Jade Bonsai Is In

[Isilwen]

So, I got the Jase bonsai and the vendor sent the wrong one. I was supposed to get this:



And I got this instead:



Already contacted the vendor and he's sending the correct one out and I can keep this one.

Not sure what to do with this one though. Ideas?

 

[Carol 83]

Take a bunch of cuttings.

 

[Ruddigger]

Plant it in the ground. In a year it’ll be 5x thicker.

 

[Carol 83]

Plant it in the ground. In a year it’ll be 5x thicker.

Certainly possible, didn't notice he lived on FL. Not something I could do here.

 

[Isilwen]

Plant it in the ground. In a year it’ll be 5x thicker.

I wish that I could. I love in an apartment. Balcony is all I have.

 

[Isilwen]

Take a bunch of cuttings.

Anything else I can do?

Don't think I want to do that just yet. Plus, I don't have that much room in my balcony or in my apartment.

 

[Shibui]

The difference between the one you want and the one you got is pruning. Chop all the branches and trunk short and it will respond with lots more shoots and end up looking like the one in the original picture.

 

[Carol 83]

Anything else I can do?

Don't think I want to do that just yet. Plus, I don't have that much room in my balcony or in my apartment.

What he said.

 

[ChristianDGreat]

I believe jade is way better beginner bonsai than juniper nana.
Jade is a resilient plant, it can live even with the worst water.
You can cut it severely and will still live.
You can make cuttings out of it easily

My tip is grow it in the ground or big pot and make the trunk bigger.

 

[Mammal]

I'd cut it at the red line . . .



Seriously. Not trying to be a dick. I just think it'd be hard to ever turn that into anything decent with its super-straight untapered trunk, long internodes, and nothing but bar branches. I'd cut it down and grow it out from scratch. That way, you'll be able to put some movement into the trunk down low and you'll get some automatic taper. P. afra grows fast enough to make it worth it.

I'd also put it into a bigger pot while you're growing it out.

 

[Isilwen]

I'd cut it at the red line . . .

View attachment 510474

Seriously. Not trying to be a dick. I just think it'd be hard to ever turn that into anything decent with its super-straight untapered trunk, long internodes, and nothing but bar branches. I'd cut it down and grow it out from scratch. That way, you'll be able to put some movement into the trunk down low and you'll get some automatic taper. P. afra grows fast enough to make it worth it.

I'd also put it into a bigger pot while you're growing it out.

Is that cut something that can be done now when we're heading into fall and winter?

 

[Mammal]

Is that cut something that can be done now when we're heading into fall and winter?

In my climate, I'd do it in the late spring/early summer. I'm not sure about Central Florida. In any event, I'd only do it when it is clearly healthy and growing vigorously.

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

@Isilwen
Cutting it down to just a stump is a bit drastic, and not really necessary. Are you familiar with the term "bar branches"? When branches emerge from a trunk exactly opposite each other, that is a bar branch. If the branches were horizontal, they would appear like cross bars. Generally this is normally considered unattractive, or "not old tree like". What you can do is go thru the tree, removing one of the the pair of bar branches all the way up the tree. Alternate sides, to keep the tree looking more natural. The tree with bar branches will look awkward for a little while but it will back bud fairly soon, now branches will appear and older branches will grow and develop. All the removed branches can become cuttings.

 

[Kevin1968]

I just cut mine 9/17 and it is fine. You should still have a month or so of warmer weather just put the cuttings in moist soil and they will root within a week or 2 this is a very hardy plant and it loves to grow. It does not need a lot of water either. It was free, I would just cut off alternating branches for now and see what it does. You could always cut the trunk at each set of branches and get 4 trees. While it is rooting keep it out of full and afternoon sun.

 

[jandslegate]

The difference between the one you want and the one you got is pruning. Chop all the branches and trunk short and it will respond with lots more shoots and end up looking like the one in the original picture.

And as a byproduct of the pruning you'll have tons of cuttings. I used to take tons of extra steps to root the cuttings but wound up having the best results from simply laying them in a tray with reasonable quality soil. If you have the 'sweet spot' of conditions you'll have more jades than you know what to do with.

 

[Mammal]

@Isilwen
Cutting it down to just a stump is a bit drastic, and not really necessary. Are you familiar with the term "bar branches"? When branches emerge from a trunk exactly opposite each other, that is a bar branch. If the branches were horizontal, they would appear like cross bars. Generally this is normally considered unattractive, or "not old tree like". What you can do is go thru the tree, removing one of the the pair of bar branches all the way up the tree. Alternate sides, to keep the tree looking more natural. The tree with bar branches will look awkward for a little while but it will back bud fairly soon, now branches will appear and older branches will grow and develop. All the removed branches can become cuttings.

This is a plant that evolved to propagate thru elephant abuse. They thrive on drastic treatment. Without it, they often end up looking like Erector Set trees--all straight lines and right angles.

 

[Isilwen]

Thank you everyone.

I live in an apartment and don't have room for a bunch of cuttings to try and grow them out. So, if I cut them, they get thrown away. I have no other option for them.

The vendor sent me the tree I wanted, so I will post photos of that tree in a separate thread.

 

[jandslegate]

Thank you everyone.

I live in an apartment and don't have room for a bunch of cuttings to try and grow them out. So, if I cut them, they get thrown away. I have no other option for them.

The vendor sent me the tree I wanted, so I will post photos of that tree in a separate thread.

Understandable. I did a bunch of pruning on a crassula ovata this year and wound up with tons of cuttings for it as well. I usually just give the ones I don't need or have room for away. However I totally get the issue of available space. No matter how much room I make I'm back at max capacity, lol. Good luck with the new trees!

 

[LuZiKui]

You may have seen them already, but If you need some inspiration, look up Little Jade Bonsai on Youtube. He has a ton of great videos and shows the progressions with his trees. Like everyone said you really can do almost anything to these and they will survive (Except cold weather). Also, there is a guy on Instagram called ZanesTrees who has some good tips for P afra. Good luck!