
Jade Plant
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? 

Last edited by Shade on Fri Mar 01, 2013 10:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
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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

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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!
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.
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.
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.

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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.
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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.


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.
Last edited by Shade on Thu Dec 19, 2013 6:54 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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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).

...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).
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.
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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.
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.
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