Help!!Dwarf Jade or Jade Dwarf Bonsai

[dptarhel]

I have one of the either. First, are all of the rocks supplied, supposed to be put in the entire planter. I bought mine from Hallmark.com and the way that they have it pictured, the portion beside the tree is water. That didn't look so good after a few days so I took the water out and filled the spot with the rock that Hallmark sent. I water it every three days as the directions state, however, sometimes it feels a little dry. I sat it outisde a few times in the sun.
The leave are drying up on the tree and falling off. Some of the leaves are falling off when they are green and really pretty. The majorty of them are falling off green, only a few stay on the limb and then fall after they have dried. PLEASE HELP ME!!!

[The Helpful Gardener]

Not sure exactly what plant you have, but if it's a Jade plant (Crassula spp.), then everyday watering would be deadly; even third day could be excessive, but you say it is drying out so...

Another killer of this plant is mealy bug; look for fuzzy white blobs in the joints between leaf and stem. A Q-tip dipped in alcohol will take care of them; treat every other day.

Are all the rocks glued together on the top? A common killer among trees sent through the mail; get them off ASAP if that's the case, pull the tree from the pot and check the roots. Dry to the bottom? Root-bound? Time to re-pot. Check out the articles in the bonsai section of the website to find out how...

HG

[dptarhel]

Thank you for the reply. There are no white bugs on it. The rocks aren't glued. They are sepearate around the tree. the leaves are falling off as they dry up on the tree and some of them are falling off and are perfectly green. However, I do see new leaves coming out on the tree. How often should I water it, and should it be set outside in the sun? I've never been able to grow anything and heard that this was easy like the lucky bamboo's, which I have three of them. Thank you for your help.

[The Helpful Gardener]

Sounds like you are over-watering; this is a plant from the South African desert, so water needs are low. Let it dry almost completely between waterings...