I have never heard of Canary Island Jade. I have many different ones, but that's one I don't have. =0( I would love to see pics if you can. Jades are interesting. They like to be root bound and snug in their pot. It's probably quite happy as is, but it won't quite work well for bonsai. I don't know if you are putting it in a bonsai pot yet if you are still trying to get it where you want it. This will happen a lot faster if you grow it in a larger growing pot or even in ground. If you are putting it in a bonsai pot, just know that it will take a lot longer to get the stem to fatten up. As far as the roots go, jades are pretty forgiving. You will have to use a rake or root pick to loosen them the best you can. I might even try to do it with my fingers. Hold the roots at the base and wiggle your fingers until the roots start to losen. Kind of pull down slightly while you are doing this. I would trim them by at least half (maybe even 2/3) and then plant them in a LIGHTLY moistened VERY WELL draining soil with lots of non organic aggregate to keep the soil free draining and allow lots of space for the roots to "breath". Do not water for at least a week. The leaves of jade hold a lot of water. I have some that went the entire winter with only two waterings. They withered terribly, but when I watered them, they plumped right back up. Mind you, I had to soak them for quite some time to get the organic matter in my soil to moisten again. These were not bonsai, though. If you water immediately it will cause the roots to rot with the open cuts on the roots. Because jades root so easily, it would be very difficult to cause irreparable damage. You could actually chop it at the soil line, put it in fast draining soil or pure fired clay, and still root it. I doubt you want to go that route. =0) Good luck.

Hey, Tanyag, thanks for the reply... lots of good info there!

I found out that while some call this a "Canary Island Jade", it is actually 'aeonium lindleyi'. Nice specimen, I will post pics when I take them. Thanks for all the info, I think you're right on track about the roots... I'm going to try to loosen them up a bit and put them into the pot with bonsai medium.

I'll let you know how it goes!
Gracie

Yes, you sure can't plant them 'out' in zone 5!

Oops, didn't see the zone 5. Sometimes I forget that the whole world doesn't live in a heat box. ;0) Another thing, you might do a search on the cactus and succulent forum to see if the care for these is different. I know more about the crassula family than I do about the aeoniums.