Chop chop chop - repotting jade. Would very much appreciate advice
Jades were the only succulent I grew until recently, I was ignorant of proper jade care and treated them pretty much like my regular houseplants (reg. potting soil, lots of fertilizer, not enough light etc.). Therefore I had consistently etiolated jades - I just thought they grew that way! They never seemed "unhappy". The only thing I did right, I think, was let them callous before planting and water infrequently.
This one was in a bright east window, up high in a deep basket, and grew long trailing branches while I neglected him. Took it out a couple weeks ago, and yiiiikes
Last night I got it out of that 4" pot. Totally root bound, I had to pry the two trunks apart, and I'm afraid I did a lot of root damage cleaning them up. :(
I'm going to pot these up separately, is 5" pot too large for the one with more roots, or should I stick to 4" for both until they recover? Are the roots clean enough? I lost quite a lot of fine roots to really hard clumps of soil coming off.
I chopped it all up, keeping only small branches with 'bark' for propagation, and a few segments that had nice roots. I threw probably 60% of it in the garbage. Usually I try to start it all, but I'm overrun with sad etioliated jade. I want to make some really nice plants for friends and family. These cuts look OK?
Thanks very much in advance for any advice. :) I neglected to bookmark some good jade threads I have read recently, so hit me with links if you'd prefer.
Kd
Comments (18)
deva33 Z8 Atlanta
7 years agoRelated Discussions
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Comments (4)Chopping a benjamina in MN is going to be risky even with the plant in the best of health, so I really would discourage you from taking that path - especially given that we're already nearly a week into Sep with a frost likely within the next 2 weeks. If you're going to take that risk, June rings in my ear as closest to being in harmony with the plant's natural rhythm. I'd prolly not repot it until June either, though you could pot up slightly to inject a little temporary vitality boost until you can properly repot. Patience and learning how to work WITH the tree instead of against it is a big part of bonsai, so I guess now is a time good as any to start practicing it. I think I'd probably try to cut the top back very hard next summer after it gains some energy reserves and hope something pops low on the trunk to offer at least a green starting point to chop back to. If you lived in FL or SoCal, there wouldn't be near the drama as there is in MN. Al...See MoreHelp on Chopping Braided Pachira Aquatica into Bonsai
Comments (9)i agree, this is not the time of year to do any major work on a plant. Try to give the plant strong light and keep it a bit moist, don't let it dry out totally. I grew mine in NY for years. I now live in Florida where it has grown quite large. As Josh explained, they really don't branch well. They tend to grow tall with growth on the top. I have cut mine numerous times and plant a big chop this Spring. But, in my experience they do not really branch. They grow taller and taller. You might be lucky and get a couple of offshoots, but that's rare...at least for me. I honestly don't think they make good bonsai candidate. Al would be the expert on that. But, you can continue to root prune and keep the top cut back so it can live in your house. I strongly recommend putting it outdoors in Spring and let it grow outside. It really makes a big difference. I keep mine under control by root pruning and top pruning every few years. This was taken five years ago growing out on a patio. It had been chopped at least 3x. This is the same tree this past summer (5 years since the above photo). I had just root pruned and repotted. I did not top prune. I will do that this summer. Since this repot it has grown a lot and is now against the screen roof. I plan to prune all the growth off the top to lower the tree and hope to get some side growth. Honestly, not sure how you could bonsai this tree. Jane...See MoreUpdate on my deflating cactus- Should I chop it?
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Comments (15)CODIT, discovered by Dr Alex Shigo, stands for Compartmentalization Of Decay In Trees. When a tree is wounded, it responds physically and chemically to form a 4-layer boundary that keeps decay from spreading, especially to newly formed wood. It's not going to rain in your house, so if you don't pour water in the wound, any fungaluglies that gain a hold won't be encouraged by the additional moisture. If I may, I'm going to look at what you should do for your tree over the next 5-10 years to turn it into a quality tree. As the stump is now, it is too tall ..... let me know if you want to know WHY I said that. If allow that as true, the current cluster of branches will not be a part of the end composition. What you should hope for is a new branch to break low on the trunk, one you can train as the tree's new leader. Once that new leader is well established and perhaps a half inch thick, you can do a proper, angled chop, so the top of the cut is even with where the upper side of the branch turned leader attaches to the main trunk. Taper the cut away from the top of the branch at about a 45* angle and seal the wound with cut paste or waterproof wood glue. Keep your tree in a very large pot with a very fast (free-draining) soil like the trees above are in, and concentrate on getting the roots straightened out. I don't mean that literally - I mean work on building a presentable nebari, which is a very important part of your tree. Tip: You have allowed a cluster of branches to grow in very close proximity to each other. That's ok if they are not going to be a part of the post-chop composition, but when building your new tree from a lower branch yet to emerge, you should assiduously avoid that sort of arrangement; nothing good can come of it, and it will cause you much consternation as time passes. Al...See Morebunkfree_4a_canada
7 years agodeva33 Z8 Atlanta
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7 years agoHmmm. I guess I do have the little white dots. This is a very old clay pot, the rusty mineral stains are from when I had a small philodendron in it... It kind of goes with the old flaking glaze so I never cleaned it.
rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
7 years agolast modified: 7 years ago
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7 years agobunkfree_4a_canada
7 years agorina_Ontario,Canada 5a
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7 years agorina_Ontario,Canada 5a
7 years agobunkfree_4a_canada
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoUpdate :)
I thought I was going to lose the front one, left these unpotted for several days and the leaves were becoming dessicated. They're coming back now. I'm rubbing off new growth that's trying to come out of the callouses at the top, I want these guys to have more branches
And a plethora of wee jade cuttings. Most of these will be gifted once they start growing
rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
7 years agobunkfree_4a_canada
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lgteacher