Question
My jade plant is about 5 inches tall, not sure how old it is. I have had it about a year. Pot size is about 4x6. The plant gets its light from the sun and I put it under a stove light at night. I water it once a week. I repotted about a month ago. The leaves of its tips were red so I thought it was happy. I noticed that it had little white spots on the leaves so I used regular tap water to wipe it off (about two weeks ago) Since then, it looks like something is taking over the leaves. There are black spots and creases in the leaves. It also looks like something is trying to eat through the leaves. Also the white spots have returned. What is this and how can I correct it? I am not a green thumb and this plant is very special to me... Help! I sent pictures to you also.

Thank you,

Wendy  

Answer
Hi Wendy,

Thanks for sending the photos. They are a big help. At first, I thought that the spots might be the result of sunburn, cause by water droplets on the leaves in the sun. However, your reference to white spots on the leaves that you wiped off makes me believe that the damage was done by either a fungus infection or mealybugs.

Mealybugs look like tiny bits of cotton. Fungus has a powdery or webby texture and occurs in small, flat patches. Either can cause the symptoms in the photos.

If you can let me know which of these two (mealybug or fungus) best meets the description of what you removed, then I can tell you how best to treat it.

Regards,
Will Creed