Need help about a houseplant

Jade plants (I miss them, dammit), but I had them in my yard, where they took close to no care...
sounds like way too much water to me, thus mould. I'd repot with new soil and mend your watery ways.

Back with a link or two.

http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantcd/crassovat.htm

good info on there..

could be soluble salts OR mold.

re-pot with fresh houseplant soil.

What IS it, though, and why re-pot?

I don't think they need rich soil, in memory, and likely the opposite, though I'm not sure on that.
I'd look up the crassula species and crassula ovata in particular to verify..
Jade plant is the common name.
There are house plants, and house plants.

It's mould/mold and you need to get rid of it by fully changing the soil and perhaps even the pot, and quit overwatering that particular plant as a practice. Read that link, bossy insists.

If it's fluffy, then it's mold.

If it's crystallized, then it's salt.

Since jade plants don't need much watering, the soil dries out during the in between times especially in the winter. Salt in the soil is drawn up to the top of the surface.

Okay, it's fluffy. And I have barely watered it this winter but obviously overdid it. I have cactus soil, so I'll use that. Thank you guys!!!

That link says loam - what's the soil in your yard? I'm thinking maybe mix the cactus soil with a tad of yard soil, but your yard soil may be clay..

Back when I had a lot of succulents in my yard, my natural soil was sandy loam.

I'm odd in that I know a lot about some stuff and am dummy on others - and one of those relative others is house plants, as where I used to live and design, all you had to do was walk out the door and plants were all over you.

Here's the Davesgarden link, a good one to have in any case -

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/2224/#b

Aha - this may be involved - quote from Davesgarden:
Fungal problems are the most common diseases encountered and nearly always due to inappropriate watering schemes or too little light.
Light could be in the mix..
and that makes sense if you know you didn't water the hell out of it.

Well, it's sitting in a north window, but it was sitting in a south one. I've got houseplant soil so I'll mix it with the cactus stuff - what a bummer. Thanks for your invaluable help, Oss.

Clean pot may matter.. (bleach, rinse)

I actually like house plants, but I lived through ivy covered living rooms in the early seventies and dosed out.

Now that I live in the land of freezing often to very hot, I understand more about loved plants in the home.
Indeed, I have a particularly weird succulent whose name I kept but lost with a computer crash, that is simply impossible for me to kill with disrespect.
Trouble is, it needs to hang from something and it is always working it's way down to the floor. It's presently on the top of the refrigerator.

And that does just live in sand (my soil here), and a glass of water when I remember.

On my second jade plant. First succumbed to repeated falls off window sill, falls faciltated by fussy feline who considered the sill her domain. Current cat ignores plants, so nothing is being knocked over or nibbled to extinction. My jade is in a west facing window, good light all day and sun for several hours. I water it only when soil has completely dried out. With steam heat that's about once a week. Need to repot soon, will use cactus soil. One suggestion re watering, let the water stand for several hours, don't use straight from the tap.

Houseplants is one thing I've never had to worry about because I've always had a cat around.

I learned a long time ago never to get one

Well, Florida is like California, you can just walk out the door..

It's actually not that difficult to keep houseplants happy, but you do need to pay attention to their basic needs, and take care of any pest problems right away. Here are some suggestions to help you have a green thumb indoors as well as out!
Know Your Plants
Provide Consistent Water