit. I recommend reading my other post “Tiny Bugs in Houseplant Soil” to understand all you must know from detection to control.
The High Temperature and Wrinkled Jade Leaves
At the beginning of this post, I told you about “Evapotranspiration” which will rise in high temperatures. In this situation, your plant leaves will lose more water. Hence you must try to move it to a place with higher humidity or provide a humid condition to reduce the “Evapotranspiration”.
Mites and Wrinkled Jade Leaves
The Mites like vampires suck the sap of your plant cells and they get shrivelled, wrinkled and deformed. Mites are tiny so they are not visible to the naked eye. They often produce tiny white spots on the leaves which is a good sign of their infestation.
I discussed the Spider Mites on Jade plants in my other post, reading it will give you helpful tips to get rid of them.
In Conclusion
Now, you know wrinkled Jade leaves are a common problem caused by underwatering, high temperature, root damage, or sucking-sap insects like mites. I told you how to distinguish the reasons for shrivelled leaves of your Jade plant and how to fix them.
Please tell me in the comments about your Jade plant and its problems. Was this post helpful? Did you find out why its leaves are wrinkling? You ask your question below this page, and I will answer as soon as possible.
Elahe Rabiei
Hi, I’m Elaheh. My Academic major is plant protection, and houseplants are my expertise. As a houseplant lover, my house is full of indoor plants and it is my passion to take care of them. Hence, I’m here to share my knowledge and experience about growing healthy houseplants. I am also a plant protection advisor, so feel free to ask me any questions you may have.