well, I have always called them succs or sux or however you want to spell it. I am in the medical profession, we love acryonyms, abbreviations, short hand. But the original poster could care less about all this nonsense, they came looking for help to take care of their plants. I repot my cacti/sux/members of these families when they 1)outgrow the pots 2) start to look like they need to be repotted-poor growth, no blooms, the plant just doesn`t look happy 3) all the dirt has washed out from our monsoon rains or 4) the pot broke. Root trimming is not necessary unless you are doing them as bonsai, and there are some that are very popular in the bonsai world, I live with a bonsai nut and it is a fight to hide plants from him LOL! They usually prefer a fast draining soil and a lot of people have their own blends they use. I have a tendency to mix some sand and decomposed granite with potting mix and go with it. Luckily my climate is very forgiving. I have aloes that haven`t been repotted in years and years, no particular reason, they grow like crazy and I just don`t think about it. A lot are only repotted when I dump them out of the pot to divide them. Welcome to the addictive world of SUX! Tally HO! aka beachplant, not to be confused with Beachplants who I think might live in New Zealand? and has a baby. No babies here.

Nathan Thank you for comment on 'then & now' thread. I know that many are able to grow succulents much better & faster. That's why I read every post, and post some of mine-to compare & learn. I kept them in cold room for 'practical' reason - have a new place, but didn't move in yet, just 90% of my plants. So in order not to have to pay astronomical $$$ to heat 2 houses, I had to keep temps down. I did have the supplemental lighting set up for few hrs/day. I am sure it could have been more, but again-had to watch $$$ too. Temps were set @49F, and plants did very well. Besides succulents, I have there f. Benjamina, 4 pots of figs (kept those in bsmt. in order to keep dormant - now they are leafing out), boston ferns, 6 olives, 7 angels trumpets (Brugmansia) and few other. I do have some casualties: 3 of my euphorbias are gone, and Meyer lemon. I think (not sure) that they were just too cold, or maybe should been watered even less in col temps. I know that soil is good, very well draining. But I noticed that many plants actually look great, some better than when I had them in warmer house - definitely less water (I tend to water too much) was great for them. I watered approx. every second 'visit' & that would be approx. 3weeks. Few grew very leggy, but that's to be expected if not enough sun. So those will get their 'heads chopped off' as soon as it get warm. Yay, more plants. BTW, I have at least 20 pots of jades, all of them grown from cuttings or fallen leaves. Few of them are very unruly and there is going to be lots more cuttings. Even if there were occasional shrivelled leaves (just few), I am sure it was still better than rotted roots. Photo of few in Nov. 2013 (have to update!) Rina ...sheesh, that's long read....sorry! This post was edited by rina_ on Wed, Mar 19, 14 at 13:35

You liking your plant is the important thing. The pruning tips are just something that, at some point, can help a grower correct the direction a plant that's losing eye appeal might be taking, or help the grower retain or maintain lighter branching in the top - just another tool in your skill set when/if ever you need it. Sometimes, our eye can look at a tree or shrub in the landscape or a pot and see that something doesn't look natural - like looking at a pine tree that splits into 2 trunks and co-dominant leaders about 6 ft above the ground. The eye sees the tree doesn't look natural with 2 heads, but the mind might not be able to define what's out of place until someone points out what's amiss - then we say, "Oh yeah". Another consideration is, it's hard at first to have the confidence to start whacking away at a plant that looks good to you now for what you hope to be a better looking plant in a year or two. I've been helping a young veteran a little with bonsai, explaining some of the techniques we use to make sure the tree is something special a few years down the road. He brought a cherry tree he was proud/fond of that was blooming, and wanted to cut it back if that was the right thing to do. I wouldn't do it. There's no rush. Enjoy the blooms - enjoy the plant - let it grow for a few years and enjoy its form. As he grows in the art, he'll learn to see the results of sacrificing today's appearance for tomorrows promise. That's a lot to ask of someone. Getting back to the 2 heads thing. Your jades will look better if you have a defined trunkline that starts at the base and ends up at the top as the tallest part of the plant, though it doesn't have to be tallest by a significant amount. All other branches should be subordinate to that leader, and a big cluster of thick branches at the top - all approximately the same diameter, is a condition worthy of the effort to avoid. Have a good growing season! Al

Agree with the comments from both socks & KW. Jades are probably easiest succulents to grow & to propagate. They will grow from pruned-off/pinched off pieces, any pieces of trunks/branches or leaves. It's not that they prefer to be snug - but many ppl pot them into pots rharare huge, using poorly draining potting medium. So it is much better to use pot that is smaller, and that holds less potting medium. Any mold is sign of wet soil that may be too rich in organics too. Make mix as socks suggested. It should be mostly inorganic too. Potting more plants together is ok - but it is matter of personal preference. More trunks in the same pot could look ok, but they also 'fight' for space & could grow sideways/crooked. Jades will grow a thick trunk if they have lots of space. Thick trunk is desirable. My personal preference is solitary plant with a thicker trunk. I also prefer pots that are wider but shorter, to have a more stable base. BUT these are my preferences, & others may like different. Make sure your plant is healthy. Pot it in a well draining medium. Don't overpot. Give plant lots of light - your plat may be lacking it since internodes are very long. It needs to be as compact as possible. Downward turned leaves also signal lack of light.