I forgot to include the picture of the roots it has so far. It's been 3 mos since this branch was cut from the main bush but the roots only started to grow within the last month.
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Wow, what a stump!
I look forward to the suggestions on when
to prune and where to cut (considering that
I don't have any professional advice to offer -
sorry!).

Question to the forum: how soon is it safe to prune
an established jade plant after re-potting?
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I'm envious of such thick stock.
Thanks for sharing!

Josh

There is lots of variability in leaf morphology with "Jade plants". By the way, let's try to be a little more scientific and call them by the real name, Crassula portulacea I think is the current name, but C argentea and C ovata are perfectly acceptable synonyms.

Anyway, were the leaves ever different? Maybe they're not supposed to be plump. Crassula arborescens ssp undulatifolia looks similar, with flattened but pointier leaves.

This group of plants are in active growth when days are warm and sunny, with cool evenings. They can be pruned anytime during these conditions, which for most of us is spring and fall. Where to cut is a matter of taste and how you want your plant to look. Right above a node is safe. Too close and you may damage any meristematic tissue. Leave a little extra, it can always be trimmed back later.

I believe pruning at the same time as repotting is safe, it will reduce the plants water needs during the initial stress of root-shock.

Overall, Crassulas are very tough plants and you can probably ignore most of my advice and the results will be good anyway. The only definite thing is not to do anything when they are dormant at the height of summer heat and in the depths of the winter doldrums.

Really nice cutting. Do you have the parent plant too?
How thick is it in diamiter?

xerophyte, thanks for the info. I listed it as jade since most people know what plant it is and there's always somebody that disagrees on whether it's botanical name ends in argentea, ovata, portulacea, etc. Yes, the leaves were nice and plump when this cutting was taken but 3mos without water/roots has taken it's toll.

The parent plant lives a few blocks away from me and is from a series of hedges/bushes. Gardeners were doing heavy trimming and had no problem with me taking a branch. Stump end is about 5-6in thick.

I was hoping someone had the software that allows you to draw on the photo where they thought it would be good to cut back. I saw this on another jade thread here somewhere and it was really helpful for the other poster. I need someone with a good eye esthetically.

Here's a picture from the day it was cut.
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Earlier this year I fell in love with fat plants and Crassulas. I really appreciate pictures and advice such as the above. Thanks,
Mike

My advice would be to not prune until new growth is well established. More leaves = more photosynthesis = more growth = more roots.

Once the plant is thriving, let's look at it again and then decide how it can be improved upon.

One aspect I personally find unattractive is the 2 fat same-thickness branches that split from each other on the top, one of them should be pruned. If you're following "bonsai rules", you never see main branches on the same level. For the same reasons, there are too many branches on the bottom, also all coming from the same node...but at least they are not the same girth.

I'm not sure how scars look on "Jades" years after drastic pruning on thick branches.

x

X makes some very good points. If it were mine, it would be allowed to grow unrestricted for quite a while to establish a good root system and just to see how it responds to what's been done so far.

It's really hard to make a large chunk of jade look nice in a short period of time. But over the years you might succeed. A thick bushy looking plant might hide a lot of the cuts you've made.

As far as large wounds healing over time, I think it comes down to how the cut was made and how patient you are. I cut a 2" diameter branch off a trunk about 3 years ago and feel it's may blend into the trunk to the point it's not a noticeable feature in a few more years. I'll post a photo of it after it's light enough to use a camera.

This cut was made Sept. 24,2004. The natural bark texture is starting to move into the cut and break up it's smooth pattern. Think it will be much less noticeable in another 3 years.

Clickable thumbs
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I just took a couple of big cuttings from my mother plant a couple of days ago.

In just this time, the leaves are staring to feel soft and wrinkly.

Is it normal for the leaves to start to dehydrated so soon?Is this anything to be concerned about? Once these cuttings decide to root, will these wrinkled leaves be lost due to the time it takes to root? Will they plump up again?

Thankyou...

It's customary here to start a new thread for a new question, especially one that's completely different than the existing thread.

You'll likely get more & better results.

Good idea....Thankyou:-)