fruitnut: Heavy snow as well as the freak ice storm that could possibly snap the leader off. I was thinking as far as training where they say to select the scaffold branches you want and then the next year cut the leader back so far above the highest scaffold. I had also read where you should cut 1/4 to 1/3 off the end of the scaffolds branches. I guess to clarify I am concerned about the three tall pears which have scaffold branches that are below where I had cut them off at(32"). Above that they have a leader that is 3-5' with no branching just leaves. From what I have read it recommends cutting to promote branching below the cut to set a new whorl of scaffolds. I am always opened to recommendations.

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.

Things aren't working well for me today. I had to post a picture of my new tree under a slightly different subject line called "Picture of my new tree - to cut or not to cut". Sorry!

That would make things a lot more troublesome if seeds from a TP turn out to be a random color, but the good part is there's a chance for more varieties with the seedlings I've been producing. BTW I have a potentially much easier method to duplicating a specific TP. Why don't you just build a mini-raised bed over the entire TP so that a majority of the plant is under the soil, then create cuts and rub rooting hormones all over the branches, and fill in the raised bed box with loose soil afterwards? If TPs root as easily as blueberry plants, the box should get filled up with roots within a season, and by fall once the plant goes dormant, it can be time to cut up the entire plant based on where the rooting occured. I'm not sure if it works well with TP, but if I wanted to make more of a certain kind of flower, this might be the method of choice.