Repotting plants is just part of a plant parent’s life. As plants grow, their roots need more room to expand. Therefore, if you’ve repotted your jade plant and it’s suddenly drowaoping, it can cause concern.
When a jade plant is drooping after repotting, it may be caused by overwatering, stress on the roots, bad soil, or over-fertilization. Additionally, a drooping jade plant can signify a damaged stem, a lack of sunlight or the new pot could be too small for the plant.
In this article, I’ll discuss the various reasons why a jade plant might be drooping after repotting and how to fix each of these problems.
1. The Jade Plant Is Overwatered
After repotting plants, it’s easy to overwater them accidentally. The excitement of putting your beloved plant in a new pot with new soil makes you want to water it more than you should. Unfortunately, this can severely damage your jade plant.
An overwatered jade plant can become waterlogged because of the lack of oxygen. And eventually, it can lead to root rot. Therefore, the jade plant can suffer stunted growth (or drooping), yellowing leaves, or even death.
Therefore, incorrectly treating your jade plant when it’s overwatered can result in the beautiful plant dying. Luckily, there are ways to save your plant.
How To Fix
When you repot a plant, experts recommend that you water it thoroughly one to two days before repotting and only lightly water it afterward. However, if your newly repotted jade plant is already suffering from being overwatered, this information probably isn’t wanted right now.
So, if you’re jade plant has been overwatered after repotting, follow these steps to fix it:
- Stop watering your plant. Give the soil time to dry up.
- Promote better drainage. This process could mean repotting your plant, putting it in a better pot, or changing the soil (especially if it’s completely waterlogged).
- Ensure your plant has the proper ventilation. The lack of ventilation can cause waterlogging in your jade plant and cause more damage.
2. There’s Too Much Stress on the Jade Plant’s Roots
It’s entirely normal for roots to suffer stress after repotting. Therefore, it’s best to let your jade plant settle for at least a few days before jumping to conclusions. If your jade plant is already fragile and you repot it, it’s even more likely to have stressed roots.
Additionally, not being extra careful when repotting can put stress on the roots. Although this often isn’t something you can control, taking precautions is necessary.
You’ll know there’s too much stress on your jade plant’s roots when it’s wilting, failing to thrive, and has yellowing leaves. Luckily, there are some steps you can take to reverse this.
How To Fix
While most cases of drooping plant leaves due to root stress are mild, severe cases can kill your plant or take years to bring it back to its healthy self.
If you believe your jade plant is drooping because there’s too much stress on the roots, you must ensure you’re giving it the extra care it needs.
Ensuring that your jade plant is getting enough sunlight is essential. However, the light must be indirect, as jade plants thrive more in indirect light than in the full sun. You should also water your plant regularly, but enough sunlight is essential for your jade plant to survive.
3. The Jade Plant’s Soil Is Bad
Repotting your jade plant in bad soil leads to many problems- including root rot. Many people don’t realize that jade plants are succulent houseplants and need a specific type of soil to thrive. So, the regular ol’ potting mix usually won’t cut it for this plant.
Your jade plant could be drooping because it was previously in bad soil, and you’re just noticing the effects after repotting.
Despite the cause, you can fix this reason for drooping with the proper soil.
How To Fix
If your jade plant is drooping because of bad soil, you must completely repot it. Although this might seem like a hassle, it’s the only way to save your plant.
Using soil that’s a mixture of houseplant and cactus or succulent varieties is ideal for jade plants, as it will provide all of the essential nutrients your plant needs. I recommend the Harris Succulent & Cactus Potting Mix from Amazon. This mix provides excellent draining and a pH-balanced formula- perfect for your jade plant.
Additionally, before you begin, look at my other article to better understand the procedure and learn some helpful tips: The Ultimate Guide to Repotting Your Houseplants
4. The Jade Plant Is Over-Fertilized
While giving your plant extra fertilizer after repotting it might be tempting, it can cause more harm than good. In fact, jade plants do best with only light fertilization. So, over-fertilizing causes the jade plant’s leaves and branches to become saggy, causing a significant droop.
It’s best to fertilize your jade plant twice a month when it’s growing and once every few months after the fact.
Additionally, you should always ensure the soil is wet before fertilizing, as the fertilizer solution can damage the root system if the soil is dry.
So, if you’ve applied too much fertilizer or applied the fertilizer before watering your jade plant, this could be the reason for your droopy plant. However, you can fix this!
How To Fix
You must water the plant thoroughly to fix a drooping jade plant due to over-fertilization. Giving your plant enough water to essentially “flush it out” will eliminate the excess fertilizer. So, put enough water in your plant until you see the water run through the bottom of the pot.
You may have to flush the plant several times.
5. The Jade Plant’s Stem Is Damaged
Unfortunately, you can damage stems during the repotting process if you’re not careful. You’ll usually notice if you’ve damaged the stem because it’ll be more flexible or completely broken.
However, it’s possible not to catch on to a damaged stem immediately, and seeing your jade plant begin to droop can be alarming. Luckily, this is a common problem, and there’s a sure-fire way to fix it.
How To Fix
When your plant suffers stem damage you will need to provide the afflicted plant with extra support to encourage the plant to heal.
Fixing a damaged jade plant stem is a relatively simple process; just follow these steps:
- Depending on the size of the stem, prepare some tape. Any tape will do, but I recommend checking out the VELCRO ONE-WRAP Garden Ties tape from Amazon. This tape comes in various sizes and is less noticeable than other tapes, as it’s green.
- Put a splint next to the damaged stem. This splint can be anything that will hold your jade plant’s stem upright, such as a pencil, ruler, or toothpick (depending on the size of the plant).
- Connect the splint to the plant stem with the tape. It’s essential to ensure that the stem is in an upright position.
- Be patient. It could take the stem a couple of weeks to a month to completely heal itself.
6. The Jade Plant Needs More Sunlight
A common reason for a drooping jade plant is the lack of sunlight. It’s possible your jade plant was already suffering from a lack of sunlight, and repotting it caused it to begin drooping. Or, most likely, you’ve moved the jade plant and its new pot to a different location that doesn’t have an adequate amount of sunlight.
A jade plant with a sunlight deficiency will begin to develop weak stems and roots, which will cause the whole plant to droop. Luckily, you can easily fix this issue.
How To Fix
As I’ve already mentioned, jade plants do best with abundant indirect sunlight. Therefore, although your jade plant is drooping due to a sunlight deficiency, you don’t want to put it directly in the sun.
Therefore, place your jade plant in an area best suited for it. An excellent option is to choose a location in your home near a window where the plant has access to the sun but isn’t directly in its path. Using sheer curtains or putting the jade plant in the path of a tree or another plant is ideal.
7. The Jade Plant’s New Pot Is Too Small
If you’ve repotted your jade plant to give it more room to grow but didn’t get a big enough pot, your plant is likely to droop. A plant’s roots need adequate space to grow, so drooping is unavoidable without it.
One of the most telltale signs of a pot being too small for the plant is when you see more roots than soil in the pot itself.
How To Fix
The best way to fix a jade plant’s pot being too small is to repot the plant in a bigger pot. Therefore, you’ll have to redo the potting process. It’s best to ensure you have the correct size pot before beginning.
If you’re having trouble figuring out the right size pot for your jade plant, it’s best to ensure the pot has a width of at least one inch (2.54 cm) wider than the plant’s root mass.
Summary
Your beautiful jade plant drooping can be a cause for concern, especially after repotting. Various reasons could cause this, including:
- Overwatering
- Stress on the roots
- Bad soil
- Over-fertilization
- Damaged stem
- Lack of sunlight
- Too small of a pot.
Luckily, there are ways to bring your plant back to its usual, upright self. As long as you determine the cause of the plant’s drooping and follow these tips to fix it, your jade plant will be just fine.
