Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
charlie2003_gw

jade plant....why are so many leaves falling off?

charlie2003
16 years ago

Hello.

I also have a jade plant and loads of leaves seem to be falling off every week! Is that normal? I imagine it isn't. It was dry so I did water it till it felt damp and let all the water drain out. It is getting some light every day. I have a south facing window in a NYC apartment but there is a tall building 15 feet or so in front of mine. Apparently, south facing windows are supposed to get lots of light? Mine is blocked by the building in front so gets less light than it should.

Anything I can do so ALL the leaves don't fall off?

Cheers,

charlie

Comments (83)

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    12 years ago

    Aha...Abel, it is! ;-)

    Josh

  • jedi1812
    12 years ago

    hi, it is me again. I noticed the soil isnt getting much drier. And 2 leaves became yellow and shriveled and hanging on to the stem so I had to pluck these. What does that mean? The leaves which were full of water and which fell on its own, I tried to dry them and no, there are no baby roots..

  • jojosplants
    12 years ago

    Hi Abel,
    Can you remove the plant from the pot with the soil, and set it on newspaper to soak up the extra water for a few days, until you can get what you need to replace what it is growing in?

    JoJo

  • jedi1812
    12 years ago

    Jojo
    did you mean let the soil dry faster if i take it out of the pot?
    thks, abel

  • jojosplants
    12 years ago

    Hi Abel.
    Yes, you need to get the soil dried out. If you take it out of the pot and set it on newspaper it will help soak up the extra water. The longer the soil is wet, the worse the roots will get. See if you can tip the pot and gently get the plant out with the soil still intact. Set it on the newspaper and leave it there for a few days. If the paper becomes really soaked, change it.

    Your plant will be fine, Jades can go a few weeks without water this time of year.

    JoJo

  • accplus_abel_gmail_com
    12 years ago

    Thanks Jojo. Last weekend, the nurseries I went to dont have the soli mix you gurs recommended. In fact they stock the same fertilisers sold in the supermarkets. There was volcanic ash, the bag info says tested on palm trees and cacti but there is peat in there. So I bought the usual potting mix, made in Germany. Havent change the soil yet though. Now I put the 2 jades in my east facing kitchen so they can have as much light as possible. But I noticed the leaves are fragile as any slight wind they can fall off..

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    12 years ago

    Hi, Abel.
    For the best results, you really need free-draining ingredients.
    Putting the Jade into the same potting soil won't restore it to health.
    Can you post a pic of the soil?

    Josh

  • accplus_abel_gmail_com
    12 years ago

    Hi Josh, it is ordinary potting soil. the black soil, from Germany. I dont know how to post a picture. In any case, i waited 2 wks and seeing the jade leaves a bit sad looking and the soil kind of hard and dry, I think it needed water. So I watered them a bit, and i dont think it was the watering that caused the leaves to initially fall. Because i accidentally brush against it and carried the pots to a more sunny spot in my kitchen, the leaves fell, as if no energy in them. Since the day of the watering on saturday i am happy to say both jade plants havent dropped a single leaf! In fact some baby leaves grew on the stems. Just that I was worried initially when a bunch of leaves suddendly appeared at the base of both pots. That was the week when someone at the store bought the plants from told me they need watering twice a week! Now I realised the little new leaves seem to pushing the older ones out. I sort of like them with lots of leaves though, the base seem like an empty nest.. ANyway I did save some leaves and left them at the window sill to dry, or on top of my washing machine near the window, but the leaves seem to be rotting. There is 1 little stem I did save but the end seem dried up. Was going to put all of these on the soil I just bought. If I am not mistaken the gravel I saw on the photos you showed at earlier posts at ither threads, I think gravel meant little stones? IF so I think I can get them from my neighbourhood outside. Or I can get any kind of stones, right?

  • jedi1812
    12 years ago

    Hi Josh,
    OK here are the ingredients for the soil mix I bought - the bag info is as follow - mix of decomposed white sphagnum peat, frozen black sphagnum peat and clay. Soil is black. No smell. If this is not good for jade plants, then how about organic soil? I can get that at the store. Also, I have a tiny cactus like plant. But the roots are black at the top near the plant, and the roots are not. Yes I over watered that too, and it didnt grow at all. I was going to change the soil and noticed the roots turned black. Thanks!

  • stevestcstc_gmail_com
    12 years ago

    the jade has been around a while(it's not mine but I promised to leek at it for her-not that I'm very great at houseplants) the plant is maybe 3 feet tall and it's losing leaves all over-an outdoor plant, I'd say somebody was chomping on it-it's becoming skeletal-but I'm not seeing anything. I've read all about the overwatering and I will discuss that with her although since she's had it a while I'd think that isn't it-the leaves seem small to me???but the ones still on are fairly green and somewhat plump-but others just fall off as I touch it-not sure I'm happy about the look of the stems either---will appreciate what you can tell me---thamks

  • birdsnblooms
    12 years ago

    Steve..did you repot the Jade? Also, are leaves on the entire plant small or just new growth?

    There are different Crassula species..Different types of Jades..some small, some medium, some large leaves.
    If the entire plant has small leaves, it's probably not the common Jade seen at most stores.

    Can you post a picture?
    You said you promised to 'leek' it for her? What do you mean by leek?

    Is it possible a critter is eating the leaves? Do they discolor before dropping? Have you checked for insects?

    There are many reasons foliage drops. Over-watering is another biggie..especially with succulents.
    If over-watered, the leaves usually yellow first, then drop. Is that what's happening? Toni

  • stevestcstc_gmail_com
    12 years ago

    hi toni-sorry I imagine I meant look at it for her-not much of a typist/computer type---I didn't see any insects-the major thing is this skeletal look-I'll talk to her and maybe get a picture thanks

  • jadep
    12 years ago

    im not sure when you posted this but i am new to the site. for years i've killed every jade i had by watering it too much-which is why my pretty green leaves kept falling off. now i just sit it outside in the sun from late may to late october. then i bring it in and let it sit without touching it in any way. no watering! it has tripled in size in 2 summers and it's beautiful. try it. it may work for you. hope this helps. southern zone.

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    12 years ago

    The problem isn't actually watering too much....
    the problem is a soil that holds too much moisture for too long.
    In a properly made soil, one could water a Jade plant regularly.


    Josh

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    12 years ago

    Josh is absolutely correct. Subjecting the plant to drought stress in order that you might avoid root rot is probably not the best way to accomplish that end. An appropriate soil, one that allows you to keep the soil damp yet still full of air, offers the advantage of eliminating the root problems that cause leaf loss (if it wasn't a reaction to the reduction in light, which is entirely possible) without having to suffer the effects of drought stress.

    Welcome to the forums, btw!

    Al

  • dalicea97
    9 years ago

    Since my baby jade has been loosing it's leaves. I made sure not to water since 18 days ago. It is under a grow light. I do not understand why it's loosing its leaves. The leaves that are falling are green. I felt like asking for refund from where I purchased it...I have enclosed a photo. What should I do? Thanks, Deb

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    9 years ago

    Hello, you have an Elephant's [Food] Bush, which is a Portulacaria afra. And you should be watering it regularly, especially in such a small container. These are not Jades and they do not like to dry out as much between waterings.

    Josh

  • dalicea97
    9 years ago

    The plant that I bought from Bonsai boy is Baby Jade (portulacarla afra). These plants are confusing.

  • dalicea97
    9 years ago

    Josh,
    As soon as I had received it I had watered it
    4 days later cause it was loosing green leafs. So since I read
    Information about the jade that they needed to be dried out. I love plants but they could be confusing.

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    9 years ago

    This is not a Jade, however, so the Jade watering information doesn't apply.

    I can tell you this, if you are watering too much, the leaves will turn yellow first and then fall off.

    Your plant needs light and water right now.

    Josh

  • dalicea97
    9 years ago

    I had watered it 3 days ago and when I checked the bottom of the trunk it so happen to be green, so the tree is alive. So what I did was placed closer to the grow light to see if it grows buds/leafs...so they told me to give it 2 weeks and if there is no growth, it would be replaced. I have enclosed photo.
    Thanks,
    Deborah Alicea

  • CatieWiggles
    9 years ago

    My jade plant is 5 years old and recently it started to show light brown coloring on the leaves by the leaf stem, as well as, little dots on a few leaves. What is this and how do I stop it, if it's not normal?

  • antym00
    8 years ago

    I can't figure out why the instructions that came with my bonsai (Jade) plant said water thoroughly every other day???


  • antym00
    8 years ago
    last modified: 8 years ago

    I'm killing it with water...I'll wait a couple weeks to water it again!!!!


  • rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
    8 years ago

    Succulents don't need water so often.

    IMO - If the plant was in totally well draining mix (probably just a grit) and in very shallow pot with drainage holes, it could take watering often.


  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    8 years ago

    Don't wait a couple weeks.

    That's not a Jade - that's an "Elephant [Food] Bush," and they do not tolerate drying out nearly as well as actual Jade plants.

    Josh

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    8 years ago

    Catie - the spots are scars that result from a physiological condition called oedema.


    Antym - I agree with Josh & Rina. Let the plant dry down, but don't let it become completely dry. Use a wooden dowel, sharpened in a pencil sharpener as a 'tell'. Stick it deep into the pot. When it comes out clean/dry, it's time to water.


    Al

  • Daphne Pok
    8 years ago

    I just bought my jade plants in April this year and they started out really nice, bushy and green but due to poor knowledge we watered it too much and now I think one of them is rotting at the stem. The leaves are mostly light green to yellow and are dropping off like crazy, one of them is one third to one quarter its original foliage. I propped it up as it was drooping due to the weakened stem which has already given way and is half broken. I put it back in strong sunlight and will stop watering it from now on until the soil is dry. Anyone ever rescued such plants ?

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    8 years ago

    Occasionally rotting plants can be turned around by stubbing off the branches, severing the trunk well above the rot, treating the wounded end with a fungicide, then treating what's left of the plant as a cutting. If you want to chase that thought a bit, please provide some photos for suggestions.


    Al

  • Daphne Pok
    8 years ago
    Example of jade plant with some stem softness and tearing.
  • Cyber ET
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Its been alright for the past 2 months, then suddenely last week it started having multiple leaves turning black at once. Can anyone please advise? Thanks

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    7 years ago

    If you didn't put it outdoors in direct sun, over-fertilize, or spray/over-spray it with a phytotoxic concoction, it's likely severe over-watering or something toxic dumped on the soil. Whatever on that short list you can eliminate gets you closer to the cause.


    Al

  • Cyber ET
    7 years ago

    It has direct sun for about 3-4hrs a day.

    It is right beside the orchids, and it have been slightly sprayed by liquid fertilizer I was using for the orchids.

    As for water source, I just watered it last week using my aquarium water, which I only use anti chlorine and sodium bicabonate, no salt, etc.. my tap water is soft and has little minerals/metals.

    I've shifted the jade plant indoor to ensure I can control the watering (my neighbour sometimes helps me to water my plants).

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    7 years ago

    Foliar feeding:

    From the perspective of getting nutrients from outside the plant,
    to inside the plant, foliar feeding is generally extremely inefficient. In the not large % of plants that can/will benefit from foliar feeding, fertilizers
    in ionic form are far more effective than various emulsions/suspensions
    at providing supplemental nutrition, but roots are still, by far, the
    more efficient and reliable pathway for nutrients to enter the plant.
    Foliar feeding is best suited for use as an intense agri-crop management
    tool used to compensate for specific soil deficiencies at specific
    periods of growth. If your plants actually NEED foliar feeding - by
    default, there is something wrong with your basic nutritional
    supplementation program or your soil, and your efforts would be better
    spent concentrating on managing those issues.

    Foliar feeding is usually only used effectively to supply a few
    elements in ionic form (mainly N,Fe,Cu,Mn,Z), and only when plants that
    are able to provide a foliar pathway into the plant are growing so
    rapidly the nutrient stream cannot supply certain nutrients fast enough.

    Remember - over-supplying a nutrient the plant doesn't need can be as
    bad as or worse than a deficiency. If you have a genuine deficiency,
    it's better by far to address it via the most efficient pathway - the
    root system. You can't make plants grow at beyond their genetic
    limitations, and supplying more of this or that than plants need is
    counter-productive. Trying to ensure the elements you have control
    over are available in the soil at a favorable concentration and in the
    right ratio is about the best you can do.

    I think one area where the hobby grower CAN effectively use foliar
    feeding is as a 'tell'. That is to say, after observing a particular symptom, I might suggest a foliar application of some
    chemical like Epsom salts or ferrous sulfate on part of the plant if I
    suspected a deficiency of Mg or Fe respectively, for example. Applied one at a time
    and given a couple of days to work, you might be able to isolate one of
    several possible deficiencies. Of course, a soil test will usually
    provide the clues, but absent that, or when growing in containers, foliar
    applications can sometimes be used effectively to tell you what you
    should be doing in terms of soil nutrition management.

    Not only that, we can't eliminate foliar feeding as a potential cause of your spoiled foliage.


    The baking soda in the aquarium water is potentially a major issue. Plants need Na to build osmotic potential, absorb water and sustain turgor, but excess sodium very quickly becomes toxic. I'd skip the aquarium water entirely because it offers nothing that can't be found in a bottle of good fertilizer, like Foliage-Pro 9-3-6. In fact, coupled with a sound nutritional supplementation program, it has only the potential to limit. If you like, I can explain the 'why' of that last statement.

    You aren't using water that has passed through an ionic exchange softening system - right?

    Al



  • Cyber ET
    7 years ago

    Ok, thanks. Need some time to digest.

    nope, my tap water source is treated water from the reservoir. I'm only aware of membrane filtration

  • SaraM
    7 years ago

    I would clear out the dead leaves, remove it from the pot, clean off as much dirt as possible from the roots as possible and place it back in the pot with new soil. Sunny spot, water with only tap water (assuming you don't have rain water) and fertilize

  • ncmrmy3sons
    7 years ago

    Hello. I purchased a bonsai plant at Epcot in Florida about a month and a half ago. I was told it was a bonsai jade and given some general care instructions.

    A week or two after getting it home it started dropping healthy and plump green leaves. I was watering it about once a week as the instructions said to water when really dry. I have a moisture meter and would water when there was no level of moisture.

    Last week I brought it to a local nursery to have it looked at because it was still dropping healthy leaves. She checked the soil and said it only had some regular soil right around the trunk and straight down.

    The rest is like a rocky type mixture. She replaced some of it with more of a dirt soil and then put the original rocky mixture back around it. Now some of the leaves are yellowing and shriveling up and falling off.

    The moisture meter is reading anywhere between .5 and 1.0 in different areas. Tomorrow will be a week since I watered it.

    Now im worried that maybe she should not have put the regular soil in there. Not sure if I should take it out and replace it with what was there originally.

    It is on a windowsill that is facing south. The room it is in is full of light and sun all day. It even has new growth on the top but the lower leaves is what I am having a problem with

    I don't want to lose it and I'm not sure what I might be doing wrong.

    I would appreciate any help you can give me.

  • ncmrmy3sons
    7 years ago

    Here is a closer look at the rocky mixture and one of the leaves that has fallen.

  • greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
    7 years ago

    It's a Portulacaria afra, the Elephant's Food Bush, and much different than a Jade. Not even in the same botanical Family, nor the same Order.

    The rocky mix is superb, and would be excellent if that were the entire substrate. The only thing with a gritty mix like that is that it needs to be watered more frequently and more thoroughly.

    Josh

  • ncmrmy3sons
    7 years ago

    Thank you so much Josh. So do you think it is best for me to remove the regular dirt put in the other day by the local nursery and replace it with the original mixture since I kept it?

    Also, can you give me any suggestions on how often I should water or the best way to know when to water?

    Thanks again,

    Christine

  • meeann25
    3 years ago

    Hi! Wondering if anyone can help me figure out what’s going on when my jade plant. It’s located in a south facing window in NYC and so gets bright but indirect light throughout the day and I make sure to let the soil dry out before watering it again. I’m getting lots of new growth and the main stems seem to be getting taller.


    The last two weeks to a month it has been dropping leaves. At first they all looked shriveled and kind of crystalkine/sparkly (see photo), but now I’m seeing regular mature leaves dropping off too.


    Any help and advice

    would be appreciated!

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    3 years ago

    Does the pot have a drain hole? Do you flush the soil when you water? Please post a close-up image of the soil in the pot. If you have a bag of it, the brand and an image of it on a piece of white paper would be helpful.

    "Guttation is a physiological process that occurs in jades usually under conditions of high relative humidity, cool temperatures and high soil moisture content. During the process, high internal water pressure forces water through leaf surfaces through specialized structures (hyathodes), which relieves the excessive internal water pressure (turgor).

    When the droplets dry from the day's rising temperatures, breezes, and sunlight, the liquid's soluble contents (mostly sugar and mineral salts) are left behind in crystalline form, which is what you're seeing.

    While guttation itself causes no harm to the plant, it's usually a sign there are cultural practices and/or influences that need modifying, and these are usually involve soil choice and watering practices. I'll wait to hear what your answers to the questions and any additional input you think might be helpful before I make some suggestions.


    Al


  • meeann25
    3 years ago

    Al,

    The pot doesn’t have a drain hole, so I Try to be careful not to overwater it. I usually add in 1/2 to 3/4 cup water every time the soil is dry (starting to pull away from the edges of the pot and no dampness 2” into the soil). I don’t know what flushing the soil means. Like, fully drenching it? if so, no. After I bought it I believe I repotted it using regular Miracle Gro potting soil. As requested, I’m including a photo of the soil right now. I was planning on watering it in a day or two.



    It seems like guttation could be happening? The crystal residue certainly fits, but I’m unsure about the climate/weather influences. It’s an indoor plant, and my apartment is anything but humid. It is located near my AC unit though, so it could be experiencing cooler temps with the colder weather we’ve been having and a light breeze? I did remove the blanket I had covering the unit maybe a month or so ago...although at this point it’s difficult to tell what day of the week we’re on let alone whether my struggling plant is correlated to the removal of the blanket.

    Thanks!

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    3 years ago

    You can't flush the soil because there's no drain hole, which means ALL the salts from tapwater and fertilizer solutions remain in the soil to accumulate. An excess of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil can actually pull water OUT of plant cells in exactly the same way curing salt pulls water out of bacon and ham. At a minimum the accumulating salts are making it increasingly difficult for the plant to take up water. Even the very best growers will fail eventually using pots w/o a drain hole. Your starting point is to remove the plant to another pot with a drain hole, or add a drain hole to the one it's in now (let me know if you need instructions), then flush the soil very thoroughly by pouring a volume of water equal to at least 10x the volume of the pot through the soil.

    Al

  • meeann25
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    I make sure to use water that has sat out overnight to water my plants. Does that not make a difference? Or not enough of a difference?


    Also yes, can you point me in the direction of drain hole tutorials??


    And lastly, should I be flushing all my plants (pothos, croton, aloe, snake plant...) when I water?

  • KarenS, NYC
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    Hi, I don't wish to sound mean or rude by being direct.

    You don't need a tutorial for a pot w/a drainage hole. You just need a regular nursery pot or plant pot with a hole for drainage.

    It's extremely difficult to grow healthy plants in pots w/out drainage holes.

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    3 years ago

    I make sure to use water that has sat out overnight to water my plants. Does that not make a difference? Or not enough of a difference? You already learned that the crystalline structures on the leaves of your plant is composed of dissolved solids (sugar and mineral salts) left behind as the water in the exudate associated with the guttation (primarily driven by over-watering) evaporates. If you allow your water to rest overnight in an open pan, some of the water in the pan evaporates, but ALL of the dissolved solids in the water are left behind, So technically, the concentration of dissolved solids in the water (which includes fluoride, and chloramine, used now to chlorinate most tapwater) would be slightly higher than water straight from the tap. The pH of water straight from the tap is also slightly lower than water that has rested for a period of time, due to dissolved CO2 gassing off.

    Also yes, can you point me in the direction of drain hole tutorials?? I'm guessing you mean how to drill the holes? This should help:

    Drilling holes in pots

    The 2 types of drill bits most appropriate for drilling holes in pots are a diamond core drill for the highly vitrified (hard material - baked at very high temps - glass, ceramic, ......) pots, and a drill with several names for drilling clay pots fired at low temps, such as terra cotta. That (carbide) drill is called a 3-point drill, spear point drill, or a spade drill, seen here:


    You only need 1 - in 1/2 or 3/8" size.

    For the hard stuff, diamond core drills are best, though the 3 point drill will drill the hard stuff, too.

    Diamond core drills:



    You can buy either type at big box stores. They're not that expensive, and they last a long time if you take care of them. They are best used with a steady stream of coolant from a squeeze bottle (contact lens solution bottles work great for this) or with the work surface barely submerged. IE, put the pot upside down in a tub and fill the tub with water until it just covers the work surface. If you use a spritzer or squirt bottle, a 50/50 mix of antifreeze and water is an excellent coolant, and soapy water is better than plain water but not as good as the antifreeze mix. The coolant keeps the tool from over-heating, and in doing so, increases the life of the tool substantially - like triple or quadruple the number of holes you can drill.

    Regular masonry bits are "ok" for drilling terra cotta or cement (you can make them work), but inappropriate for anything harder. The right tool makes everything easier.

    And lastly, should I be flushing all my plants (pothos, croton, aloe, snake plant...) when I water? One way or another - YES, absolutely. Ideally, your choice of soil should allow you to water to beyond the point of saturation, so you're flushing the soil as you water. If you can't do that w/o worry that the soil will remain soggy for a prolonged period, limiting root function, or worse, wrecking root health it would be best to consider learning how to amend the soil you're using or make a soil that allows you to flush the soil regularly. There are also a few very simple work-arounds that will allow you to use a soil that would otherwise be inappropriate. For example - if you're using a soil too water-retentive for a plant's well-being, and you need to flush it - you can flush thoroughly over a sink or tub or outdoors. When the pot stops draining, hold it in your hand(s) and move it up and down. You'll note that on the reversal from downward to upward motion, Newton's First Law of Motion takes over and some of the excess water in the pot exits through the drain hole. As the amount of water diminishes, more can be forced from the soil by reversing directions more forcibly. As long as your pot is of a manageable size, this simple trick is invaluable for anyone using an excessively water-retentive soil. If the pot is too large, you can use a wick to drain excess water, or even tipping the pot at a 45* angle to drain makes a very significant difference in how much excess water a medium can hold. Compare B with A to see how much excess water the simple act of tipping the pot forces from the pot. E shows what a wick, used correctly for best benefit, can achieve. D shows one way of using ballast to reduce excess water.

    Even when using extremely water retentive soils, ballast can reduce the amount of excess water a soil can hold to less than 5% of what it would hold w/o use of ballast.

    Al

  • meeann25
    3 years ago

    Ok, thanks for all your help! Still a little confused about not leaving water out because there are lots of other plant sites that recommend doing that TO get rid of the fluoride.


    I have ballast in all my pots already, so that’s good to know.


    Found some instructions for drilling drain holes on Google late last night, so coupled with your advice, I’ll be an expert.


    Thanks again!

  • meeann25
    3 years ago
    last modified: 3 years ago

    Thanks, HU-591242, for that helpful information. I am aware that you can buy planters with drainage holes. Unfortunately when I bought these I didn’t realize they didn’t have them, so I thought adding a couple inches of ballast to the bottom would negate the problem. Wanting to learn how to drill the holes is a three-fold effort to a.) not spend more money on planters, b.) keep the planters I bought because I like the way they look, and c.) fix the problem for my plants without having to wait for new pots to arrive or for nurseries to open back up again in the city.


    That all being said, if/when I shatter my planters, do you have suggestions for where online I can buy nursery pots?

  • tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
    3 years ago

    Still a little confused about not leaving water out because there are lots of other plant sites that recommend doing that TO get rid of the fluoride. Lots of "plant sites" are very good at sustaining a plethora of horticultural myths and even creating new ones by parroting advice they heard somewhere - it sounded reasonable, so they adopt it as though it were fact. One of those myths is the suggestion that allowing your water to sit in an open container allows dissolved solids, chlorine, and fluoride to gas off. Fluoride is nonvolatile and will not gas off even if you allow the water sit until it had all evaporated - the same holds true for dissolved solids - the deposits on your plant's leaves were once dissolved in the water that escaped the plant through the process of guttation, making them visual proof. The form of chlorine FORMERLY most popular did gas off somewhat if water was allowed to sit in in open container (tub/bucket - not a milk jug), but the preferred method of chlorination is currently chloramine, which doesn't gas off to any notable degree.

    I have ballast in all my pots already, so that’s good to know. Are you sure you have ballast, or do you have a drainage layer. It's possible to use some materials to create ballast, which can be exceptionally helpful. You can, however, use some materials that can be made to work as ballast to create a "drainage layer", one of those horticultural myths sagely passed off as helpful, but are in reality counterproductive. The shaded part below marked PWT represents perched water - an excessive volume of water that won't drain as a response to gravity. The left image illustrates where you'd find a PWT without a drainage layer. The middle image illustrates the PWT perching above the drainage layer, which is why they are counterproductive. The image on the right shows how ballast, properly used, reduces the volume of soil which is capable of holding perched water. If you add more bricks but still leave an unbroken soil column from the top of the pot to the bottom, you can eliminate more than 95% of the soil capable of holding perched water.


    Found some instructions for drilling drain holes on Google late last night, so coupled with your advice, I’ll be an expert. Before I retired, I owned a glazing contracting corporation, aglass company. On a daily basis, we drilled holes in glass, ceramic tile, granite, and even people's flower pots. I can't speak for the advice of others, but I can promise you that the easiest and best way of drilling holes in vitrified or clay pots (short of using a laser) and being able to expect a good outcome is in the short tutorial I offered. I have available everything needed to drill hard material by any method, and what I suggested is how I and other knowledgeable professionals approach the job.

    Best luck, M!

    Al

Sponsored
Hoppy Design & Build
Average rating: 5 out of 5 stars9 Reviews
Northern VA Award-Winning Deck ,Patio, & Landscape Design Build Firm