Germanstar, I have grown sans for over 40 sum years and learned mostly from the last few years on Garden Web. This past winter I had a massive winter kill. Very strange for me. I never had this before and hope to never again. I sprayed and sprayed and dug out of pots only to see all rot to nothing. Well it is over now and I see new growth starting and most of my expensive ones survived untouched. If I was a newbe, I might have called it quits. As far as the Sans being slow. I read every post. I don't add to them when they get excelent advice from some one else. We had some very big growers and I would call experts on our forum and for some reason don't come back. I think if it was too fast would draw them away just the same. I hope they read in just like I do sometimes. Mike, Hope all is well with you and your mother. And you owe me nothing. You are a great guy who gives generously so you deserve to receive the same. The yellow Zanado just didn't do anything all winter long. At least it didn't get sick like my sans did. Still have you down for one. Also thanks for getting me hooked on Jades. Stush

Update...its only been about 2 1/2 weeks but one set of buds opened today...not the darker shade of pink I was hoping but still very pretty! When I received this plant a little over 2 yrs. ago it had some spent blooms on it...that's how I knew it was the "pink" flowers. This picture was taken right after I received it, over 2 yrs. ago. Noticed how pink the blooms were (this was taken in Feb. 2010) I have NO idea what causes the blooms to change color? Not sure if its weather related since these are normally winter bloomers and its been in the 90's for several weeks now. Just wanted to update this thread! Thanks!!

Hey, Brandon! Go for it! Now is a fine time to work on Jades...they're fairly resilient, as long as you don't overwater them. You can gently pull them apart, you can use a knife, or you can yank them as hard as you like. ;) This is the key: Re-pot them in *dry* porous, free-draining mix, and do not water them at all for about a week. This short waiting period allows injuries to the roots to form a callus, which reduces the potential for root-rot. Next question: What sort of potting mix can you provide? Bagged, peat-based potting soils are no good, in my opinion. Avoid peat moss like the plague. Josh

Trees in above photo are definitely pruned regularly and most likely the branches were wired to get that twisted look - that is bonsai technique, and I am not knowledgeable to suggest how to :( And yes, your jades could look like the ones in the photo above - with enough info and patience... Here is post borrowed from Al (tapla) about when is the best time to prune: tapla Do your heavy work, like repotting and hard pruning a week or 2 before the summer solstice. At that time, the plant's energy reserves will be high and the plant's food-making potential peaking due to photo-period duration and light intensity, and the timing offers your plant the potential to recover faster than at any other interval of the growth cycle. If you get into the rhythm of pruning around the solstice or a little before, all new growth should have short internodes, which helps keep plants full and compact. Eventually, the plant moves into fall and internodes lengthen. This is the growth you'll remove next summer so ALL the growth you keep will always be compact. This is important even if at some point you decide to cut the plant back really hard, because even back-budding will be tighter, given the fact that latent buds break from old leaf axils immediately above old bundle scars. Learning how to work in sync with the plant's natural rhythms is not only good for the plant, it helps you feed that nurturing bone you have, which is why most of us grow plants. It's just one of those little things that raises the plane on which you're able to interact with your plants, which allows you to get more from the growing experience. Al You can get trunk thicker. It will take some time so need to be patient. If you let all branches and leaves to grow 'wild', until the trunk gets thicker - after, you can prune anything unwanted off.