Hi everyone, I'm new here the first plant I ever grew was a tiny cutting off my mum's jade plant. Since then I have a very large collection from the same plant either leaf grown or cuttings. However the parent plant is growing out of control, I have cut bits off in the pass but wasn't very happy with the result so I have just let it do it's own thing. I have supported it a few places but think it should be supporting itself. It is about 12 years old, can anyone give me any tips on prunning it... Thank you Jemma
Just cut back to where the plant can hold up it's own weight. The parts that are top heavy can just be cut off and turned into new plants. It should certainly support it's own leaves, so be as harsh as you need to be so that you don't need the chopsticks or what ever else you have holding it up.
Thank you, maybe I should just go for it but I feel I will do something wrong, like before I just hacked it and was unhappy with the result.. I wonder if anyone has a picture of a jade plant that has been pruned, trained, shaped... Or maybe I could take a picture of mine then someone could point me in the right direction. Any input would be appreciated, thank you.
A simple rule for me is: If a branch grows down, it comes off. I your feeling the need to support the plant then it is just too heavy for the the stem(s) to hold up. This is a pretty common problem with jades and the only solution is heavy pruning. What did you not like about how you pruned last time? Don't worry, you won't kill the tree and 1/2 way through next summer you won't even be able to tell where you pruned.
Thank you, what I didn't like about it last time was that is looked lobsided and not shaped very well, I hear you the way you are saying if it grows down cut it off but in some places I feel it would look odd. It doesn't look equal.
I agree - I think it would look like a witchy broom (not the botanical witch's broom). However, you have to do something, and at least pinching/twisting off leaves which are most outboard of the whole thing might relieve some of the weight, plus you could possible cut out some of the middle where it wouldn't 'show' as much. My only other suggestion would be to repot building soil further up near/against the whole thing, but you'd have to be very careful about not wetting the area when watering or you'll end up rotting the trunks.
Thank you Rima, that is a good suggestion about taking some of the middle out.. Do you or anyone else have experience shaping this plant because I might take picture of it and then you may come up with a better solution being able to see it n all. The rebuilding suggestion was a good one too but I have stems coming off the main trunk plus it is the side shoots that are causing the weight problem. Any suggestions/tips are welcome, thank you.
JemmaH, My hiking friend, Peter Vengshoel, had his jade as a houseplant. He likes photography and has helped me with the pictures of my specimens. Previously he has no interest in Bonsai and had pruned his jade purely to keep it small and in shape. However the first time I saw the jade I told him he had unintentionally created a fair looking bonsai out of his jade. Now that I had sparked his interest in bonsai, he had taken 2 books from the public library to read. Moreover he has a few interesting specimens of trees kept in pots to keep their growth under control. Those that look like promising bonsai materials are his oaks, one a Gary Oak (native to Vancouver Island) and the other probably a scarlet oak, beside a Laurel which had been potted 5 years ago. I only have a snap of his jade and hope you like what he has done thus far.
