Also have a style question for a jade

Not really to familiar with these succulents here, but I like the way they shape up, and look in a bonsai pot.

So I figured, I'd try my hand at growing this one; I started trimming it, and hit a point, where I could use some direction.

So, I was hoping that maybe there is someone out there, who is familiar with this plant. That might want to leave a helpful comment on what to do with this plant.

I am down to the highest reaching limb of this jade. It kind of just juts straight up.

I'm thinking about trimming it back, to the same hieght of the rest of the limbs.

What are the chances of it popping new shoots? As compared to that of it, just turning into a stump?

And if any of you has other suggestions on how you'd style the tree, please all comments are welcome.

Chances of it popping are very good on the spring and summer but not if you do it now as the growing season is winding down, unless you have strong indoor lighting.

There are several recent threads discussing portulacaria care you can refer to for more info.

Hard to see from the pictures where to go with it. To build the branches always try to cut back to where the leaves are on a horizontal(Left/right)plane and not when they are vertical(top/bottom). Most times if a branch is cut it will pop out with two new buds from the leaf base. In the winter only water when the leaves are starting to wrinkle and it is super dry. In the summer put it out in full sun and fertilize it heavily. Any cut branches will root easily in a dry planting medium.

0.) FULL SUN. Tons of nutrients. Tons of nitrogen. You can not over fertilize. It is not possible.

1.) If it isnt lignified, wire wont do anything.

2.) If it's a big thick branch, dont water it for a week or two. It'll be bone dry. Then wire. It'll set better and not crack this way.

3.) Grow your branches horizontally first. Then, when you like them, grow em up to fill in the pads

Todd-H said:

Hard to see from the pictures where to go with it. To build the branches always try to cut back to where the leaves are on a horizontal(Left/right)plane and not when they are vertical(top/bottom). Most times if a branch is cut it will pop out with two new buds from the leaf base. In the winter only water when the leaves are starting to wrinkle and it is super dry. In the summer put it out in full sun and fertilize it heavily. Any cut branches will root easily in a dry planting medium.

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If you keep them above 65F in winter and they're getting a decent amount of light, you don't need to wait quite that long to water them. They can generally handle it, but you can actually get a fair amount of growth during the winter if you water them when they need it rather than waiting until the leaves start to shrivel.

tbf, though, it's very easy to over-water these during the winter, so your way at least avoids that problem. But if you water just a little more frequently (just as the leaves start to get soft, maybe even a hair before if you can work out the timing), I find you can actually get enough growth to develop some additional ramification during that time. And the stuff that grows during the winter tends to be naturally dwarfed as well, so that's a nice bonus. But if you withhold too much water, then you don't get this and instead you basically just have them running on a treadmill getting nowhere during the winter.

BonsaiWilly said:

Not really to familiar with these succulents here, but I like the way they shape up, and look in a bonsai pot.

So I figured, I'd try my hand at growing this one; I started trimming it, and hit a point, where I could use some direction.

So, I was hoping that maybe there is someone out there, who is familiar with this plant. That might want to leave a helpful comment on what to do with this plant.

I am down to the highest reaching limb of this jade. It kind of just juts straight up.

I'm thinking about trimming it back, to the same hieght of the rest of the limbs.

What are the chances of it popping new shoots? As compared to that of it, just turning into a stump?

And if any of you has other suggestions on how you'd style the tree, please all comments are welcome.

Click to expand...

Hard to give specific advice based on those photos, but here's some general advice.

• Don't be afraid to prune these - they really respond well to it.
• You can almost always safely prune back to any leaf pair. I usually leave about an 1/8" above the node so it can safely die back and fall off. You will almost always get a new pair of branches at the cut site. If you don't get two, you'll almost certainly get at least one.
• You can root just about every cutting. Cut just below the node you want to root, leave it to dry out for a week or so, then plant it in bonsai soil. Water thoroughly a day or two before you prune cuttings for rooting so that they're nice and full of water. That will sustain them while they throw out roots. This allows you to build an interesting little trunk on the mother plant, and then reliably root it when it's ready. That way, the growth contributes to thickening up the mother plant while it's developing.
• During the summer, when it's growing strongly, you can do more drastic cutbacks. If you cut back to an arbitrary point on the trunk, just above a node, usually you will get new branches right at that spot. Occasionally it will die back for a node or two, and then new growth will take over, so keep that in mind. Pruning hard during middle of summer minimizes that risk considerably.
• These also take very well to occasional defoliation. Do that during the summer if you're going to do it. As a general rule, I either hard prune or I defoliate, usually not both. They can probably take it, but you increase the risk of getting a result you didn't expect.

I may be wrong, but I think there are two different species in the same pot, probably Crassula ovata (big leaves) and Portulacaria afra (small leaves).

Before anything, I would put them into two different pots.

AlainK said:

I may be wrong, but I think there are two different species in the same pot, probably Crassula ovata (big leaves) and Portulacaria afra (small leaves).

Before anything, I would put them into two different pots.

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No, Alain, there are two pots.

petegreg said:

No, Alain, there are two pots.

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I wasn't sure from the photyo you posted.

Anyway, here (in my home/garden), it's hard to kill a Crassula ovata.

Portulacaria afra I find much more difficult to maintain...

First off, I would like to thank everyone for their replies. All of them where helpful.

Sorry about the slow response, and the poor quality of the pictures; the phone I used is pretty old, well "old"cell phone wise that is. Also, sorry about the confusion; that's a Serrisa in the background.

With this response I'm going to include some pics with a white background, perhaps it will provide a better view of the plant, and the limb I am addressing in this thread.

As far as cutting the limb. Well, considering I live in a colder climate (Massachusetts), with winter approaching, and in a apartment with poor exposure to the sun. Plus with the aid of all of your responses (thank you), I'm going to wait out the winter, and cut the limb back in the spring.

I just feel like all the other branches are slanted, and this one just kind of shoots straight up. That's my plan, with the updated pics, I'm just curious if anyone out there would go a different route, if so what?

When you get around to cutting it root the branches and create a forest. This is one that I've had for a number of years, all from the main tree.