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Cacti & Succulents

Taking the knife to a 55 year old jade - Help on finishing cuts?

10 years ago

Hey guys-

I recently was given an amazing but severely overgrown jade that is supposedly around 55 years old. The old lady it came from kept it healthy, but looks as though she never pruned on purpose in its entire life, and almost every branch had turned vinelike and was drooping down, with the main trunks under a huge amount of load because of outwards weighting.

There was all sorts of maze-like ingrowth with things looping back on itself, doing u-turns, figure eights, etc! So after studying the threads on this forum for quite a while, I decided I want to give it a go at "resetting" it in a way, and allow it to finally start growing up and out again rather than down and in on itself.

Yesterday afternoon I took the knife to all the branches that were growing downwards or wrapping back in on itself -- and this is the result. I think it's becoming beautiful as it is, but I'm not sure where to make the final cuts to "finish" it.. there's still a lot of places where branches would be competing or having potentially strange growth angles. Thusly, I left all the remaining "subjective" cuts till after I ran it by some folks with more experience. I've attached some shots of it from a lot of angles. The bamboo brace is because when it was in transit, one of the branches almost broke off and I was attempting to "set" it, but may end up just sacrificing that part because i'm not sure if it's going to work.

I've also been reading conflicting reports about what lighting conditions you should have a jade in after cutting it so severely. Most of my place does not have direct lighting, but I also have a large south-facing window I could put it next to that gets decent light during most of the day Ã¯Â¿Â½ but it's Seattle light in the winter, so it's the least intense thing ever. What light levels would you guys recommend after it going through this severe pruning?

Any advice would be much appreciated - thanks all!

This post was edited by kolin on Tue, Dec 25, 12 at 15:14

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Comments (8)

kaktuskris
10 years ago
Nice jade!

I would mention that you have at least 3 plants in the pot. If it were mine, I would pot them separately. I prefer the look of a single plant per pot, and it gives the plant more room. It is a matter of personal choice, but that is what I would do.

Christopher
heygeno
10 years ago
Look at a basic "how to prune a tree" guide..... ( get rid of branches growing into the middle of the tree, ...etc... )
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Tom Using large pot and soil that does not drain freely together would cause problem with any plant. What kind of soil is it planted in? Planting jade (or any plant) so deep also creates too much shade for the lower parts of trunks/stems. If it was my plant, I would plant it much higher (almost level with the top of container). If you like to keep that container, make sure the soil drains very well. Does it have drainage hole on the bottom? Are you planning to keep it outside during summer? It will like it - if you have any outdoor area available. Don't worry much about 'butchering' it right now, that can be corrected. Most important are the growing conditions, so your plant is healthy. Cuttings are looking good, looks like there is new growth already. How long ago did you chop them off? You did right thing to keep them out of soil to callus (harden). If you plant them in soil, don't water right away as the plant without roots can't absorb water. Rina This post was edited by rina_ on Mon, Jun 17, 13 at 17:34
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mrlike2u
10 years ago
I agree for separate potting, over all aesthetics would be less confusing on the eye. If not separate it would be one rather large pot for a complete presentation but would be perhaps to heavy.

You've done a nice job for a hard prune. Personally, I'd of use two thicker wires to hold that one part up and maybe would also of wired some of it's area to develop a welcoming effect for later growth. I'm just not a big fan of the "lollipop" effect for these trees.

Best example is how I'm really liking the one in front right view already. This side ( front) would be viewed as it looks like it is getting ready to bend down to give a warm hug.

Seeing though the tree is also a preference and might bee a good idea for you. If you have a "plan" then I'm thinking you can easily tell and know when and what to remove as it grows to get the effect you want. If you dont already know "Pruning basics" for a Jade then feel free to ask.

When you do water, water first then wait two or three days to prune OR wire, DO avoid doing all three things in the same time frame.
greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
10 years ago
Great work! I agree with Christopher and Wes....separate potting for the trunks.
I would also say that the container size is on the large size for this pruned Jade.

Give it as much light as possible. That will allow for lots of back-budding and will
also encourage stronger, more compact growth - although Winter-growth tends to be more
spindly and stretched.

Josh
heygeno
10 years ago
Separate them ? Naaaa...... then you end up with a bunch of uninteresting single pots to mess with. A "grove of trees" is the way for this one. JMO.
Geno
wantonamara Z8 CenTex
10 years ago
If one is going for the grove look , get the crown to act as a single mass. also maybe a rock in the pot to help the staging. It might mean spreading the trees a little to get the corner of the rock into the mass of trunks. I think it would create a sense of space between th the grove by opening the mass of trunks and contrasting that with the unified crown . I am only speaking aesthetically since I do not grow jades. Hell, I am talking with not a whole bunch of knowledge.
tride26
10 years ago
doesn't look like a 55yr old jade.
greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
10 years ago
In excellent conditions, yes a Jade would be much more massive than these Jade plants in the pot.
However, it is quite *possible* that someone could have kept these Jades alive but without as much
growth as one would see if the plant were grown outdoors in southern California, just as an example.

I might propose a compromise....perhaps isolate the biggest, best-shaped trunk and stage it solo
in a pot of its own. Then, with the other Jades, group those for the "grove" effect if so desired.

The primary issues right now, however, are the container volume and the water-retentive mix used.

Josh

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