Advice on large Crosby jade Bonsai
Hi, picked up this large bonsai jade about 2 1/2 weeks ago and re-potted it in a gritty mix. It has been slowly losing a few leaves from turning yellow believe its just not getting enough light but being so large im a bit pressed for places to put it so hopefully it will adjust soon.
I removed the ties holding the branches together and im going to place in a short stake and tie the 2nd largest limb outward a little to try and distance the branches as the two secondary branches are growing in towards each other at the top and im considering perhaps cutting them back quite a bit in the spring time when im sure they might take root with more sunlight.
I am looking for advice on doing that as I personally do not know how it would grow out the best or where is the best place to cut and how. I just recently started trying to prune some of my smaller jades in various ways to make them more bonsai like.
I appreciate any and all advice. Thank you.
Comments (10)
Dave (5a)
8 years agoAlso I would like some advice on this Smaller ripple jade I picked up two months ago. Its just started doing well and is getting new growth in many places. And it is the very first jade I have ever had flower. It measures about 6" from soil.
Should I remove the new buds or allow them to grow into a branch? should i remove any of the larger leaves?
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Comments (2)I have a portulacaria afra myself. It sounds like you got one at Loews, or somewhere similar, since there was gravel on top of the soil. removing it was a good move. I never understood why they glue rocks on top of the soil. I think this is to mimic the fact that most true bonsai are grown in a very granular soil. As far as portulacaria afra care goes, I keep mine in a southeastern facing window that gets direct sun. I had it in an eastern facing window for a while and it did poorly, I have assumed that this was due to lack of light. So be sure to give it as much light as possible. during warmer months if you can put it outside, then that will help it. those trees you see when you google portulacaria bonsai get alot more light than even mine does. that is why they grow so lush and compactly (the lush growth may also have to do with fertilizer). In terms of watering, portulacaria is a succulent, so it can withstand some drought, but it seems to be less drought tolerant than actual jade is. mine dropped its leaves once when I went too long without watering it. but you should let the top of the soil dry out before you water it. On to soil, typical bonsai soil is basically some sort of small gravel, maybe with woodchips or other large organic particles. However, I am an amateur and find that when I grow the easy indoor bonsai species such as portulacaria or ficus, they don't mind having regular potting soil. I usually buy the miracle grow potting soil from the store and mix it with perlite at about 1:1 ratio. my jade, and portulacaria, and ficus are all growing healthy and fine, even with reduced root balls. both crassulata (jade), and portulacaria are great plants for a beginners. This is because they grow in a very beautiful, bonsai-like fashion without even requiring much training. I have a 4 year old jade tree in a regular size pot that is incredibly impressive and looks like a miniature tree without ever having been pruned or trained. just make sure that you give it lots of sun and enough water. I am a beginner to bonsai when it comes to pruning and training, but my advice would be to worry about growing the plant normally first, and once you see that you can take care of it without training, then you can start experimenting with pruning and training. I don't know how much general plant experience you have, but it may be a good idea to try re-potting your portulacaria in a normal sized pot and try growing it For a year or two in that pot. Then maybe try pruning it down to bonsai size. it is a good idea when you start experimenting with training a bonsai to take a cutting of the plant to root a new baby plant, so that if you kill the parent plant you don't have to go out and buy another one. I do this all the time now. anyway, these are the things that I have found work best. Bonsai, in my experience, is not something you can just do. It takes years to get good at it. You will make mistakes in pruning, and you will kill plants, and you will have to wait months in order to overcome your mistakes. I did a bad wiring job on one of my trees two years ago and the scars are still visible . . . On the other hand, for most of the year all you need to do is water and occasionally fertilize your plants, you only end up doing the hard work once or twice a year depending on how much your plants grow. Good luck with your new plant and if you have any other questions let me know!...See MoreChinese Jade Bonsai
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Comments (31)Imagine what the tree might look like when *completed*. What is the overall height you see? Then look at attractive trees in nature, and how parts of the tree look relative to one another. One bonsai guideline is the trunk thickness approximately 1/6-1/12 the height of the tree. From the height you imagine for your plant, you can now get an idea if the trunk will be thick enough. If not, either grow the plant aggressively to thicken the trunk or adjust the total height you plan for your tree. Back to attractive trees in nature, how long is the trunk before the first branches come off? How long are the first branches before the next branching occurs? How much thinner are each level of branches than the trunk or branches before? There should be a definite decrease of length and girth at each level of branching(and a definite increase in the number of branches). These are things I have in mind when looking at developing a bonsai in order to create the illusion of a giant, old tree in a tiny pot. Now, the trunk of yours is hard to see, but looking at the length vs. girth of the main branches, the branches seem long in relation to how thick they are. That is why I was more attracted to the picture that involved cutting them shorter. If I could shift gears a little, (you may already know this, so my apologies if I am sharing something too basic) I inherited a large, old jade in a large pot- much like yours but several different plants. It had been in too little light and too much water of late. After cogitating, I decided to both prune heavily and do a repot to know the root conditions. It was in potting soil, and when I took it out of the pot, even though the pot was 12 inches deep the roots were only in the top few inches. Furthermore, the bottom 6 inches of the soil were literally soggy even though the top 2 inches were relatively dry- the roots didn't want to go there b/c of the waterlogging. I repotted the separate plants all in one wide, shallow pot to create a forest, and cut off all but the trunks and a few primary branches. Saying that is to say this: in similar conditions to yours, I was drastic with mine and it survived and is looking good now. The hard part for me was to not water much until there was new foliage to use that water. Monitor the moisture in the soil very closely until it starts growing again, and consider a repot even if only to pull it out of the pot, remove any unnecessary soil(that will only serve to hold onto too much water) and place it back en masse. Tomorrow I will start a new jade thread and show off my humble little forest. Today, I hope I've done more than just muddy the waters......See MoreBonsai Jade Help
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8 years agoqwade
8 years ago
breathnez
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoDave (5a)
8 years agolast modified: 8 years ago
Jeff Smith
8 years agoDave (5a)
8 years agothere seems to be a little movement in the branches even though they are of good size, i have gotten them to spread away from each other a little with the use of gear ties.a little at a time hopefully i dont want to break the branch.
Anyone have recommendations for other things to use to shape thin branches or to hold branches of any size in position without harming them? I have another crosby about 25" and i trimmed a few branches but there are still a lot of long thin outward branches.Dave (5a)
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoAlso I would appreciate any advice on this crosby. This is not the best picture, i have been replacing the red wire with soft wire tires and soon will be replacing the stake with a larger one on the side.
My question is am I doing the right thing by trying to get the inside branches close to the main growing straight up and the outer branches growing up at an angle? Or should I shorten some of the branches?
Dave (5a)Original Author