I would bet money that a chipmunk is the culprit! For some reason they LOVE jades and will chew them up to no end. I just had a chipmunk attack on one of my jades early this morning. GRRRR! If not a chipmunk, then a squirrel.

Chipmunks or squirrel~~ time for a big, mean CAT!! (kidding of course, I wouldn't want a cat like that)

This is why I am so pariniod of leaving my plants outside. Right now they are close to the house, but we still hear cat fights on the porch. No chipmunks or squirells here. :(

I'm sorry, I have no advice for you. But I can feel your fustration. I hope you figure it out and that your plants will be ok in time..

Marjie

Felix

TG cactus looks great.

I got chipmunk chewing on some of my succulents. Not much I can do, they are so quick.
Maybe you can try to put a wire mesh around to se if it helps. Rina

Chipmunks or squirrels, good possibility, or maybe mice or (shudder) rats. Or what about slugs or snails, though they don't generally make holes in the middle of the leaves, but I have a terrible time with them on my porch. You could try the time-honored dish of beer, to see if you catch anything. Can you move your plants to a higher spot? Good luck.

Last year, I had birds pecking on my crassula aborescens and it looks really ugly now.

Susan

Have you been fertilizing regularly? If not, I think you should. Unless it's a trick of the light in all the photos, your plants are in need of fertilizer. If you let me know what you're using, how much, how often? - I'll offer some suggestions.

I have seen cats chew on houseplants, both indoors and out. Your jade looks identical to when a foster cat took a few bites of mine. They are more likely to poke holes in the middle of leaves like that, because of their long pointy teeth. Whether it's chippies, squirrels, cats, etc, rubbing alcohol usually discourages them from taking more bites. You can get a product called biter apple from the pet store, which is diluted rubbing alcohol, or you can dilute your own. I use bitter apple, applying it after rains for outdoor plants, once a month to my houseplants within reach of cats. I have never had a cat that didn't give up plant chewing, and I am a recovering crazy cat lady, so there have been a LOT of cats around my plants. (Down to just 2 cats now, thanks. Took up being a crazy plant lady instead. :)

Hi Al,

Which plants specifically do you think need fertilizer? As you know, new growth is often paler than established growth. I'm not disagreeing with your contention, just wondering what criteria you see that makes you think so. As an aside, many experienced C&S growers never use fertilizer, many do and everywhere in-between, kind of like the range of soil mixes.

Thanks,

Jeff

The first two pictured aren't bad, but the remaining pictures all show foliage light enough to make me feel they need one or more nutrients - and my thinking is it's low fertility o/a. I'm not as 'into' the wide variety of succulents some of you guys are into, but if I wasn't so enthusiastic about bonsai, I think succulents is where I'd be. I maybe have 20-25 different plants, not counting the several dozen give-away starts knocking around the benches, and I would probably have to consider all of them extremely healthy, based on both my own standards and the average of what I see in pictures here & on the C&S forum. I fertilize & water all my succulents right along side the rest of my plants - summer & winter. They get fertilized weekly in summer with 9-3-6 at the same rate as my bonsai and all the rest of my containerized plants, and watered at the same interval - on a schedule; and while over-wintering under lights, get fertilized every time I water with a weak dose of 9-3-6.

Maybe I'm lucky and just haven't encountered plants that will rebel at this treatment ...... maybe I won't, because of my soil choice - I will say I'm not yet sure enough to be cocky about it. In all, over the years, I've probably only grown 75-100 species of succulents en total, which is a small number compared to how many some of you guys grow, but so far (knock on wood) it's worked admirably, and I can't see any reason (physiologically) why it shouldn't.

My personal opinion is, depending on the soil to cover a plant's nutritional needs is generally not a good strategy, a crap-shoot, at best. As an observation and not in defense of anything I practice or preach, I think I've done exceptionally well by looking at the soil as only needing to be a hospitable place for roots to live, while taking complete responsibility as head nutritionist.

That's the view from here. YMMV.

Al

That's the thing with succulent plants, though, Al - many succulent plants can be grown beautifully without added nutrients and with average to poor soil. It's really to the skill / knowledge of the grower, but there are a number of growers who turn out show-quality plants year after year and don't fertilize their plants at all. I agree with you that added nutrition is a plus (I'm nowhere near the grower I want to be yet), but no nutrition at all and a non-nutritive soil can still get one gorgeous, natural growth and a prize-winning plant.

Al:

No, I have been fertilizing irregularly, probably 2 times between early July and now (the period that they are out). I had Osmocote added in the gritty mix when I re-potted them. I am using Foliage Pro 9-3-6 for fertilizing - but like I said it is irregularly. I am moving all of them to my front yard which is not full sun to see if the color will become dark green.

Thanks
Felix