Only general response without photos :)

Jades are very easy to trim and 'train'. As long as the plant is healthy.

I am assuming it is growing in low light, and curving to the side where the source of it is.

Everyone needs to see photos before being able to give specific advice.

Hi! Yes, I agree photos are good. I never emailed a forum so just wanted to see if I get a response first. Thanks for answering. I am attaching pics.

I will admit I haven't given it much attention. In the past few months I have. I actually trimmed a few long branches to see if it will regrow and it has. It just looks like I almost need to start over if I want full in the middle. We get nice southern light in my apartment. I will move it so it's in front of a window rather to the side of one as you see right now. I also just got a kitten and I see hes nibbling on the leaves. Besides the fact that it's poisonous to him... I will move it.

Any advice would be great. Thanks.

It is leggy, it was probably growing in insufficient light most of the time. It could be difficult to supply enough light indoors for many plants. Even windows that we think bring in enough light - may not. Many of us use supplemental lights - maybe you should consider them too.

The plant would have to get lots of very good light and it would take very long time to straighten up the existing stems - it is much better (faster and easier IMO) to prune all of them. If my plant, I would keep fewer (maybe even just 1) stem per pot - but that isn't absolutely necessary. The hanging parts could be pruned off, and the new growth should be much more upright with good light. After that, you can maintain which and how many branches you want to keep. Any pruned parts will also grow new plants - if you want many more of them :)

It looks like you pruned one of the stems in the middle - the new growth looks more compact:

Can you improve the light (I think it needs to be quite a bit better)?

What is your general location? It helps if you add that to your name.

Thanks for that. I might be brave and trim off all of the legs. They are pretty curved from the base so I wasn't sure if that would help the fullness.

Might need to start a new one? I have 2 cuttings starting now.

I live in New York City and we do have nice light, but the windows could get cold during certain times of the year. Does that hurt it too?

Thanks!

Cold won't be hurtful unless it is freezing :) and plant is touching the glass. Colder it is, drier it should be (wet soil takes longer to dry up). Generally, night temps are lower than day, and that is fine with plants. Jades will grow in around 50*F very well.

You could start any cutting you want - just beware, you may have more jades than you want, lol.

Some of the curving may straighten up slowly, but not all you have. That's why pruning is faster. I would take the plant out and separate, potting most of the trunks in their own pots. You could also pot some of them more upright. Prune off approximately as yellow lines indicate - pls. use your judgement, as I can't see the plant in 3D...length could be longer or shorter:

After that, just patience...let it grow, but I can't stress enough good light. All of this won't help unless plant has more of it.

Here is a plant given to me end of Dec. 2014 - damaged by frost, and kept on the half-shaded balcony for a while: trunk was curved a lot, new growth toward the light. Lots of branches fell off (frozen) and I pruned off many:

Wow. That plant looks beautiful and happy!

So, you're saying trim where the yellow lines are (or about) but take each one of those trunks out and in its own pot? I feel bad cutting those plants and throwing away?!

Yes, I did trim there where you see the nice full growth growing. It was a test.

I'll move it to a different window and see if that helps. Unfortunately, no outdoor space here and I only have what I have so we'll see what happens with some care.

Jen

You don't need to throw any pieces out, as I said you can have many new plants. Just a friendly warning - I can't throw any living thing away and have way too many. But, you could have plants to give away! Or just enjoy them yourself.

I would pot them 1 per pot as that is how I like them best, but many prefer more per pot. You could leave them together for now and maybe separate in spring, when the new growth is bigger and plant start getting too full. Too many stems may interfere with each other, and stems will start bending somehow to get out of each others way - you know how smart plants are, they will start growing sideways or any other way if something is in the way :)

Having more in one pot is nice too, if you google jade bonsai, you'll see some grown as a 'forest'. But it takes more work to make sure each grows as straight as desired.

Fantastic save rina_Ontario, your Jade looks very happy.

Steve

Thank you. I wanted to show to OP that there is no need to be scared of pruning :) The plant most likely looks better now than ever before.

I have pruned another jade of everything: the leaves, any branches. I have posted photo before, but maybe I can update with most current pic. Here is the plant & timeline - original cutting off this branch and pruning was done at very end of December 2014, potted just after New Year after callusing; the new growth started to show in February 2015:

Do you think pinching the main leader back would encourage a fatter trunk? I have several small starts from the same mother plant, I'm going to try some different technics this coming year in regards to moisture and fertilizer.

Steven

I believe that pinching helps some, but regular pinching will mostly stimulate branching (I think...) I also believe that leaving branches with the leaves unpruned will help to produce more food and therefore will help fattening of the trunk.

I am not good at fertilizing succulents - plants are outdoors during warm months and get watered mainly when it rains. I have to water them very seldom and that may be the only occasion they get some fertilizer (I use mostly collected rain water). I can't tell how much regular fertilizing would help, since I do it so sporadically - I need to improve!

If I prune plant considerably, I usually let it grow 'wild' for a while, any unwanted branch can be pruned off later on. A 'while' may be 1, 2, 3 seasons, depends on what plant is doing.

I think tallest jade I have now is about 18-19", most are shorter. Trunks are anywhere from about 3" to 5.5" (edited & re-measured: just over 6") in circumference at the soil line. I want them fatter :) One in the last photos is just about 18" tall and 5" circumference at the soil line. I am not sure if I measured trunk when I did pruning - if I find that info I'll post.

edited to add: I just measured trunk of the jade that had frost damage and was growing sideways: trunk is 6 1/8" circumference at the soil line (more than I thought) and the plant is just under 18" tall.

From your description you are doing something right. Those are large trunks, I may have 2 that are about 1", just pencils. The fertilizer I have been using is Schultz Cactus Plus (2-7-7) along with Superthrive.

Steven

Good drainage, lots of sunlight during warm weather outdoors, and under lights in winter. And I read lots on this forum...:)

Fertilizer most often recommended is FoligePro 9-3-6. That is supposedly best ratio of NPK. There is a thread explaining about these ratios by tapla (AL), I'll see if I can find a link to.

Here is one of the the links:

-explaining fertilizers - click here -

Steven

I just realized that I said diameter instead of circumference couple of times in my previous post. Sorry, I wasn't paying attention, and was sure thinking circumference...I have corrected it now. So it is circumference up to just above 6", not diameter (would have to slice them - or do some fancy calculating - to get diameter, lol).

(I should check my other posts for typos...)

A circle with a circumference of 6.125 inches has a diameter of 1.95 inches.

http://www.onlineconversion.com/circlesolve.htm

Sue

Thanks for the link...I still do lots of calculating in my head or on a paper. Wasn't thought which button to push - but it is certainly much faster and accurate. Definitely keeping the link.

I'll look for the Foligepro,thanks for the tip.

COOL!!!

The fastest route to a thick trunk is to not prune at all, and to repot as needed to keep the roots from becoming constrained.

Pruning will stimulate new growth in places, but will not make the trunk thicken faster. More leaf surface area for photosynthesis will, and every time you prune you reduce this.

Never pruning may not lead to the whole-plant design you have in mind, and there is nothing wrong with pruning to control the growth in a manner you want (indeed its generally recommended to prune to taste), but pruning will not cause the trunk to thicken faster.

Daniel

Love love love that trunk, Rina.

palms, thank you :)

If you don't want to throw away the cuttings I'll take them!! I don't know if they can be mailed or not though!!

Hello, wow, I suppose I’ve probably realized that even though I have my succulents on tables right in front of the windows and also two sky lights it really is possible they just aren’t getting enough light. If you see from the picture, I’ve trimmed the two branches and repotted with the momma. Still so leggy. My patio unfortunately likely has far less than what’s coming in my east facing windows, same direction. Should I prune again and start over with one stem per pot? Obviously the goal was to fill this medium sized. My only other option for sun is north, here in Colorado, I do not have anything facing South. I’m using Miricle grow cactus, palm and citrus, and feed with their succulent (foaming option although I don’t use the screen to make it foam) plant food when I water which is probably once a month. Also, I watched a video with a gal who washed her leaves free of dust (not bugs) when watering each time and had planned that starting today but looks like it’s more for bugs than dust, which is how I’ve landed here Any help would be appreciated how I can get this girl nice, full and happy. Also, pictures were taken after 5pm and no sun today. I thought I got a good amount of sun from 7am till about 3 pm on a good day. And off subject, my cactus’s aren’t They cute!?! Big guy started like the others and was repotted about 2 months ago... new guys are new and were just potted about 2.5 weeks ago after I painted the pots. They got the same soil, and feed just the last watering on month 2.

Sorry to say, but 3 plants in last photo are artificially painted...they are already growing out the painted parts...soon they will look really 'weird'. Especially if they get more etiolated from not enough light. I don't think they are cacti.

Jade is also etiolated. I understand that you have some light limitation; but succulents need lots of light. If you want to grow them more compact, maybe you should consider supplemental lighting. Otherwise they will keep growing stretched, regardless if you keep 1 or 3 in the same pot, or regardless pruning that will be only very temporary help. If you fertilize them, you are encouraging the growth that will continue to be stretched - etiolated.

Thanks Rina. So I’ll assume I’d need to get “grow” type lights to help?

Yes, I realize the “kosmik kaktus” are artificially treated with a long lasting waterproof, non toxic treatment and creates an attractive bicolor effect as the natural color reveals. I did not however, realize that it too is etiolated. I just figured it would be needing a bigger pot far sooner than anticipated.

Looking at the tag again, underneath it’s faux name it reads - Gasteraloe ‘Flow’. I never even noticed, so.... ALOE?

This is my first hand at succulents. The jade started as a leaf I rooted in a cup of water last August then put in soil . Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Hi, I realise this is an old thread, however, maybe someone’s still reading?
We need help with my daughter’s leggy money plant please.
She keeps it in her sunny bedroom (though we’re in England so not much winter sun). Yesterday the leaves were falling off and it was very dry (someone warned her about overwatering so she’s gone to the other extreme). I watered it and it seems better today. However, it’s straggly and leggy. From what I’ve read it sounds like a light issue?
Any suggestions on pruning appreciated and also how to propagate from the stuff taken off. Thank you

Mary : I understand you live in a place that doesn't get much sun, especially in winter, but that plant looks like it hasn't received any direct sunlight in many, many months. I would cut off all those spindly branches, and make sure it's right on your sunniest windowsill. Being in the sunny room is not enough. It must get direct sunlight. I would also consider supplemental lighting. Good luck

Mary

Manuel is correct. That plant is starving for light.

You could revive it, but major cutting needs to be done. I would shorten all branches a lot, example is where the red lines are - leaving only 2-3 sets of leaves or so:

The growth is very skinny, but you can try to propagate the short pieces from tips; approx. where the yellow lines are. Stick those into well draining mix, and hey will likely root. But you need to make sure plants will get more lights. Use a light directly over it, otherwise it will grow same way.

It looks like there are too many stems in same pot - you could leave them as is, or divide into individual pots. I prefer single plant, so they do not interfere with each other, but you could grow few together.

Take plants out of pot and shake off all old soil. Get a bag of Cactus and Succulent soil and bag of perlite, and make a new mix in 1:1 ratio. If you take them out and separate them, you can take a clear photo and we will be able to suggest where to cut (it will be very similar/same as already suggested). Plants will not die if out of soil even for few days. Ask should you have more question.s

Thank you Manuel and Rina! You guys are great. After reading the thread I was thinking of drastic pruning. I also like the idea of a single cell. My mum had one like that- hers was darker and shinier so I’d thought it was because it was much older or a different type.
Daughter bought it only last summer and it did well on windowsill. She moved it to desk for fear of draughts. It’s back on window now and I’ll get perlite to mix with the cactus soil I bought for it.
If artificial light, is that a special daytime bulb/ timer etc?
I’ll add pics as we progress.
Again, many thanks

The good news is that Jades are resilient and bounce back

There should be no problem keeping jade on windowsill. I do, in cold Canada :) And, if you have any outdoor space available, it could spend summer there.

As for light, it should be daylight lightbulb. CFL or LED, with minimum 4500k - preferably higher (I have some CFL bulbs that are 6500k, and 1500 lumens). Start with light further away, and move gradually closer. Timer would be great, since you can make sure light is on regularly. 12hrs on - 12hrs off would be great.

In good light, jade should get good color, grow more compact, and stems should get woodier. Leaves could get red tint on margins:

....and could bloom in few years:

Hi there!! I inherited this older Jade plant from my mother in law. I’m not quite sure where I should prune it, but I know I have to because so many of these are draping and seem heavy.

Yes, it is quite etiolated. You could prune a lot or just a little :) If my plant, I would shorten all long stems to 2 or 3 sets of leaves or so. And probably would cut back some of the long branches quite short.

'Draping' branches are not always heavy: they drape mainly because they are trying to get some space and more light. Jade stems are woody and quite strong, and most of the time can support the weight.

Is the potting mix well draining? In case you need to repot it, do that first. Container is large enough, do not use any bigger. Are there many stems in the pot?

BUT, it is difficult to give advice looking just at the (relatively) small photo of plant.

Do you have idea of how do you want it to look?

Browse thru THIS THREAD .It shows few jades that were pruned a lot, and the new growth. It is different jade than yours, with smaller leaves (Crosby's Compact), but care is the same. Those plants were cut a lot and you don't need to do that, it is just to see how well they take pruning.

Before any pruning - what kind of light is it getting? It needs a lot, or no amount of pruning will stop etiolation.

I think I need to repot and get rid of some compacted soil around the main roots. There is only one stem- the main one in this pot. I’m afraid if I prune it too much it will look naked and like I’ve destroyed it. I love the look of the ”bushier” jades in your Above comment. The transformation was stunning.

This Jade sits in the sunniest window in the house, and since I live in Ohio, I keep it inside most of the year. I put it outside one summer and it got eaten by bugs. I am not opposed to placing it outside for the summer at all.

Yes, all old soil should be removed, especially if it is compacted around roots. You may loose some roots, but they will regrow, and quite fast in well draining potting mix.

It may look naked if you prune it extensively, but new branches and leaves will grow in one season and plant could look much better. Like this one:

I am not suggesting for you to prune yours so drastically.

Sorry to hear it was 'eaten by bugs' before. Do you know what the bugs were? I keep all my succulents outside as soon as possible; usually as soon as nighttime temps stay around 50*F. They stay in lots of sun, and get really nice color. Indoors, I keep most under supplemental lights. Few are on windowsill of unobstructed, west exposure window.

While indoors, you may consider some supplemental lights. Anything that will grow indoors will likely be etiolated, since I see some trees outside - they probably block lots of sunlight.

Maybe you can post few photos from different angles, it may help with some suggestions...

I have been enjoying how my jade plant has taken in a life of its own, but realize it may be happier if I trim. Maybe start growing a thicker trunk? I’m thinking about propagating and moving to a sunnier location. Do you have any advice on how far back I should trim?

That jade def needs some pruning - branches shouldn't be droopy, or curving, but upright and self-supporting.

Photo is too small to give any suggestions. Try to take very clear and bigger photos from different sides pls. It is difficult to give advice from the photo anyway, and especially one that doesn't show plant better.

Another thing I would like to know is what kind of light it is receiving, and if you can increase it. It obviously is not receiving enough, and unless you make it better, plant will continue growing the way it is now.

Just in case you like trailing plant, there are other succulents that will do that. Jade shouldn't be growing that way, it isn't a trailing-type of plant.

It is sitting about 7 feet from a southwest window. I can cut it back and relocate directly in front of another southwest window. It is very leggy. I’d like to propagate it. Would it be wise to propagate multiple stems to the same pot? I’m reading conflicting views on this.

7' away from the window is way too far, that is why it is leggy.

Mine are kept in as much sun as possible (after being acclimatized), outside during warm weather.

You didn't post better photo...but all stretched parts should be pruned off. They do not 'shrink even if given best light after growing in darker conditions. So you need to look at your plant and decide where to cut.

You can plant few together if you wish - I prefer 1 plant/pot. This plant grows more tree-like, and many stems in same pot could interfere with each other. You could grow "jade forest" but it really requires good light and lots of care. This is bonsai style, looking really great if properly cared for:

See how straight trunks are? And they are slightly tapered. They are also of different height. Branches and leaves are purposely pruned to achieve the look.

Typically, they will grow more 'crooked' by trying to get out of the way. BUT they will grow. Looks like you have multiple stems right now? Do you like the look?

Aim for healthy plant(s) with stronger stems/trunks; better color and (usually) larger leaves that grow closer. That will happen only if there is proper/more light.

Thank you very much! Yes, you are correct. I bought the plant 2 years ago and it had quite a few separate trunks. I am in the process of propagating now. My goal is to strengthen the main trunk and to keep it growing for many years. I had it in the sunroom, but it wasn’t getting enough sun. Moving in Front of my sunniest window. I am going to attempt the jade forest as well with the cuttings.

Can somebody please help me wiht my 8 year old jade plant. This was a gift from a friend in which it came a cuttings. During the winter time, this is placed by the window facing East, so in the morning it receives enough light. In the summer time, I take this out to get more light. Now it looks like wild. How should I proceed by making it look full again?

Sorry to disagree with you, but plant is telling you that it is NOT receiving enough light. Stems are weak and skinny, they are bending/leaning toward wherever they get little more light. Leaves are growing to far apart, and are slightly recurving. That is also because of lack of light.

The only help would be quite severe pruning, maybe even spaced over 2 years. BUT only if you can supply much more sunlight. Best exposure would be west or south-west if unobstructed.

Another tell about light: your coleus looks really great - and it wouldn't be if in light that is sufficient for jade :)

can you stand one more request about pruning? I have a plant that I would like to have bush further down but I believe is otherwise healthy. where should I prune it to promote healthy growth?

If you want it to branch up, you need to prune. When you cut the branch, you will get branching, 2 or sometimes more new ones. There should be some new growth from other nodes too (example circled in yellow). So prune off anything you don't want, and let it grow...

IMO, your plant needs more light. Leaves are drooping, and I see some etiolation.