Jade "tree" needs some shaping
Comments (10)
laticauda
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoRelated Discussions
need help with Jade tree
Comments (21)Using artificial light for a plant that big would be a real challenge. Incandescent bulbs are *worthless*, don't even bother. You could get a couple of those 4' fluorescent shop lights from HomeDepot, but you would have to mount them so close to the plant, that you wouldn't see much of the plant anymore! The bulbs would have to be mounted at some kind of angle to effectively illuminate the majority of the leaves. If you've got gobs of cash, you could go for some kind of High Intensity Discharge grow lights, which can be mounted much farther away from the plant (like a couple feet instead of a couple inches with the fluorescents). A decent setup will be at least a couple hundred bucks, and require some significant effort in getting it installed....See MoreJade Pruning/Shaping-How Long?
Comments (27)Rina, It was over fed when it was really young, had been three times this size but all branches were very lanky and limp, attempted braiding them but lost 2 to previous over watering, this was probably around 2008. It since suffered a lot of leaf loss due to dwelling in a high traffic zone with a careless roommate who also introduced mealy bugs to it just before it was relocated in April. The plant lost some additional leaves to that battle, thanks to alcohol swabs and constant diligence there has been no recurrence over the past 2 months. I was happily surprised to see leaf buds on the balding branches, are there techniques to further promote this? I wish I had more space to work on maintaining my plants over the past 7yrs but I did not, so now I get to try to revive them... Honestly this is the only surviver who needs rehab, my aloe just needed its spawn relocated and soil replenished, my Christmas cactus which is almost older than me has always been full but looks happier every day, and a previously barren stump of a Plumeria has new branches loaded with leaves as wide as my hand and long as my forearm. I always wished this Jade had a thicker trunk but never would have dreamed of such an extreme cut back. It is in very well draining soil, has been happily self propogating, the branches are sturdy yet resiliant now. I have always enjoyed its unusual contorted branching, though it makes transportation difficult and rotation for sun exposure challenging for sure. I have every intention of following Al's advice for getting and keeping my flora at its happiest and healthiest- great advice! EZ, Thanks, it used to be an auto dealership in a bygone era.. I am currently sitting in an automobile sized elevator that is now my personal studio space for all things artsy, craftsy or otherwise in need of mcguivering.. wood panel walls, corregated steel floors. Repotting while standing at a table and having easy access to an industrial prep sink in a mostly bug free, climate controlled environment has me not missing the backaches associated with outdoor gardening. .. Maybe one of these days the only pest I'll have to worry about will be the large orange furry variety, we call ours Dr OJ Irving, Julius for short, he too is over fed and lanky....See Morejade prunning help needed. Dreaded sling shot shape.
Comments (6)Danielle The jade could use some pruning as ez suggested - the new growth is etiolated: there is too much space between the sets of leaves. This will not revert with more light, so if you want more compact plant, best would be to shorten them as much as you like. Pinching all tips may help some new leaves to sprout along the stem, but usually will cause branching - that is fine, the reason I am mentioning it is that if there are 'naked-empty' branches, it is harder to get leaves to grow and fill that space. I borrowed your photo to show what I mean: After pinching and pruning, give this plant more light otherwise the new growth will be also etiolated. Sunny window, or help with some supplemental lights. As for shaping the whole plant - do you have a 'vision'? How would like to see it grow? Lollipop top? Straight up? Tall? Short and fat trunk? Gnarly (lol) and old looking?......See MoreJade advice needed - pruning/wiring/etc - building the tree
Comments (10)Still wondering if there were roots, or is it cutting without at roots? I put all my plants into quite a bit of sun right away - area that get sunshine from sunrise until about noon-, but it was quite earlier and sun is getting stronger now. They were moved into full day sun spot after about 2 or 3 days, and are there all the time. They got rained on quite a bit - we are having lots of rainy days this Spring - but they are potted in very gritty mix and I do not worry about drainage or any water retention. If your plant has roots, I would move it already into more sun (Just speculating, but am thinking it has been on the porch for at least 2 weeks?) I would move it where it gets at least few hours of morning sun, and moving into more and more every 2-3 days. Sooner it's done, better so plant can get all sun available until it has to go inside again. For leaves to grow close together to have more compact plant, only good light will help. Even if it doesn't have plenty of roots, IMO it should get more sun. Morning sun is good, and I would move it into stronger sun at least weekly. If you only have totally exposed spots, you can create some shade when needed by positioning bigger potted plant in front of your jade, or even something like a chair. Garden umbrella is great...I don't think wiring should make much difference in sun exposure, you want plant to grow strong limbs and los of leaves close together (but I never wired any jades...) I started to use gravel or rocks for topdressing because of squirrels - it does help a lot. I find chipmunk more of a problem, it hides more 'food' all over the place...I have some grass (or whatever seeds neighbour is feeding birds with) growing in many pots without topdressing, haha (my potted annuals and some big tropicals). Small sized topdressing doesn't really help....See More
cactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
5 years agoIt appears to be working OK - here's a photo from the web of a plant in the Karoo.
laticauda thanked cactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5laticauda
5 years agoAl, you were just the person I was hoping would reply.
Its loading the photos now, showing a green rotating circle noting that it's loading. It wasn't doing that before. I'm glad it's working for me now though.
I know it's not the best Specimen and suffers quite a bit of neglect but hopefully we can clear up some of the mess and I can start taking better care of it!
I'd also like to mention that I really like the horizontal "lean" to its growth pattern in the second photo. I don't intend on trying to put the main trunk upright.
laticauda
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agocactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
5 years ago
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoBy what you said in the OP, I was sure you were looking for more than general help. Sometimes an older tree tells you how it wants to be styled, while younger trees can fairly easily be manipulated to whatever shape you've envisioned for them. I find your vision very often changes as you see things that increase the potential for the planting to be more evocative.
Most growers go all gooey and warm when you tell them their plant has the potential for what would be termed in Bonsai a mother/daughter style. If the plant is rough and craggy, like an old scarred juniper or pine, it might be referred to as a father/son arrangement. Because of their round leaves and tendency toward o/a soft lines, jades would have to be put in the feminine category insofar as assigning trees a gender via their appearance; so, working toward the mother daughter arrangement is a viable option if you'd like to keep the second trunk; or, you could keep that trunk and use it as a branch.
For reference - this is a mother daughter arrangement where the mother tree moves protectively to the left to shelter the daughter tree:
The MD tree above and the grove below are examples of how, one or more of the trunks ends up fulfilling the the role of a branch in multi-trunked trees:
I used maples because they have the same branching habit and leaf arrangement as jades.The subordinate trunk on on your plant doesn't need to be any more vertical than it already is.
While Jades can be wired, or better, mechanically manipulated to change their shape or branch structure, it's best to use the clip and grow method with jades because they scar easily from wire, and they break easily if you're not careful when trying to change their shape mechanically. How you would decide (and I can help if you provide a couple of additional images) if the subordinate trunk stays or goes is: look at the plant with the subordinate trunk moving to the left and slightly toward you. See if there is an attractive lower trunkline that moves toward you as your eye moves bottom to top. Then, spin the tree so the subordinate trunk is moving right & slightly toward you.. If you find a good trunkline as described above, it can stay, if you cant, it might be better to turn it into a cutting. No sense in going forward until you decide. OR, you can ignore it for now and start working on the dominant trunk based on its best line. I would tend to keep it or lose it because it's so low on the dominant trunk it's not doing much to thicken it - just means a bigger scar to heal the longer you wait, even though that's not much of a concern. So, what direction?
Al
laticauda
5 years agolast modified: 5 years ago
cactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5