Growth in a few weeks, and shaping as you see fit. If you want good growth, move them outside. After trimming is a great time to move them since sunburn isn't a concern.

I hope you've chosen small pots to start. There aren't any roots to use up the water for a while. Mostly you just grow the plant for now, and pot up every couple years. When the trunk gets as thick as you like, then take pictures and post them here if you want advice on the pruning to start shaping the tree. Here's some Eye candy for inspiration.

ez

..."healthy bare stalks with roots"...

Sorry misread that about roots being present. Small pots not too much larger than the rootball is still key to limit excess water sitting in the soil.

ez

Thank you all. Yes, they are in very small "bowls" not a lot bigger than their root ball.
I am a bit scared to move them outside due to critters (neighborhood cats, squirrels, rabbits). I may brave it, though.

Al, Thank you for the compliment. Your teachings were on my mind when I cut those Jades back.

Rob

Thank you for such a detailed response! So very helpful! And the diagram, extremely helpful, too!
Whip, your plants are AMAZING!

Rob - because your plants don't represent the way jades naturally want to grow, and I could see it wasn't just blind luck, I knew there was some planning on your part and wondered if you'd seen the diagram I left previously. You really do have some good foundations there to build on, and deserve to be complimented for how fruitful your efforts were.

Sunb - I'm glad you found the offering useful. Thank you ...... and good luck.

Al

You are all giving me hope that the straggly remnants of my 9yr old Baby Jade could benefit from a well planned trim... Sounds like I should maybe wait til next June? Or is it safe to trim in 100% controlled environment? I have a few too many concurrent container puzzles being juggled presently and I wouldn't want any trimming to be wasted. But maybe in September/October when things have settled in.

I'd prune it now & move it outdoors to recover - your plant is saying it wants much more light. You should do subsequent pruning in late spring, which removes all lanky growth that occurs over winter. All following summer growth will be very tight. This is how you keep your plant full.

Al

Anytime of year, Irene.

If we think about it, Irene lives in NY, her plant really needs a lot more light, and it can't go outside in October. If she cuts it back from Sep thru Apr, the recovery would be painfully slow (no light), the plant in possible jeopardy from root rot if watering isn't carefully withheld, and any new growth weak & lanky - a poor foundation to build on and of the type of growth that should normally be removed because of long internodes. Much better would be to do any serious work (hard pruning/repotting) just as they enter the most robust portion of the growth phase - early summer, or late spring in some locals. Working with the plants natural rhythms instead of against them helps the grower bring along a plant that puts its contentment on display. For that reason, it would be better to do it immediately or wait until around Memorial Day.

Al

Thanks,

I think I should hold on a big cut for now, get the plan of attack worked out and maybe make a few small peripheral prunings, get them rooting for gifts to decrease the demand on the plant and give it an extra strong start before an April makeover. Some of the long branches do have budding leaves upon them, it's recovering from a less then ideal pastlife and some relocation trauma.

Being indoors year-round and with plenty of south windows, I think supplemental grow lighting for those short winter days would make working on your jade any time of year do-able, though I still might be cautious in the heart of winter. Your loft sounds really interesting!

ez

Irene

Whatever you do - major pruning, "few small peripheral prunings" or no pruning at all - unless your plant receives more light, it will always look as it does now: droopy branches, leaves very far apart, any new growth will be very similar - I am not saying it will die, but it doesn't look the way jade should. Judging from the photo, it's healthy otherwise, but really etoliated.

Al gave you excellent suggestions to improve it: Working with the plants natural rhythms instead of against them helps
the grower bring along a plant that puts its contentment on display.

That is really my point. In a controlled environment, natural rhythms are significantly flattened- the lows not so low and the highs not so high. So work on a jade in suboptimal periods is not so big a deal, don't you think?

there is no argument from me that being close to those south-facing windows and supplementing light would help to optimize conditions.

ez

ez

I was not pointing out anything you said as wrong, or making a 'big deal' ...OP asked a question, apparently wanting to learn - why not to start with basics? I have a feeling you and I were posting at the same time - my response was to Irene's post right after Al's (not your post)...

Rina,

It was over fed when it was really young, had been three times this size but all branches were very lanky and limp, attempted braiding them but lost 2 to previous over watering, this was probably around 2008. It since suffered a lot of leaf loss due to dwelling in a high traffic zone with a careless roommate who also introduced mealy bugs to it just before it was relocated in April. The plant lost some additional leaves to that battle, thanks to alcohol swabs and constant diligence there has been no recurrence over the past 2 months. I was happily surprised to see leaf buds on the balding branches, are there techniques to further promote this? I wish I had more space to work on maintaining my plants over the past 7yrs but I did not, so now I get to try to revive them... Honestly this is the only surviver who needs rehab, my aloe just needed its spawn relocated and soil replenished, my Christmas cactus which is almost older than me has always been full but looks happier every day, and a previously barren stump of a Plumeria has new branches loaded with leaves as wide as my hand and long as my forearm. I always wished this Jade had a thicker trunk but never would have dreamed of such an extreme cut back. It is in very well draining soil, has been happily self propogating, the branches are sturdy yet resiliant now. I have always enjoyed its unusual contorted branching, though it makes transportation difficult and rotation for sun exposure challenging for sure. I have every intention of following Al's advice for getting and keeping my flora at its happiest and healthiest- great advice!

EZ,

Thanks, it used to be an auto dealership in a bygone era.. I am currently sitting in an automobile sized elevator that is now my personal studio space for all things artsy, craftsy or otherwise in need of mcguivering.. wood panel walls, corregated steel floors. Repotting while standing at a table and having easy access to an industrial prep sink in a mostly bug free, climate controlled environment has me not missing the backaches associated with outdoor gardening. .. Maybe one of these days the only pest I'll have to worry about will be the large orange furry variety, we call ours Dr OJ Irving, Julius for short, he too is over fed and lanky.

The plant goes through it's natural rhythms with the seasons regardless of man's ministrations, unless you keep complete control over photoperiod (almost impossible - even a single flash of light can be enough to reset the plant's internal clock), grow under extremely bright lights, and keep the temps where they need to be. It's a good bet that won't happen in Irene's apt. In winter, I grow under bright lights with only a single window at the end of the basement, and that's completely obscured by a rack of misc clothing, yet the plants know with certainty what time of year it is and tell me, even though the lights are controlled by timer 16/8. I'm a better than average grower, but I'd deeply fear for a jade or Portulacaria that had serious work performed on it in the "off season". What happens if you do? It sits there in a coma until photoperiod tells it it's time to really wake up and start healing.

On top of all the reasons not to do it, I can't think of a single reason TO do it, other than maybe it seemed like a good idea at the time. So even if the plant is under bright lights, I'd wait until the plant was in a part of the growth cycle where it WANTED to grow. That's what I meant when I referred to working with the plant's rhythms. Trying to tinker with the plant's natural rhythms in the hope it conforms to our idea of good timing would be a mistake, from the plant's POV.

I think the physiology of the plant and the reasoning re why they shouldn't be worked in off season is just too much to discount. This is just how I think: If someone offered to pay me to repot their jade or hard prune it in Oct - I wouldn't do it - for the sole reason that I would feel I was being irresponsible.

Al

Something to keep OJ occupied, Sorry, but he's a little tipsy at the moment

Al

Irene

Great loft! and Julius too.

And great that you were able to eradicate dreaded mealy bugs, they could be really nasty.

I am only looking at photos you supplied; I see large leaves and small leaves on same plant - I am not convinced that yours is a small-leaved variety.

If you like shape of your plant, that's all that matters.

For me, it would be 'too naked'. And if branches are shaped, I would like them to be shaped on purpose and not drooping. But that's JMO.

There are few current threads that have lots of photos of trimmed/pruned/chopped jades. If interested, you can find them by searching this forum, or I can post few for you if you like.

I'd love to see some before and afters, Rina. Mine is far straglier then I ever desired it to be; I have no idea what to expect following a major chop as it has never had one before. Wouldn't know where to place the cuts, but it does have some really fun curving branches I'd like to keep. Wondering if any new growth occurs along the truck afterwards or only at the terminal ends where it was cut. What is the best way to root the trimmings that you've found? It's definitely a baby jade, there are very few larger leaves and they are smaller then a quarter, the tag when I purchased it identified it as such. My hypothesis is that environmental factors/ feeding and light impacted those few larger leaves more then genetics. Is there any way to pursuade the branches to put out new leaves like with intentional cuts or a topical nutrient treatment?

Thanks,

Irene

Growing conditions will have some influence on size of leaves - it has been mentioned before. I have few plants that have few large leaves and all the rest are small leaves. Do you remember what exactly tag said as far as the ID?

After you cut off any pieces, most ppl (I do too) let them callus. After, they are potted up. Watering is recommended after a while - no roots-no water.

New growth could occur along the existing stem, and usually after the tip is cut off. If plant is happy, it will happen too - there is new growth on some of your branches visible (like in your last photo). More you prune, more new branches will grow.

You could add some fertilizer to watering, usually 1/2 recommended strenght is mentioned (I am bad at fertilizing, so far this year I have done it only once). Overfertilizing doesn't really work, while there could be some growing, in long run it may cause problems. Weekly weakly is a good mantra... Nothing that should be added topically; other than that you could add some slow release fert granules to the potting mix.

What kind of mix is your plant in? Good light and well-draining mix are basics for any succulent.

It could be difficult to decide where to cut - first, decide how would you like to have this plant looking. Starting with just shortening the long limbs if you are unsure may help.

If you have drooping branch because plant didn't have enough light, the new growth from it (if more light is given) will grow upright. If you don't like how it looks, it could be pruned later on. It could be hard to imagine it after pruning (some ppl have great 'vision', I usually don't:), but it could always be trimmed more!

Click on the links - it may help:

-seriously pruned jades-

-shaping large jade-

-more on pruning jades-

Rob (Whip) said something upthread that I meant to comment on about sunburn. He said that after you chop a plant back you can move it outdoors and not worry about sunburn, but it's not just foliage that burns - the plant's entire outer layer (periderm) on branches and trunk can also be damaged by sunburn. I've seen it in my younger (under 10 years) portulacaria (and jades have a smoother more tender periderm) and in other smooth bark deciduous trees I've defoliated in mid growth period.

Sunburn occurs when the sun excites chlorophyll molecules to a more excited state. As they return to their normal state, they give off oxygen molecules that combine to form an O2 negative radical, the same O2 negative radical found in H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide), which promptly attacks (oxidizes) chlorophyll or any other organic molecule it contacts. That's why the technical term for sunburn is photo oxidation and it's probably a good idea to acclimate.

Al

"Thanks, it used to be an auto dealership in a bygone era.. I am currently sitting in an automobile sized elevator that is now my personal studio space for all things artsy, craftsy or otherwise in need of mcguivering.. wood panel walls, corregated steel floors. Repotting while standing at a table and having easy access to an industrial prep sink in a mostly bug free, climate controlled environment has me not missing the backaches associated with outdoor gardening. .. Maybe one of these days the only pest I'll have to worry about will be the large orange furry variety, we call ours Dr OJ Irving, Julius for short, he too is over fed and lanky."

My wife has no desire to give up the yard, but I could for a place like that in the proverbial NY minute!

ez