Old Jade taken from a vase...

duartix

I didn't like Jades.
In my dictionary they don't qualify as trees.
They don't have wood.
They're just one of those old house plants that my mother keeps for ages and don't look any good.
They snap worst than carrots.
They're frustrated cactus that didn't even bothered to develop thorns.

But when you look at your mother's balcony and see something like this, you think to yourself:
"Well, I guess I could possibly think about giving it a try..."

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duartix

Just to give you an idea on how much I pulled out of this vase, here are the leftovers:

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duartix

And this is the major tree.

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duartix

I learned something about Jades:
Like a cactus they don't need much water.
Their root system was very small (about one third of those large leafed plants that were on the same vase), and to disantangle it I had to take out a few.
But I didn't prune anything out, I was hoping to get some feedback here.
Should I half prune the apex and keep those low branches to get even more tapper? Or should I take the low branches out as the tree has already enough tapper?
My design objective is a flat toped tree, something along these lines:

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Will_Heath

If you recently re-potted this jade, hold back on the trimming until it is actively growing again. I use a mix of 2 parts lava rock, 1 part uncomposted fir bark and 1 part turface for my jades. I water only when the leaves start to wrinkle.

I cut back to just above a set of leaves, the jade will then throw out two sets of branches, one above each leaf. You can achieve some ramification this way. You can wire these but be very careful, the branches will snap easy and the flesh is easily marred.

Keep it in full sunlight and the foliage will turn a remarkable red.

Good luck,


Will

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Lesley

Will,
I too have a couple of Jade that I started from a container plant like Duartix'.
I posted a paint/photo on one of your plants to illustrate my understanding of what you said about pruning branches just too see if I got it right!? Thanks Lesley

BTW I love your first Jade pix, Very old and gnarly appearing!

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Ladybug

Will_Heath

Yes, that's right. No need to leave a big stub on these, just a 1/16 of an inch. Once cut above the pair of leaves, you will notice two buds, one on each side of the cut stem above the leaves, these will grow into new branches, creating a fork. Sometimes, only one side will bud, though not often, when this happens, just recut to the next set down.

Will

Bone-sigh

My first old jade was absolutely butchered and did great afterwards and is still going strong to this day. I took almost all the roots off and cut the branches WAY back. Some of the branches didn't even have any leaves when I got done. I thought I had killed it by getting carried away with my scissors . But after potting it up and NEVER watering it until it started pushing new growth, it responde very well . Just my experience, I hope it is of some assistance!

Ryan

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