Tipping Jade Tree

I have a lovely 5’ jade tree in a wide clay pot. The trunk is off centre and the plant falls over unless supported by wall. Any suggestions appreciated. Do I need a bigger pot? Do I need to prune? I would attach a pic but unsure how. Thank you

 

You could try to prune it to balance it. Doesn't seem like that will look very nice. Something I do when I have a top heavy pot situation is to add a couple very heavy rocks on top of the pot. If you can get it to stand and balance that way, then turn it around so that the light encourages it to grow in the other direction. Try not to black the soil surface too much as it limits air exchange. Use a shape that allows air under the rock.

 

Thank you. I did consider putting bricks in bottom of a wicker pot and sit clay pot inside.

 

It is architecturally incorrect. You need to put things in balance, either by trimming the branches so they have approximately the same weight on all sides of the plant, or tip the trunk towards the side(s) that have less weight or shorter branches to counterbalance the weight of the longer or heavier branches on the opposite side.

 

See photo for suggestions.

 

THANK you for the photo with instructions! It sure helps. Do you think the pot is the right size? Should it be wider and a bit deeper

 

Roots that hold the plant erect would grow perpendicular to the trunk as opposed to straight down in a wider, lower, heavier pot, and would give you more leeway on trimming to keep in balance, but nothing beats pruning in anticipation of stopping growth that is going to upset the balance, Growth is terminal, meaning new growth grows from the ends of branches in the direction they are pointed. You should imagine an outline of how you want the canopy to look. You prune any branch that grows beyond that imaginary boundary, or even better, when you see growth which will eventually cross that line. You will be able to see that branches grow in the same direction as leaves point, sort of. New growth emerges from the axil, at the base of each leaf stalk where it is joined to the branch/twig. You can see a tiny bud there. If you damage that tiny bud with an Exacto knife it will grow somewhere else! You pick and choose to allow growth where it suits your sensibilities.

 

Thank you. I did repot in a wider, heavier pot and trimmed branch 5. Will let “Jade” rest and adjust to new pot and prune next April. I will follow your guide for pruning.