Question for the Hive Mind: Crassula ovata

I am beginning to think that maybe the entire Crassula genus is just not for me. First there was all that business with C. rupestris and C. muscosa, and my C. arborescens is acting weird lately (dropping leaves, not growing), and now the parent C. ovata from which all my other C. ovatas come is being strange. There are two things going on, one I think I understand and one I don't. The one I think

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