Jade Plant

[Shade]

I have a jade plant that I originally pulled out of my moms plant and was 1 inch tall. It is 6 1/2 years old and is now over 3 feet tall and more than 4 feet wide. My dilemma is that I have transplanted it once (or twice lol) too often and is getting too big to manage. It weighs over 90 pounds. I was wondering if anyone has ever downsized a jade's pot? I really need it to be one pot sized smaller. Am I just out of luck or has anyone ever done this and if so how do I proceed?

[Happy Days]

Wow! That is a gorgeous Jade plant. I must say I've never "downsized" one quite that large or heavy but it can be done. They respond well to root pruning and also branch pruning/shaping. You should have lots of cuttings to repot or give away, that's for sure.

[baileysup]

WOW! That's the nicest jade I've ever seen! Good job man! And good luck with the downsizing.

[rainbowgardener]

I haven't done it, but they make bonsai out of jade plant, so I'm sure it is adaptable to being pruned down. As noted, you want to prune the roots as well as branches, by an equivalent proportion. And in general pruning things you don't want to remove more than 1/3 of the plant or roots.

[Shade]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I will just have to try it and see what happens. It's my favorite plant that I own but is getting WAY too big.

[Green Mantis]

Oh my goodness, it's gorgeous.

If it was me I wouldn't do anything to it, except try and find a bigger place in the house to put it.

I agree, I have never seen a jade that beautiful and big, "ever" Congratulations.

[Shade]

Thanks Green Mantis! I may just leave it alone...it just depends on how difficult it will be to move it outside in the summer and back inside in the winter.

[LindaD]

Hi Shade..thanks for the great picture. If you follow the advice about trimming the top and roots of the plant back up to 1/3 you should keep the plant alive. Of course if you do this again in the next growing seson you may be able to pare it back again, if it doesn't grow too much in between.

If there is a local plant society that has a sale, they may appreciate tiny jade plants as a contributon, if you have tiny pots to start some up in. Of course if you start a few for yourself and are not successful in getting the big one back to a more manageable size you can have a few to carry on with if the big one finds a new home at say a local city greenhouse where all could enjoy it. Good Luck

[UrbanGardenDiva]

First of all, congratulations on such a healthy looking Jade. Crassula are my favorite as I have just gotten into bonsai. Have you considered pruning it back? It would surely survive and you could have many babies! I have great success with my 11 year old potted jade. I prune it once a year and it seems happy and healthy in a 10 inch pot. Like you, no room for one that size!

[Shade]

Thanks Urban. I have never pruned my jade in the nearly 7 years I have had it other than scraggly branches. It usually self prunes by dropping branches that are too small. I really like the natural look instead of the neatly pruned look. I will have to see how much it grows this year when I sit it outside this spring. It always grows fairly rapidly each summer when its outside. It's currently my favorite houseplant. I really don't want to cut it back unless absolutely necessary, however I may have to with it growing to such a large size.

[baileysup]

I would totally take off some of the lower branches, so that it looked more like a tree. That jade would make an outstanding bonzai! Just some lower ones. Not too much.

[baileysup]

If you "down pot" it, it will surely lose some leaves. That's only if you cut roots though. PS. Get rid of the ones on the bottom.

[Shade]

I am not so concerned about it losing leaves. It loses 50% of it's leaves every year when I bring it inside. Right now it is at about 50%. I haven't set it outside yet but will soon. I really love the way it looks with all the branches and really do not want to cut it back, but I realize I will have to do so if I downsize. I am going to see what happens this summer. I will see how big it gets by the end of fall before I make a decision.

[teacup63]

I have to say your jade plant is amazing. I have to ask how you got it to be so big? Light (when you have it outside what side of the house do you have it on) water? fertilizer? I just have to ask these questions because mine is also my favourite plant. It is no where near as full as yours, nor as big and it's probably 20 years old or more. The only cuttings I've taken are the ones that have fallen off and I've grown babies from the parent plant. I've transplanted it at least a couple times because it became root bound. I was thinking I'd put it into a smaller pot (yours looks like a smaller pot than mine) which I'm sure wouldn't work since the roots are almost touching the pot all the way around now and are as deep as the pot. please share how you got your so healthy looking.

[Rose bloom]

So what did you do, Shade?

[rainbowgardener]

The picture was posted in Feb. Shade only ever made 13 posts, the last of which was in April. That means he likely won't be back to see your question. Unfortunately around here, we have to get used to never hearing the end of most stories. Just occasionally, some one comes back to update us on what happened. I'm a Sheldon type with a high need for closure and it drives me crazy, but I have learned to live with it.

[Rose bloom]

Thank you for telling me. I did not notice the date.

[Shade]

I basically set it in an east window when it was small until it out grew the windowsill. Once it was about a foot tall I began sitting it outside in the summer. That is when it really began to take off each year. It loves being outside in the summer. The only water it gets in the summer is when it rains or I have to water the lawn. It is even bigger this year! The trunk is about 5 1/2 inches in diameter and its bloomed more than it ever has in the past. I never fertilized it until this year, which is probably why it bloomed more this year than past years. I leave it outside until the temperatures reach around 34-36 or whenever the first frost is forecast. It's my prize houseplant. I call it Jadezilla. Here is a story. We are selling our house and moving in the spring so we could put up our Christmas tree. So..we decorated the Jade and put lights and everything on it. Its pretty cool. I will see if I can post a picture of it. Oh..and btw... I did remove all the lower branches that are seen in the picture above but it just spread out and filled it again! It is still in the same pot I never transplanted it or downsized.





My apologies for all the editing. If you click on the pic an go to my photo bucket it shows a picture of my daughter decorating the jade. For reference in the size of the jade, my daughter is 54 inches tall. Also in the picture above you can see the white flowers.

[Rose bloom]

Wow!

[rainbowgardener]

Hey, Shade -- thanks for coming back and updating us! Like I said, more often than not we never hear the end of stories around here, so it's really nice to see what happened!

[applestar]

Jadezilla, you look gorgeous, Darling.

...really, that's is one happy plant. And I love that you can see the trunk and branch structures now from the way you pruned.

The lights will mean increased dryness. Since holiday lights are usually indoor/outdoor, you can mist with a sprayer without fear of electrical accidents (make sure yours is before doing that though).

[Shade]

Thanks guys. I waited to post until after I brought my jade inside...sorry for the long time between posts. @Applestar...it looks like Jadezilla is doing pretty good with the lights so far (only a few days to go before we take them off). When we do move I am NOT looking forward to moving him. He weighs about 85-90 pounds. Our new house, once it's finished being built, will have much more room and I have a perfect spot for him. We will have a nice patio outside for him in the summer. I just hope he survives the move with minimal damage.

[Rose bloom]

Me,too!

[baileysup]

Christmas Jade! Awesome! So cool Shade. Thanks for the pics

[Happy Days]

I am so happy to see this plant doing so well. I absolutely love it!

[Shade]

Thanks for the comments guys. My jade is my crown jewel of all my plants.

[Happy Days]

I've forgotten how old the plant is (if you've said).

[Shade]

It is currently 7 1/2 years old. It will be 8 around June.

[purpleinopp]

What an amazing plant! Didn't notice the 2nd page of the discussion at first. One of the biggest potted ones I've seen.

[Rose bloom]

How are you going to move it?

[Shade]

I've thought a lot about how to move it. It will have to be moved twice, once to our rental house for 2 months and then to our new house when building is complete. I think what I am going to do is put it in the U-haul the very last thing after everything else is loaded. I am expecting some loss of branches but Jades are very hardy and will recover. I will take every precaution to prevent any loss at all.

[Shade]

An update. I moved my Jade successfully to the rent house about 3 weeks ago. In about another month we will have to move him to our permanent residence. I hope the last move will go as well as the this one did! As a side note I a have noticed that it hasn't shed leaves this winter as it has every winter I have had it. I am not sure why but I am pleased non-the-less. I can't wait to get to our new house so I can find a permanent place for him.

[tomc]

I'd propagate a new jade baby, and sell the parent.

It'll take a serious search, but you can prune jade back and more (or less) into bonsai. Look on the web for how others done it. Jade will back-bud.

[Shade]

I am no longer looking to downsize or prune it back. I have really grown to like it as it is. Not really fond of the bonsai look.

[Shade]

I am about to move my jade to its permanent home this Saturday. Wish me luck.

[baileysup]

Good luck Shade. Let us know how it goes, and a picture is always nice, if you can . I love seeing your jade. It's spectacular, and inspirational.

[applestar]

Ooh Good luck!

[Shade]

I will post a pic in its new home if I can remember how to do it.

[han412]

This is a pic of my jade bonsai. This plant responds well to prune. If I were you I would prune the plant to a desired size and start a bonsai .

[Rose bloom]

Um, han12, he said he did not want to downsize it anymore and said he did not really like the bonsai look.