Just bought from Walmart, Crassula ovata 'Gollum. NEED HELP

I bought this plant for 1/2 price due to its grave condition and I am unsure of what to do right now. I have read some of the threads relating to repotting but I think I need to do more than just that with this mess! Such a beautiful plant and I so want to save as much as I am able but as a BEGINNER, I am at a loss!

I do not have a garden and I want to use containers and leave it in my home. I have areas of bright light and a room that gets direct sunlight in the afternoon. The only soil I have, right now, is Miracle Grow Moisture Control.

The leaves look great but they fall off if you touch or bump them and I am assuming the trunk just fell over at some point....notice the picture of stem (trunk?) all by itself.

Any help is appreciated. Thank you!!

Dee Dee


This message was edited Sep 14, 2014 6:58 PM

Where you see stem sort of bend over the edge of the pot, shrunken and wrinkled, that spot is a diseased area and it might spread to the rest of that stem. If there is any healthy growth beyond that point I would remove it and try to root it separately. Since you have so many pieces try different ways. This goes for the broken trunk in the last picture, too.

Cut or snap off the parts. Even a single leave may root and grow, but if you have some stem that seems to do better for me.
Let it sit for 24 hours exposed to the air. This allows the plant to grow some callous tissue over the fresh cut end.
Then try rooting some in potting soil and some in water. Change the water daily so it is fresh. In the soil allow it to go fairly dry between watering. The Moisture Control soil might stay too wet for most succulents (this is an example of a succulent- fat, juicy leaves and stem). If you can find a small amount of soil for cactus and succulent plants that would be better.

Thanks for your reply, Diana!

I cut off the diseased stem and there is healthy growth beyond it so I cut it off there, also. In the picture, I put a red circle (its freehand so not exactly a circle lol) where the stem was growing over the edge and you said it shows disease then I put an arrow where the stem is firmly in the soil but growing sideways. I wiggled the stem I circled and the stem I have an arrow pointing to, moves a little at the same time. I am thinking they are connected at some point. Should I cut all the stems/trunk off to keep from the rest of them from being affected by this disease? Also, if I put the leaves in water, can I do that now or do they need to sit for 24 hrs, too?

What is the difference between a stem and the trunk of this plant?

The pic with all the pieces are the few I cut off and the ones that were either just laying on top of the soil or I barely touched and they came out of the soil.

This message was edited Sep 14, 2014 8:57 PM

Stem = trunk. No difference.
Trunk usually means woody, though, so is probably the wrong term for this plant. They are all stems.

Yes, leaves also should stay out of the soil for 24 hours. Let the cells sort of skin over the cut spot before putting them in soil or water.

When you cut off the diseased part that you have circled, cut it back far enough that it no longer shows mushy or wrinkled growth. Often the soft tissue will have rotted, or be rotting, and the only think holding the stem together is some fibers. Get out all the soft, rotted matter.
If the part you pointed to with the arrow is connected to the circled part, then don't disturb the healthy part.
Proper care of the plant should help it fight off the last of the rot.
Don't over water!

Looks like you have a lot of material to try different methods of rooting. You should end up with quite a few of these plants. To make a single specimen, choose one with a more obvious trunk-like stem and pot it up singly, To make a more full container plant several in one pot.

For a better idea about how to pot up the leaves so they will sprout google some images using the term:
Grow jade plant from leaf
There are some drawings and photos of the set up, and the resulting growth.

Hi, Diana.

Ok, what I did: after checking all the stems above the soil, took out any that were squishy, that came right out with a slight pull and/or looked bad.....that was a lot of it! BUT I then just turned the whole pot upside down and worked, gently pulling and separating, gently breaking off the stems that felt squishy UNDER the soil.

You can see what I have left in the pictures. (boy those Walmart people do NOT take care of any of their plants! I should have gotten this for less than the $10 I paid.)

The soil is VERY wet all through and it is hard to tell exactly what color the roots are... could I rinse them off under gently running water to make sure they are not dead or rotting OR can I tell if they are OK by the way they feel, like if they are firm they are OK? Do you feel I could go ahead and plant this one main stem in fresh, fast draining soil and freshly washed/clean pot? I bought a bag of Miracle Gro, Cactus, Palm & Citrus Potting Mix, Fast Draining Formula. It does say it is enriched with Miracle Gro Plant Food.

There are three pics of stems I broke from the main stem(s) under the soil. I wanted to show how the stem looks where it broke, that it is a good color and they all have small roots around them. Again, do you think I could go ahead and plant them in soil and pot now? (the second pic of where the stem was cut is not quite as pretty as the other two, do you think its OK? It feels firm.)

I will be leaving tomorrow, Tues 09-16-14 to visit my daughter and grandkids and will not be back until at least Fri. I would like to get as much done today as is possible....thats why I am asking about what I can plant NOW!

I did get some Rooting Powder and will dip the cuttings I did yesterday and put them in a warm room, I hope while I am gone they will be working on building up the callous. Does that sound right to you? You stated 24 hrs and I read in other areas on the internet that it would take 1-2 weeks! But I gather it depends on how big they are, too. Reckon they will be OK while I am gone?

Thank you for your patience! As I am new to this, I am feeling kinda freaked out about all of it! I want to know ALL! lol I suppose mainly the fact I am going out of town, I feel it is important to know what I need to do today and what can wait. Of course, I want to save as much as I can of this intriguingly beautiful plant!

Good that you are getting rid of all the rotted parts.
Pieces that seem firm, and especially if they already have roots should be planted right away.

In really good draining soil I think I would plant the cuttings, too, or at least some of them. See if waiting helps, though. I thought they would callous a lot faster (24-48 hours).

I would not go disturbing the roots that you have taken pictures of, they are probably fine. Go ahead and plant them. If they tend to fall over you might need to stake them, that is, add a stick to hold them up. Something like a chopstick, or shish-ka-bob skewer.

You are right, the cheaper stores do not care about the plants. They always over or under water, or else leave the frost sensitive things out in the outdoor garden section too late in the year, or some other thing.
I tend to buy only plants right off the truck at places like that.