Not to steal a thread and I already know the correct answer, but does anyone think my jade needs a haircut? Well do you? I've had this jade for over 25 years. Every couple of years I whack it back just a little. It was in the same clay pot for over 20 of those years and about 2 years ago, it got so heavy I couldn't move it back outside; it summer's outdoors. So I used my hammer and cracked the old 12" pot and put in a 14" plastic one. Seems pretty happy in plastic and it's a whole lot lighter. This year I think we are going to go for a MAJOR haircut!

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.

I had the same type of jade, with a gazillion stems, but I wanted to grow a single jade tree. So divided the plant into about 8 separate jade plants. To do it, I let the soil dry enough til easy to work with, then tipped it out of the pot onto newspaper with my hand still underneath for leverage. Shook the plant a little and the stems started falling apart in clumps. That helped me decide how I wanted to divide it. I took the innermost stem and planted it in its own pot because it was straight like a tree, then some of the others I kept two or three together, depending on how I wanted them to look. Some were curved, and some were straight. Once placed in smaller pots with adequate soil, water them and see how they do! My jade didn't miss a beat. It was fun to create a bunch of smaller plants, and I shared with my friends, who very much appreciated a free plant! The innermost stem that was straight (that I potted to grow in tree form) is now developing a woody stem just like I wanted. Can't wait to see what it does this summer!

You're welcome, glad to help. ....... when growing a very young jade, when would you first pinch the jade in order to have it branch out? It depends on what vision you have for the plant, and to some degree whether or not you're familiar enough with the plant's obligated response to pruning, to pinch and prune to achieve the vision you have for the plant. An example of your vision governing how you pinch and prune can be seen in the fact that if you want to induce/ create a trunk that tapers, your pruning and pinching process would be much different than if you simply want to create something that has a somewhat natural shape or topiary, and trunk taper isn't a factor. Let's assume we're talking about a novice grower who wants to have a healthy jade or portulacaria that looks like a tree shape or a topiary shape sort of like a lollipop. If you want a straight trunk, you would allow your cutting or new start to grow in ht to about 2/3 of the ht you want the plant to be. So, if you want to have a 3' tall plant (from soil line) you would pinch the trunk approximately 2' above the soil. That will give you 1 ft of ht to develop the canopy by annual pruning in June and summer pinching. If you want a sinuous trunk, one with plenty of movement instead of being stick straight. You would start pinching very early on in the plant's development. When you pinch a branch or stem, it changes the direction of the branch/stem grows. You can use this to control what direction the trunk takes after the pinch. The growth habit of jades and and portulacaria will be leaves growing in opposite pairs and 90* alternate on the branch. If you pinch a jade or portulacaria in June and your plant is reasonably healthy, you can almost always expect a pair of new branches at the 2 nodes below the pinch. This means the plant will produce a branch growing left, right, forward and backward - like N, S, E, W. Any one of those 4 branches can be chosen as the new leader. The branches not chosen to be the leader can be removed, or left to grow as 'sacrifice branches' which will help thicken the trunk, only to be removed at a later date. At this point in development of the plant below, it has been grown only to establish a trunk line with taper. Almost none of the branches will be used in the final composition. Below, the trunkline has been revealed by hard pruning, The stub on the right will become the first/ lowest branch. The meager growth in 2 places at the end of the stub will be a bifurcation of the branch into a 'Y' shape. The near horizontal stub (with wire) on the left will be the second branch and the near vertical part (with wire) is the new leader. I might allow this plant to grow for a full year or more before I prune it again, which will allow the plant to recover from the extremely hard pruning. Would one let the first stem grow to a certain height before pinching and then do what you mentioned above? I'm not sure I understand this question. Pinching removes the apical meristem at the end of the branch, which forever eliminates the branch's ability to extend/lengthen; and, it also forces new branches to form behind the pinch. Pinching is used as a tool to keep your plants full and compact, to change direction of a branch or stem when you don't want to mechanically change the branch's position through use of wire, twine, braces, etc., and to provide multiple pruning opportunities to choose from based on how well they compliment the composition, or don't. Pinching also conserves the plant's energy If a branch is extending and you pinch it at the tip, you are removing only a tiny bit of growth; whereas, if you allow a branch to get very long then prune it back hard, the energy to produce that branch has been wasted, except in cases where the branch was being used as a sacrifice branch to help thicken/strengthen the trunk or build taper in the trunk. Al