Nice shape! Just give it more light and don't feed it

As I said I was given this Jade tree and I am so in LOVE with it but, now that I have had it for about a month now I am noticing that the leaves are falling off on the bottom and I have a lot of hanging branches. This Tree is HUGE and it takes up a lot of space I really want to prune it so that it wont be so big around but more tall and thick. Can anyone please help me!

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Hi. Your jade plant is very beautiful. If you want to prune it to make it thinner vs. wider then you can just prune it that way. These plants are very versatile and you can pretty much prune it as you like and it won't have any negative effects. In my opinion, it is over potted. They like their feet tight and I think it would do better in a clay pot instead of plastic. The leaf drop could be caused by poor soil. An easy way is to get some cactus soil and perlite and use it half and half for a good draining soil. So in conclusion:
1. Prune it how you would like it to look
2. Change the soil
3. Put it in a smaller terra cotta/clay pot
This is just my opinion and I take care of my 30 jade plants the same way. HTH. Good Luck:)

Do I just wash the old soil off and then plant it in the new stuff? What kind of teracotta pot one that has holes at the bottom and and then have a base that catches the exess water? Sorry I am new at this and I just don't want to kill this. Can I cut the branches off and then Plant them with the current plant to make it thicker? Because if you look at it up close you will notice that the branches spread in different directions and I want to try to get them to go tall instead of Around. Can you have to many in a pot? Thanks Michelle

Hi Michelle. Yes, definetly make sure the tera cotta pot had drainage holes in it. I don't have any trays under mine though, I don't think you really need them. Once you prune your plant, let the cuttings sit out in the shade outside or in a window sill inside that doesn't get much sun at all for a week or two so a callous forms on the cut. You can put the cuttings back in the pot with the mother plant, by letting them lean up against the wall of the pot, or put them in their own pot. Take care not to water the cuttings that much though because you don't want them to rot. I only use a water spray bottle to give the cuttings a drink maybe once a week or week and a half. I just brought my plants back inside last night and this time a year until spring i only water them once every 5-7 weeks. I gently squeeze the leaves on top of the plant and when they are soft I water them. If you want your plant tall not wide you are going have to prune it regularly because they usually grow out and up. Make sure you give it as much sun as possible too. HTH

Pot must always have good drainage, this plant needs very little care. It's name is Crassula ovata 'Jade'. I notice it is in a diamond shape, if you just prune off the top tips of each branch or cluster of leaves, perhaps it will flower for Christmas, put out side unless it starts to snow. Do not water at this time.
This is the reason the leaves drop----too much water. These plants do not do as well as they could inside. Norma Fertilize every week in the Spring. shorten any drooping stems or any branches that turn down. You can't hurt the plant, and only way to kill it: Too much water, and consistantly wet roots. Norma