CVIS, are you in the always-rainy/cloudy weather pattern some people have had this summer? If so, that may be why it's been happy before but struggling this year, lanky growth and using less water. That could help explain why, if the problem is that it's been too moist. Is the pot is so packed with roots that water can't penetrate, in which case it might actually be wilting? It's so hard to tell from a pic, too dry and too wet look can look the same on the plant. This pot just looks parched to me. If the blinds are always at half-mast, maybe it's not so bad, maybe it's leaning down toward the light? The color of the leaves is pretty good. The trimming is not something I would do all at once, but gradually, starting with the lowest material to be removed, so it ends up looking like a tiny, well-formed tree again. The first thing to go are the flimsy green things coming from what I think are inappropriate places on the main trunk, and any in a wrong looking spot, or going a wrong direction. Then the main branches that are not right, just before the point where a branch starts to go in a wrong direction, that's where to trim it. Finish by finessing the smaller remaining branches so that anything not contributing to the overall structure in a pleasing way is removed. This is vague because we can't see the whole plant, but trimming any woody entity that has a natural general 'correct' shape to it is the same procedure. But that's just my opinion, I like a jade that looks like a big oak tree. Some people like to trim it back to a main stick with some shorter sticks and like that appearance better. But none of that matters, what people think. It's your tree, so what you want it to look like is what it should look like. When you have a pic in your mind of what it should and will look like when finished before making the first cut, you're ready to go with the pruner. IMVHO. I do not nor have not had a big ol' jade like that, just some much smaller ones, but have been told over the years I do a good job trimming in general, leaving a strong, pleasant foundation for rejuvenated growth. I would think new soil after that amount of time is a great idea, but you'd want jade repotting advice from someone with more experience than me. Definitely a huge fan of chunky, porous, well-drained soil for the replacement though, no doubt.

Of course, you know I don't argue with people, I just say what I'm thinkin' too. Makes the discussion interesting, and discussed discrepancies can help people decide which thing sounds 'more like me' if they know why somebody said what they did. Not at all saying that those who mist are always right or wrong, or the other way. I know you feel passionately about misting, and have plenty of great plants! Glad you're not upset either, my friend. If I knew how all of this stuff works, I wouldn't be stingy with the info, but I'm not a scientist. The link isn't saying misting will make your plants ill. But basically, if there's a spore of some foliar malady that needs a moist surface to germinate/thrive, misting can provide that condition. Seems like a risky practice when there are countless thriving specimens of all plants I have that have never been misted. And you would come back and say there are countless thriving specimens that are misted often as well, it's cool. If folks are on the fence about it, it's all food for thought. Everyone draws a different line about what they will/won't do for plants. Trying to adjust humidity isn't one of the things I'll do. It's possible I'm just more lazy and disorganized and rationalizing this whole thing. I'm trust you could give a lot of good opinions for those who want to mist about which plants appreciate it most, especially for plants that are always inside, or come inside for longer winters, and which kinds of plants don't like misting at all. That's good stuff to know for people who want to do it. If I did, you are definitely the first person I'd ask these things. True there isn't usually a big selection of different potted palms, the main reason I don't have more. It would have to look pretty different and not be too tall/big like a majesty (of which every one my Mom has ever bought had scales.) I wonder if some plants that look like palms would interest you, CactusBoss? Thinking of those people ask for ID's and describe as 'looks like some kind of palm'... Schefflera? Various Dracaenas, especially with multiple heads, China doll (Radermachera sinica,) some of the Cordylines. You may have already had these thoughts, IDK.

Palm fronds are almost certainly a brown, and DEFINITELY a pain in the ass. In my (admittedly limited) experience palm fronds are veeeery slow to decompose. If you shred them and manage to not set your shredder/mower/weed whacker on fire because the strings in the palms wind themselves around the blade, they are kind of like peat moss...Kind of. They end up being this sort of wire-y compost filler or mulch option. More of a brush pile material than a compost pile material IMHO.

Am I understanding correctly that you did a full repot, which includes removing all existing grow media, root pruning, and a change of medium? If yes, and especially considering a highly stressed plant will have little in the way of natural defense against insect herbivory and pathogens, your priorities should be to ensure the grow medium is damp/moist - about as damp as a well-wrung out sponge, not wet or soggy, the plant is warm (21-26c), and it gets plenty of light. Resist the urge to water until a wooden "tell" inserted deep into the pot bottom comes out barely moist. More on using a "tell": Using a 'tell' Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need plenty of air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support the kind of root health most growers would like to see; and, a healthy root system is a prerequisite to a healthy plant. Watering in small sips leads to avoid over-watering leads to a residual build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil from tapwater and fertilizer solutions, which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma. It creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor. In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water. Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'. One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell comes out dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue. I'll link you to two short pieces I wrote that provide 1) An Overview of Good Growing Practices, and 2) an Specific Overview of Long Term Care of Ficus in Containers. Hopefully it's not too little, too late. If you have other questions you think I might be able to answer, please don't hesitate. I have at least 40 containerized Ficus covering at least a dozen species or cultivars. Al