theo316
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Jade Bonsai...When and Where?

Hello,
I have a very nice Jade Bonsai that I keep in my office at
work. I am having very good success with it. I am getting new leaves
here and there.

I am wondering when and where do I prune? Do I just cut the new growth back? I would attach a pic but I am having issues with my cell phones ability to email (sorry I know this isn't howardchui.com...lol)

When I get a pic I will edit and post the pic of it as well.

Any info would be helpful.

Thanks!

T.

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Gnome
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T.

You can cut a Jade back pretty much anywhere you want. I have done anything from light maintenance pruning to a chop so hard many would cringe, they always come back.

Examine your plant closely and you will see that the arrangement of the leaves are opposite but alternating. In other word each pair of leaves is opposite of each other but the next set is at 90 degrees to the previous.

You can use this to your advantage. If you prune above a pair of leaves that are arranged to the left and right, you will get a pair of new shoots at the location of each leaf, left and right. If you prune to a pair of leaves than are arranged the other way (one growing toward the trunk and one away from the trunk) you will also get a pair of new shoots, but one growing inside and one growing toward the outside.

If you want a branch to grow outward, or away from the trunk, prune to an appropriate node and remove the inner shoot when it forms, thereby forcing the branch to grow away form the trunk.

If, instead, you wish to increase branching, or 'ramification' then prune to a node that goes to the left and right and allow both resultant shoots to develop.

Norm

P.S. Are you sure that this is an actual Jade or perhaps a Portulacaria (if you Google those you will readily see the difference) one of the common names for Portulacaria is Baby Jade.

theo316
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Joined: Fri Aug 14, 2009 8:46 am
Location: Uxbridge, MA

Thanks so much for your response to my thread.
After looking up the images in Google, I think you are correct in that its a Portulacaria or baby jade.

This is the first bonsai that is doing well all my others have died due to my ignorance. So I am terrified to prune. When I can I will
upload a pic of it and maybe you can give me some advice on where or even if I should be pruning.

Thanks again,

T.

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Gnome
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T.

Your quite welcome. Don't worry, this as an easy species to manage. The most important thing to remember is not to water too often. We look forward to seeing your pictures.

Norm

JTred
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Gnome wrote:T.

You can cut a Jade back pretty much anywhere you want. I have done anything from light maintenance pruning to a chop so hard many would cringe, they always come back.

Examine your plant closely and you will see that the arrangement of the leaves are opposite but alternating. In other word each pair of leaves is opposite of each other but the next set is at 90 degrees to the previous.

You can use this to your advantage. If you prune above a pair of leaves that are arranged to the left and right, you will get a pair of new shoots at the location of each leaf, left and right. If you prune to a pair of leaves than are arranged the other way (one growing toward the trunk and one away from the trunk) you will also get a pair of new shoots, but one growing inside and one growing toward the outside.

If you want a branch to grow outward, or away from the trunk, prune to an appropriate node and remove the inner shoot when it forms, thereby forcing the branch to grow away form the trunk.

If, instead, you wish to increase branching, or 'ramification' then prune to a node that goes to the left and right and allow both resultant shoots to develop.

Norm

P.S. Are you sure that this is an actual Jade or perhaps a Portulacaria (if you Google those you will readily see the difference) one of the common names for Portulacaria is Baby Jade.
I never knew this before. This would make a really great post for the Learning forum and Library. I don't think there's any posts there about pruning or encouraging ramification.

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Gnome
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T.
Thanks so much for your response to my thread.
After looking up the images in Google, I think you are correct in that its a Portulacaria or baby jade.
You're welcome. Portulacaria are very much like the larger Jade in culture but even though their leaves are arranged in the same way they may not respond with the same consistency. What I mean by that is that after pruning you may not get both latent buds to open. You will always get at least one of the pair so no fear of killing it.

They can also stand to be watered a little more often. One way to tell is to watch the leaves and when they are wrinkled you should have already watered. :wink: But again, no worries, after watering they will plump right up again.

Norm

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JTred

Other species with opposite leaves behave similarly, Maple comes to mind. Others, such as Elms, are entirely different. Study your plants and you will learn their individual characteristics.

Norm



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