Chris,

It's best to set the cuttings aside and let them callous over at the cut before putting them in soil. It lessens the liklihood of rot.

If you described your top heavy Jade accurately ("flopping over"), it probably means it needs more light. If you just mean it got so heavy it was falling over, your light might be right. When I think of a Jade "flopping over", I think of one with the leaves and branches getting thinner at the top so they hang instead of standing upright. If this is the case, put it in a high-light window, right against the glass.

Best of luck with your Jade now that it's trimmed back!

Denise in Omaha

Denise gave you an very exact description of what to do with your baby 'Jade' (Crassula ovata)

Yikes! Does that mean I should take the cuttings out of the soil and let them callous over? Or should I just leave them now that they are in there?
With regards to the lame "flopping" description I gave, I think the problem is that the trunks of the cuttings are very thin and the plant is producing these huge, glossy heavy leaves...too much weight for the trunk to bear. As for sunlight, my mother in law told me to keep the plant away from direct sun, which I did up until a few months ago when I read on this forum that jades appreciate lots of sun. Now it sits on the sunniest windowsill in the house and seems to be growing very quickly. Is it true that jades will flower if they get enough sun?
Me (and my jade) thank you for the help!
Chris

Chris,

I would go ahead and remove them from the soil. If they're starting to produce roots, you can put them back and breath a sigh of relief. If not, I'd let them sit out of soil for a week or so. I've found Jades don't even need soil to root - I've set them aside and forgotten about them only to come back and find scads of roots all over the stem.

Sun is a component for flowers, but I've always given mine full sun all year long with no flowers. However, this year I've followed the advice of our Calif. friends and have left mine outside except for nights when they predict freezing temps and I have buds on one Jade for the first time in 20 years! So it's a combination of full sun and the cooler temps of fall/winter that trigger blooming.

If you want a thickened trunk that can handle the heavy foliage, refer to one of the "Jade-whacking" posts.

Denise in Omaha

Thanks Denise. I just took the cuttings out of the soil..no roots yet. I'll try re-planting them in a week.
Chris

Chris, this is contradictory to what everyone else says, but about 10 yrs ago my dh picked up a small Jade at the grocery store..I didn't have one at the time so I took 1 leaf and set it immediatly in sandy soil. I don't know how long it took to root (I never check for roots to form) but it rooted and eventually turned into a small tree (about 2-3 yrs) It was rooted in a south window, didn't use rooting hormone, or calloused.
It's amazing how some plants work out and others don't. Toni

Denise you got it, they need a winter chill to flower, well anyway here in Calif. We place them in open run, and don't water them at all, except when it rains, those are the ones that flower consistantly. Mine are coming into flower at this time. I think I have some pictures of them in flower but can't post them here due to the format. Norma I am sure glad that I have a back up on this subject, the season is starting and we will have 6 months of these questions. By the way, even tho my plants have very thick roots, I do not let the tops get out of hand to hang down, or they will break. If the roots are pot bound the tops will grow faster, so I take the plant out of the pot and trim the root 1/3 back as well, and then put it back in the same pot. Then trim the tops.

If I want big plant I just put the into a larger pot but slightly trim the roots off one inch all the way around and try and spread out the root ball, then put them back in a larger pot with fresh soil, and let some of the tops grow but trim them gently so they don't hang over,(because they will break) and repeat this every year until the top and trunk are the size that I want. Trim off any crossing brances and others that are growing to the inside of the plant. Have Patience, a trim does not grown in a year. Norma