This plant looks very abused from lack of consistant care and no sun. But if you really like that look as you say you do, change nothing the previuos ownwers did to it, which was nothing:-).

Different strokes for different folks.

randy

Randy,
I don't think you understood my question.
The only look I like is the hanging branches, and I was wondering if that's harmful for the plant.
I have changed many things that the previous owners did. They kept it in no sunlight...now it's in a lot of sun. They overwatered it...I don't. I take very good care of my jade. So if you say that it looks that way from abuse, what can I do to fix it? Because I do all the things I'm "supposed" to do.
Again, I was asking if the hanging branches are a problem, and I was also inquiring about the dried out bark.
If anyone has any answers to those questions, I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks,
Gabi

Gabi

I don't think you misunderstood my answer:-).

If you "Believe it or not, I like when the little offshoot branches are strangly, hanging, and unpruned" (your words) don't change anything. That kind of growth is from neglect and easy to produce.

The bark doesn't look to be a problem I would worry about.

randy

I fear I may not be expressing my self well here.

"Strangly, hanging" branches is weak growth produced from neglect. It is not a type of growth that is healthy or benifical to the plant.

You say you like it, then you should not change anything. It doesn't matter what others think. But don't freak out when house guests mistake you for a plant abuser:-).

You plant is something that would do a swan dive into the compost pile here at the house, but that's just me :-).

Do what makes you happy. It doesn't matter what I think in the over scheme of things.

randy

Hi Glabro,

Glad you posted this separately, as I thought the same when I read this on the other thread last night.

The dry, scaly bark thing is called corking, it's not harmful, it's an aging thing. I have that on the original stems of my Xmas cactus, not a problem, just an aesthetic thing. Sometimes plants w/ older woody stems have this happen to their bark, it's a function of aging, not disease & not a problem.

As to the hanging, gangly growth, other than what was already answered above (w/ which I agree), it's not bad per se, but eventually becoming too top heavy, those branches will certainly break & fall off, not so controllable where it will break (perhaps not where one would want) & in time could topple the whole plant.

To quote Randy (above), "It is not a type of growth that is healthy or benifical to the plant." You're asking if it's harmful, I suggest harmful is a relative thing. While not disastrous, I think it stresses the plant to try & hold on to less than healthy, strong growth; but you seem intent on that "look".

I would at least lop off the very top scraggly growth & anything w/ curved branches; curved branches on a Jade are not normal & to me a really clear sign of weak growth.

I'd skip the humidifier completely, these are not high humidity plants, they're succulents.

I certainly don't care for the look of sticks holding up the branches, but that's just me (I've got an Aloe that's lopsided w/ whom I have to do the same thing, so I DO understand the issue).

As said above, different strokes for diff. folks.

Pirate Girl,

Thank you very much for your great explanation :)
You really helped me a lot, and I completely understand what you are saying. I was worried that the "top-heaviness" would be stressful for the plant, and you confirmed that for me. So even though I like that "dangly" sort of look, I guess I'll start pruning. I'm sure I'll be happy with it in the long run. Would you think now is a good time to prune? I would love to be able to use the cuttings to make other plants, but I'm worried it's too cold now for the cuttings to root. Oh, and thank you for answering my dry bark question in such detail :)

Hi Again Gabro,

You're very welcome.

Sometimes plant issues aren't necessarily a black & white thing. Randy & others would know better than I abt when to prune (I don't grow much Jade anymore, doesn't work for me here in NYC); but since Jades are winter bloomers, I would GUESS now would be OK to cut them. (I can't tell from your post or member page where in the country you are.)

However, if you do cut/prune now, if it were me, I'd leave the cuttings out, do not pot them up, just leave them out for a week to callous over, then I'd stand them upright in an empty unglazed clay pot or just leave them lying out where they'd get some bright, indirect light (not direct sun) & no water at all.

This may sound crazy, but if one leaves the cuttings out, dry, unpotted & unwatered, they'll still sprout roots & one has no risk of rotting them. I've done this w/ many relatives of Jades (Echeverias, Kalanchoes, different Crassulas, etc.) & it works fine (might take a bit of time, but still) ...

Be brave w/ the pruning, have fun & enjoy! I'm guessing you'll have a much happier plant next Spring.

Hi Pirate Girl,

I live in New York too. I live in Queens (used to live in the city but it became WAY too expensive for me!). I'm glad you gave me the "go ahead" to cut them now, cause I'm too impatient to wait until Spring! But don't worry, I know it's just advice so I won't blame you if you had the wrong "guess" :)
I actually tried it out last night and snipped off a piece...it was tough but I got through it. I'll just have to toughen up and get right in there. I'll be sure to post an "after" pic.
About the cuttings, I've recently started taking cuttings off succulents (usually just leaf cuttings), and I try both ways (wet and dry). For some reason wet works better for me, even though it makes no sense (why water something that has no roots?). But I actually have some leaves that have rooted...I just dusted them with rooting hormone (after letting them callous) and kept them in a moist mixture of perlite, sphagnum, and vermiculite. I know this rooting method is not the preferred one, but it works (sometimes) for me. I've been trying the other way as well (I just keep the leaves on top of a flat bed of soil), so I'll see how that goes. But I will definitely take your advice for rooting jade.
Thanks again,
Gabi

Well Gabi,

I'd try these cuttings w/out any soil, this way you could make the comparison (& also see that tho' it sounds crazy, it does work). Maybe it's a NY radiator thing, but I have radiators under my windowsills, & often just place a leaf or small cutting of Crassulaceae (Jade relatives), on the sill 'til they root. No mix, no water, no rooting hormone, nothin' but light & 9 times out of 10 (for this class of plants anyway) it works!

Since you ARE local & I see you buy a fair amount on EBay, seems to me I should invite you to the next Meeting of the Indoor Gardening Society of America (NYC chapter). We generally meet the 4th Tues. of each month (may vary a bit this month due to holidays scheduling, etc.) Let's be in touch in another wk or 2 & I'll give you the details in case you're interested. We welcome visitors as guests for a meeting at no charge in the event they like what they see & would like to join (you'd mention my name at the door & come as my guest).

Tho' this says "Indoor", we actually cover all kinds of plants, loosely referred to as Houseplants, like Succulents, Tropicals, Orchids, & even sometimes Hoyas ;>) (are you drooling yet?) ...

I recognize a kindred spirit plant addict when I see one!

(PG) Karen

Wow Karen, I feel honored :)
And yes, I was drooling, especially when you mentioned Hoyas...
I would love to come to a meeting (even though it will further feed my addiction - is there a 12 step program too?!)
I wish I could put the cuttings on my windowsill, but mine are so cold. I'll just have to find somewhere to lay them out. Or maybe I'll just put them all in a pot. Can I put a whole bunch in a clay pot or am I better off laying them out in the open?
So thanks again for the invite, and here's my email address:
gabro14@hotmail.com - another one bites the dust :P

I'm in mourning. I whacked my plant. I feel horrible :(
I guess on the bright side, I have enough cuttings for 300 plants.
Please tell me I did the right thing!
I chopped off all the hanging branches (even if it looks like there are some hangers, they are actually from another lower stalk). Here is the after pic (please tell me I did the right thing and it will look good and full at some point).

{{gwi:748461}}

You did good!! Keep those clippers sharp, I think you could keep going :) But, let's see what the experts think :) I chopped one of mine this year, it was invigorating! I'll post some pics tomorrow, but it is nothing compared to some of the ones that you see here. Good luck! Christy

Look at 'aseedisapromise's earlier picture and post in the 'Jade Plant Update'. I copied and pasted their link to their picture, it is GORGEOUS!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: aseedisapromise's Jade Plant

Thanks Christy...that made me feel a lot better! You think I should keep going?? I'm sure it would end up looking good, but I couldn't "bare" (pun intended) having a tree with no leaves for a whole year, or even a few months. I'd love to see your pics when you get a chance...
Thanks,
Gabi

Karen - thanks for the response on the bark 'corking'. Learned something there. Excellent tip to lose the humidifier as well.
Gabro - I think you did the right thing. Please be patient and give the plant time. If you follow the link above, you can see how dramatic a dfference a year, and pruning, can make. I respect the aesthetic influences of Randy and Karen. To dumb it down to my level, you have given the plant better structure and balance. You have also redirected any upcoming growth and energy. Probably given it a much better chance of flowering as well.
Also, might be the time to fertilize it, especially if it is in growth mode.
Time to turn the frown upside down and smile. I think you did a great job.

Thanks for the encouraging words borrego :)
I will be patient and I'm hopeful it will turn out nice.
So I should water and fertilize now? The last time I watered was probably over a month or 2 ago.
Karen (PG), I'm so curious to hear what you think of my jade mutilation :P

Okay, I cut my two back on Oct. 4th, so this is just over 2 months later. They had sprouts within 2 weeks, one was faster than the other. Mine aren't as big as yours, but one of them is about 7 years old. I didn't take good care of it for several years, but I am now!! Yes, I would cut off more, and no I wouldn't water or fertilize it, I'd just leave it alone. I've watered mine once since October. Good luck!! Christy

Here is a previous thread where several folks 'whacked their jade plants!!'

Here is a link that might be useful: i whacked my jade plant!

Well Hi All,

(I can't usually post this much from work, but ...)

Borrego, you're welcome ... always happy to share helpful tidbits (many of which I've learned here over the yrs.)

Looks great to me Gabi! You were brave & did well, I believe the plant will thank you big-time! Again, others know better than I as to expertize w/ hacking back their Jades (we've had so many threads on this, including the one which was generously linked here, did you see how GREAT the plant recovered a year later?) If you're still feeling badly abt this, pls. search the other threads on this, particularly for one from Denise in Omaha, who has a variety of handsome Crassulas related to Jades & hacks 'em back big time, w/ gorgeous results.

I'm really not sure abt watering & fertilizing, feel I should defer to others on that. My instincts say let the plant recover for a while first, after all, you think it was shocking to do this, the plant must think so too.

General motto w/ succulents (& Jades in particular), when in doubt abt watering, don't. Pls. remember that as succulents, they hold reserves of water in their fat, fleshy leaves, they can always recover better from too little water rather than from too much.

Gotta go, boss just arrived.

May I ask you pls. to set aside 5-6 cuttings for me, if you bring them to the Mtg at end of month, that'll be my consultation fee ;>) I'll try growing them yet again, if you can do it in Queens, makes me think I should give it another try in Bklyn. I'll be in touch privately before then, but the Mtg is scheduled for Tues. Dec. 26, 6:30 pm.

You did great, be proud!!!

(PG) Karen

Thanks for sharing Christy. That's a lot of growth for 2 months! I'm wondering though, if your plant is 7 years old, why isn't it taller? Is it because you are cutting back to make a thicker trunk? I'm not really familiar on the growing pattern of jades, and I don't even know how old mine is and how it got to be so large.

Karen, thanks for everything. And my plant thanks you too :)
I would definitely encourage you to try growing jade again...I don't see why it would be a problem in Brooklyn.
So I took all my cuttings and cut them into shorter pieces and laid them along my bedroom windowsill, which is close to the ground (I have ceiling to floor windows). There is a heat vent right under the sill, so I'm hoping I'll have the same success as you did with your window sill. I'd be happy to give you some cuttings. I'm really hoping I can make the next mtg...6:30 is a tough time for me because I work in Long Island and sometimes don't even get off work until then or even later! But hopefully that day will work out for me...like you said, we'll talk before then.
Thanks again for all your help and encouragement!
Gabi

I know it should be a lot taller. My MIL gave it to me 7 years ago and I didn't take very good care of it. I actually started to think that they were impossible to kill!! But, I'm taking care of it now. This is the first time I have pruned it, thanks to the advice on this forum. Post pictures occasionally of your progress!! Christy

Hi if you are still looking at this. Some of those branches were definately too thin, they would have broken off. I am a firm believer in pruning plants back, most any plants really. It will continue to grow, but I find a good rule is trim them back as long as you leave 2 to 3 good sets of leaves to carry on new branching. If you dont like where the branch is remove it alltogether. You will get a stout healthy plant that can support itself. Leave the new growth a little longer if you would like a branch there. Jade are hard to kill, and forgiving.

Thanks for you input. I haven't cut any more since the last pic I took. I hope that's enough, but anything more and I would have been concerned about ME going into shock, not the plant! I'm learning to like it more and more everyday (I like being able to see the branches). I hope by Spring I see new growth. This huge whacking job actually empowered me to go to my father's house and whack my mother's jades (she was also a plant lover who passed away 3 years ago, and my father has no clue how to care for plants)...my jade was award winning compared to the condition her's were in! I took all the cuttings (a garbage bag full), and only about 1/4 was left after going through it and throwing out the dead stuff. I then brought most of the cuttings to my plant loving friends at work. I felt like the plant Santa Claus :)

Ask Pirate Girl, she is from New York, I have never seen corking on a Jade Plant, so can't help you, many "Jade" plants have a different epidermis, that helps us identity them. Norma

Well this "jade" is a crassula ovata, and that question has already been answered for me a while ago in this thread.

Gabro,

I am coming to this thread late hiving followed your recent link from the bonsai forum. I am afraid that I would tend to agree with Randy that this plant was in a terrible state of neglect as shown at the beginning of this thread. I would not have gone so far to say that it should be composted though, there is plenty to work with in my opinion. Any time you can get a nice heavy trunk on a Jade it is worth taking the time to work with.

Don't worry that you have gone too far in your pruning, I have removed every leaf from Jades and they always respond well.

About the watering: in the winter I don't water them until the leaves become noticeably limp. I then water by putting the pot in a tub and watering copiously from the top until several inches of water accumulates in the tub, this is then allowed to stand overnight. The next day the leaves are fully hydrated and turgid again. This is the only plant that I handle this way and they seem to like it. I do this during the winter about once a month. It should be noted that I have my Jades in a very free draining bonsai mix.

Cuttings: While leaf cuttings will root I find they take much longer than stem cuttings to produce anything useful. Since you have so much material to choose from I suggest that you forgo the leaf cutting method. You can root almost any size branch if you can devise a way to hold it upright in the pot until it roots. As noted it is important to allow the cuttings to dry out or they will rot when potted. During this waiting period try to find a way to maintain the cuttings in an upright position. If you leave them lay on their sides too long they will try to orient themselves to the light and become misshapen.

If you are able, plan on putting the plants outside during warm weather they will respond with vigorous growth and an attractive red tinge to the leaf margins. I would also consider re-potting that large group into a free draining mix, separating some of the smaller plants in the process.

I think after a time you will come to appreciate a more compact outline and even look forward to an annual pruning, I know I do.

Norm

Gabi has made it know on another forum how upset she was with me on my comments here. Looking back on it, I regret some of the things I said.

I guess I have a little higher standard of material I will work with. I do throw a lot of stuff away because of lack of quality. In my opinion it just doesn't make sense to put a lot of effort in to less than ideal quality material. The better you start with, the better the result. I think I grow some nice things though, so it works for me.

Sorry if my comments were callous and derogatory. They weren't meant to be.

randy

Randy,
I appreciate your apology. You have to understand that you use jades in a different way. You say you "have a little higher standard of material" and you also said "different strokes for different folks"...well I personally don't like bonsai'd jades, just like you don't like my tree, but we all have different opinions (and by the way I would never say that unless asked...but I'm saying it now to make a point, so I apologize if you took any offense to that).

I have an adult tree that I nurtured back to health and that I love very much. When you say "ideal quality material", that sounds very foreign to me. I just have houseplants. I don't sell them or make them into bonsai. And if they are not "ideal", I learn to love them or I try and fix them.

In this case, I was simply asking if the drooping branches are dangerous for the tree...I wasn't asking if you or anyone else liked it. I was too afraid of speaking up at the time, but your "compost" comment was hurtful and unneccessary. I've done nothing but the right thing for this jade, and I know how to take care of a jade...but I can't help it if the previous owners caused the branches to look so strangly, and I can't help it if I happen to like it! Yes, I know it's from not being in enough sun, but the damage was done. Anyway, my question was answered (with lack of aesthetic opinion, which is how it should be unless asked)...and it is not healthy to have those dangly branches, so I pruned my tree, and I'm happy I did so.

Gnome,
Thank you for your constructive advice. I agree...a nice heavy trunk is worth working with. I'm doing everything I can to keep it healthy, which is why I pruned it. It's growing on me, even though I did like the "craziness" of it! To each his own, right? But when I was told it could be harmful for the plant (the branches could break off in random places from being top heavy), I decided to do what's best for it. And my cuttings are rooting now, but you're advice about keeping them upright was helpful for my next pruning (I didn't realize that's why people keep them upright!). Anyway, thanks for your comments and advice. And I do plan on putting the plant outside after the last frost.

Gabi

Hi Gabi,

My apology is very sincere. I was thoughtless and regret it.

Just as you say my comments were hurtful, but why did you feel compelled to say what you did on another thread yesterday? Why didn't you say something before then and deal with it in a way that expressed your hurt with the vicious attack? I'm not some evil animal looking to ruin someones day every chance I get.

There was nothing wrong in expressing hurt and anger, but some of the things you said about me are very wrong. You don't know me. I think if you thought what I said was hurtful, how would you have responded if I had said the things that you said about me to you?

I've made this thing right on my end and no longer have any regrets. I'm ready to move on.

I wish you well in whatever endeavors you tackle. If you still have animosity towards me, please keep it to yourself. I promise no more thoughtless comments on my end.

randy

Randy,

I owe you an apology too. I'm sorry for how I came down on you...I just thought something needed to be said. Honestly, if you reread that bonsai thread, you will see that you were quite rude to the poster. I don't want to dwell on it, so if you want more specifics as to why I thought it warranted my "attack", email me. But looking back (and seeing how you're handling this), I believe you don't say these things maliciously...you probably don't realize how you come off sometimes. And I know I should just keep my mouth shut, but I'm just one of those people who needs to speak my mind. We all need to remember that this is supposed to be a helpful forum. All is good, and I wish you well too.

Gabi

Amen !!!!! Move on to brighter horizons.
And we all will thank you.
LOU

Yes Lou..."move on to brighter horizons" indeed! Can't we all just get along??? Speaking of brighter horizons, Spring is coming!

But I'm in a royally bad mood because I bought a box in a superbowl pool and was SO CLOSE to winning. Vinitari (not sure of the spelling, but he's on the Indianapolis Colts) just missed the all important field goal in the second quarter...what are the chances of that??? He's the best kicker in football! If he would've gotten the goal, I would have won enough money to buy ALL of you jades!

Wish me luck for the next 2 quarters!

Gabi

I'm usually one of the first to jump in on a Jade posting, but I've been on hiatus taking care of a new puppy and my husband after some surgeries...

Gabi, I'm in agreement with Christy - get radical with that knife! My best Jades are ones I've whacked right back to a stump (well, several stumpy branches... no leaves) Yes, they look like hell for a year, but - WOW!!! - the result will be awsome. I see on my old posts that the pic links don't work anymore. Here are some of the pics I referred to in those posts...

Here's one a year after a severe pruning...
{{gwi:574221}}

...and the same one last fall...
{{gwi:485751}}

One I keep at work in winter...
{{gwi:574224}}

A Jade grown well with enough light will get these red tones in the summer. In our northern areas, it's hard to keep them that way in winter, but they don't grow much and will keep their shape if not overwatered and kept in an unobstruced southern exposure. The first one I keep at home in winter and loses it's redness by spring. The other sits in a south window at work and keeps it's red tones - it gorgeous.

Randy may be blunt (which is a trait I personally appreciate, but I know a lot of people take offense...), but I have to agree that a "hangy" Jade is not one I would keep as such. But I'm one of those that's inclined to try to force a "comeback" and would whack that baby back to bare-bones and see what happens. What I've learned over the years is that a Jade is one you can expect a full and spectacular recovery from - as long as you leave some branches (in other words, it's ok to lose all the leaves, but leave a couple inches of each branch off the main trunk...) and as long as you have patience. If you can't stand to see a plant look ugly for awhile, my suggestion would be to toss the one you have and go buy one that looks awesome and then try to keep it that way by giving it LOTS of sun.

Denise in Omaha

Thanks Denise. And nice jades! I love the red, and I'm planning on keeping them outside this year (if I can...my building is getting waterproofed and the co-op wants EVERYTHING off our terraces for 3 months starting March 15th...ugh). But when I do get to put it outside, I do hope they keep their deep green color...I just love it.

I see what you're saying about pruning, and I will definitely continue to prune all hanging branches. Maybe I'm crazy, but I really like the crazy look of my plant. I like all the branches/stalks, and would never want to cut one back. They took so long to grow to the height that they are at..why would I want to cut them? The plant stands about 2 and 1/2 feet high (from the soil line!), so I'm not looking to keep it a small plant...I want it to be HUGE. I actually just removed a dead branch last night, but aside from that, I'm going to keep all my wild looking branches.

I know from a bonsai point of view (it looks like yours are kept in bonsai form), having only one thick stalk is key. But I just happen to love the full look of my plant with all it's stalks. Believe it or not, I wouldn't even consider tossing my plant to get one that's "perfect". I think mine has character :-)

Am I crazy or does anyone else agree?

Crazy for liking your plant? If you're crazy then you're amongst friends and this forum is a psych ward.

I'm sure many of us have plants that other people would look at right away and call ugly. Or weird. But we form attachments to these things that we're trying to keep alive and help to flourish. We spend our Saturday mornings inspecting leaves for insects that most people would never think to look for, repotting, pruning, trimming and washing our plants leaves.

Then we run off to Home Depot, Lowes and the nurseries that the "sane" people don't even know exist so we can buy just the right pots, soil, soil additives, water meters and fertilizers for our beloved plants.

We learn correct Latin names and spellings of plants that most people just call "foliage", "cactus" or "tropical". We keep $3 plants that the "sane" people throw away once the blooms are spent and we learn to make them rebloom. We buy scraggley 99 cent plants on clearence and take in abused plants because we feel compelled to rescue them. Then we paitiently wait for them to outgrow their ugly phases.

We worry about room temperature, lighting, drafts and toxic fumes. We mix home remedies for mealy bugs and spider mites. We look on the internet to find like-minded people to discuss our plants with. We have to. The sane people get tired of us talking to them about what our plants are doing. What do we do on the forum? Argue about our obesession.

So, are you crazy? Perhaps. No more than the rest of us though.

LOL!! Amany, you expressed it so well!! Yes, most of us here are obsessed. And it's ok if some like a plant grown one way, while others like it grown another. There are two "schools of thought" when it comes to growing most C&S... "hard" as in nature, or "soft" which essentially means more water and less light than in nature. With some plants, I prefer the slightly "stressed" look of growing "hard", but in others, I like the softer look. If you're not planning on showing your plants in competition, it doesn't really matter what you prefer. Just grow what looks good to you.

Denise in Omaha