Hi everyone, I have pretty much decided that it was rot. I let it be, thinking it would eventually stop like Nil said. But it just didn't seem to. So, I decided to cut again. But I was still seeing those black spots, so I kept cutting. Then I gave up. Dusted with Cinnamon, came back a bit later to see this.... Where those dark spots were, it seemed to be pulled out and hard, from the cinnamon. I figured I should show you guys for better advise and decided to cut back another node. This is how it looks inside. This is the smaller of the two. I have it cut back as far as possible without up rooting it and cutting it completely off of the main trunk. Which I am considering doing. I DO NOT want this crap to spread! Also, this plant also had some nasty soft brown scale when I obtained it. Any chance this crap is from the scale? I have not seen any live bugs on it since I brought it home though. Here are some photos of the whole plant. What do you all think I should do? Do I need to keep cutting. Stop watering for a few weeks and wait for it to stop? I should mention that this area of the trunk is FIRM. Very firm. But I noticed that I did not have any new growth from where it was previously pruned so I felt like it must not be healthy and maybe I should cut. Interestingly, farther up the larger branch I got some nice healthy cuttings so I am going to see if it'll root for me. Angle 1, you can see where I cut both branches. All other stems appear healthy and previous cuts have new growth. Angle 2, opposite side. Just so you can see the rest of the plant. and angle 3, I wanted to show where the large branch was cut. This actually takes care of a crazy lean situation that was happening with this guy. See below for previous pic.

Soooo… I repotted one of the two Jades. Now, I'm a little worried if I'd done it right and if I got the right mix for it. Hoping to again tap into everyone's wisdom. I'd removed the Jade from the pot there was a lot of roots. Mostly thin ones webbed on the outside against the pot. It took a while to get the old soil off and some of the thinner roots came off in the process. I know as much that losing the thinner roots when repotting is okay but I still had heaps left - definitely more than the 1/2 of what I started with. Oh and I didn't know I needed to rinse the roots either. Then when I opened the bag of Succulent/Cactus mix from the nursery, it wasn't as loose or gritty as the mixes I've seen on the threads here. I didn't think I could leave the Jade out of the pot so I reluctantly repotted it with this mix. And now I don't know if I should go to the shops, grab something to mix in with the new mix it's in and in the process further trim the roots. Is that going to be too stressful for the plant to be repotted twice? It was cold and very windy last night so I've kept him in my kitchen in a well-lit corner for now so he doesn't topple over. If I do prune the roots, is it right that it's around 2/3 of it? I've put photos of the mix it's currently in, the plant in this new mix and also a Coarse Grit product I've seen and considering mixing to provide more aeration.

Is this what 2 co-dominant trunks looks like? How do I prune this? Yes - that picture is representative of co-domination, even though one is obviously a little thicker than the other. A) At some point, you can remove one of the trunks entirely, which immediately solves the issue. If you go that route, the trunk you'll eventually remove is a 'sacrifice' branch. For now, it provides food to the plant that helps the trunk thicken and increases the plant's o/a mass. Generally, when I use sacrifice branches, I prune away any branches that cast shade on the part of the plant I'll be keeping. Only the bottom branches of this larch will be part of the end composition. The entire main trunk (90% of the tree's ht) above the low cluster of branches will be sacrificed at a later date. B) you could chose the side you like and cut the other side back hard - to the first pair of leaves coming off the sides of the branch (don't cut back to leaves growing up and down or you'll get a pair of branches growing one up, one down. The other way, leaves on the side of the branch, produces one left and one right branch - much better. Always consider this when pruning plants with leaves that grow alternately on the branch in opposite pairs. Cutting one side hard and leaving the other to grow will quickly make a difference in the thickness of the branches and cures the dominance issue. When you look at any plant and can't immediately see the trunk line and the apex, it's a good indication that more thought during early development would have increased the plant's eye appeal. About the bottom picture you ask: This is the tallest plant, the trunk is about 6" from root to the first branch on the left. From what you have taught me I think that trunk is too tall but I do not know what to do (if anything can be done) Please advise ..... If you want to be very bold, you can cut the plant back just above the tiny little branch on the left and that can be your new leader. You could then use the top as a raft planting. For this, you would cut all the branches off one side of the trunk, lay the trunk down and cover it with soil. You'll end up with several trunks all attached to each other by way of the branch you buried in the soil. For the bottom picture, I would pot it - pruning off a branch here & there to keep it balanced, and let the tiny low branch grow. As it gets longer, I'd tie it to the main trunk with a strip of cloth so it's more or less upright. Then, at some point (next summer or summer after), I'd chop the top off above that little branch. You can construct all sorts of contraptions to make your plants do what you want them to do. I pruned at least 1/2 bushel of foliage off this plant before I did the first styling. Timing is important. Al

Tell you what, if I inherited that beauty the first thing is to is give the benefactor a big ole smooch! Second I personally wouldn’t do a thing. It looks spaced well/no crowding, it’s blooming so clearly it’s happy and imo it just looks dang good. If you’re not a bonsai veteran (I.E. adheres to the very rigorous and stringent schools of practice for them) it can be very subjective and overwhelming at the same time. So that’s your call if you really want to go down that route. But if you just want a healthy and handsome pot filled with some flora I’d say you were certainly gifted with a great foot forward my friend.