I received my Dwarf Jade (Portulacaria)in mid-February (my profile picture is of my tree in Feb.). Now, I feel that my tree is either not growing very well or is losing too many leaves. Do Jades happen to lose leaves in December (or other months)??? The attached file is my Portulacaria now. You'll notice that the leaves seem (and are) a lot more spaced out. I have not pruned excessively, and in the last few months - hardly at all. Should I worry?

if they are dropping when they are plump you are watering too much. this is how they reproduce during the rainy season in their natural habitat. the leaves grow roots and eventually grow into new plants.
on the other hand if they are drying up more watering is needed

You may want to get this into some decent well drained compost - I suspect it's in the original soil from when you bought it and this is rarely ideal. You may find when repotting that roots have rotted or look generally unhealthy, they will usually recover in time.

Dave

Yes, it is in the same soil as when I bought it. Do you thing that it would be safe to change the soil in the wintertime? I suppose I could change the soil indoors... Thanks again, I hadn't thought of that!

Yes - no problem with an 'indoor' tree, I bought a Carmona recently which was (and still is) doing nicely but decided after 2 months I didnt like the pot, and was shocked when I repotted it to find that it was basically still in the sand, clay & stones in which it presumably had been imported, this covered by what looked like decent compost. I used 50/50 multipurpose potting compost and smething called 'Supalite' which is to improve soil structure & drainage (Kaizen Bonsai supplied) - prior to this I have used Perlite or Vermiculite in same ratio and this is OK too.

Dave