Just do it :) Jades are like many other plants, They can be separated, pruned, rooted, repotted...Not sure what are you worrying about. And photo would help a lot.

Yeah, I agree. Jade is pretty tough. Of course, if you can fill in the bare spots in the pot without disturbing some of what is already in there and doing ok, that would be preferred, but you can probably take the whole thing apart too. It's a pretty forgiving sort of plant.

I wonder what is the potting soil like: did you ever repot it?

Repotting every few years is a good idea, and if there is just soil, maybe it should be amended. All old soil should be taken off the roots, and plant potted in new mix. Btw, plants - not a plant! That is lots of stems in a single pot...but if you like it, it's ok. They may interfere with each other some, fight for space and light. That could be why some of them were ..."leaning outward but getting too tall"...

I agree. You can disassemble the arrangement and recombine anyway that you want to. Since jade is a succulent, it susceptible to over watering but very tolerant of under watering, for the future. While you're repotting it, you might as well use succulent soil.

I don't think it's fair to individual jades to make them share living quarters; that's just me. I think they grow better and are much happier singly in pots. Then you will see that they are individuals, some grow faster than others, some get thicker trunks faster.

Margaret

I agree...BUT some ppl like multiple plants in one pot. They get thicker trunks faster (IMO), and grow more straight if they have more room = potted in their own pot...

I have them both ways, and as long as they get enough nutrients and are not competing for resources, they do as well in grouping as alone. The largest of the 3 in the 12 inch bowl is pushing 2 inches in diameter, and they all occasionally backbud low on the trunks, although I usually prune them back to keep the trunks visible.

Matt

Is that diameter or circumference you are talking about?

Diameter. The big one started with a leggy, undernourished, mostly dead stick I found after a friend's roommate left when they skipped town about 6 years ago. The searately potted one started from a leaf that fell off the big one and rooted and was later repotted. The others in the big container came from periodic pruning of the larger one. I decided on a multiple arrangement because the big one is not really an aesthetically attractive single plant, because I didn't know much about pruning to create that beauty back them. It just grew the way it did. The three plants together are visually more appealing to me.

Jades are very easy to grow and propagate. From leaves or pruned-off pieces. They can be almost dead; they survive without water and out of pot for months. Biggest diameter of what I have is right now almost 3" (circumference 9"). It is a single stem plant, in it's own pot. It is plant given to me about 6 years ago, that was partially frozen. Most branches fell off, and there were very few leaves left. But it recovered very well.

Nicest trunk - in my opinion :) - is Skinny fingers, that is 8yrs "old". In own pot, it grew from this:

to this:

It would not have this shape if there were more stems/plants in same pot. I only pruned 1 branch off it, which I potted, and grew 2 more from leaves.

One in the pot I am cultivating to be a single specimen, but it has years to go to achieve that. I am looking for a more traditional bonsai-influenced presentation, but I have it with company (for convenience) in a large pot to thicken the trunk before I mess much with the form. I want the trunk and tree to develop at an angle to provide visual interest, so it actually works with the current arrangement. I never saw any difference in development between the single specimen and group plantings, provided that they were not competing for limited resources, at least for this species of jade.

..."I want the trunk and tree to develop at an angle"...

How will you achieve that?

Growing it with neighbors, encouraging it to seek headroom to the side where it has free airspace. I also have seen evidence that the fight between gravity and heavy foiage pulling a tilted plant at an angle encourages the development of a thicker trunk to support it.

Jade - Crassula ovata - will eventually straighten up. Unless it is trying to get "out of the way" - that means obstruction (another plant) is still there. Or, plant is being wired, weighted or tied to keep desired shape. Foliage would have to be pretty heavy in order to keep it down - I am not sure if so much foliage can be grown indoors. They are very strong plants and can support their weight - unless they are weak from poor growing conditions or bugs or disease.

I don't grow indoors, and I have found this species of jade very trainable. The one with the largest trunk has a cascading branch and has maintained that shape for the last 3 years at least. There are other branches that I have trained up and to the side with wire.. Once that branch transitions from green to brown, it will hold its shape quite nicely. I haven't grown the species you have in your photo, so it may behave differently.

Sorry, I posted photo of C.o. Skinny Fingers, because it has trunk I like - short, far (relatively) and tapering. But what I was saying about shaping was meant about same jade you have, Crassula ovata (green, with bigger leaves).

As mentioned, it will keep the shape if you wired it.

I have experience with jade straightening its trunk quite a bit, it was not wired at all. Trunk was not green anymore, but quite woody. Maybe it was just that plant.

Would you mind posting a photo of the plant you wired? I would really like to see it. Did you eventually remove the wire?