That request seems pretty broad, so I have some questions back. By spoon jade, do you mean a Crassula cv. such as gollum or hobbit? As to pruning, what is your goal? Shaping, growing big, developing it in bonsai fashion, simply its health as it grows how it wants to? Also, how long has it been in your care, what kind of light is it exposed to, and what soil is it in? Pictures of the plant(s) from various angles, including close-ups from 'ground' level and ones that show branch structure would be quite helpful. Crassula gets a lot of love on this forum, so provide lots of good info and then expect lots of feedback.

ez

Please and thank you also go a long way to getting the answers you seek, whatever plant you are talking about as please do remember, we volunteer our time and knowledge to supply information. There is a search facility on the forums too.

Actually I wasn't paying attention when I posted this. I thought I was in the search bar, ha ha. However, I really appreciate the responses and will try to post the 2 pictures I have on my phone to here.

The plant I have is a Hobbit jade. It was a piece my neighbor gave me when it broke off his plant. It was about 3"-4" at that time (13 yrs ago). Now it's about 24'-30" wide and approx 18' tall. I just dove in yesterday and started pruning. I'll try to get a picture of how far i am and hopefully you guys can help me.

Thanks!

Before I started pruning. Sorry about the quality, these were taken for myself not sharing.After starting to prune. I stopped because I wasn't sure where to go next.I'm thinking I can separate the ones growing separately from the big bifurcated trunk when I repot in a few weeks. All suggestions are greatly appreciated!

I would probably cut even that bifurcated trunk if it was my plant - the branches are kind of floppy to the sides - no offense please!

I think there is a lot of pruning you can do, and end up with quite a few extra, already thick-trunked plants - JMO.

Dina, well that is one large Hobbit isn't it? I also have trouble in visualising where to cut to achieve a good looking plant, and I'm sure we are not alone! Some folks can see exactly what to do and how to get the best from a previously unprimed specimen. Hopefully one of these will chime in and give you some more direction.

If it were mine I would get rid if the thinner growths springing from ground level but leave all of the thicker trunks. I would also prune back the thinnest growths and those dangling below the pot edges. My idea would be to try and get back budding to try and copy the look of what I know as 'cloud pruning'. In other words, groups of tight growths mainly at the ends of the branches, but much fewer in number than in your original pic and separated from each other to show the form of the branch outlines. It has 'good bones' as we say here.

I would still like to hear what you would like to see as the end result. That will guide the pruning process. I personally like to look at the trunks of jades, so I would remove branches that are growing low or dropping down, but that might be very different from what you're after, do you see what I mean?

ez

I totally understand what you all are saying and I loved the way it looked before but the branches were so heavy and pulling down the main trunks. I don't know what I want the end result to be, I just know I don't want to lose this plant. Weird, but I get attached to some of my plants. I have a ponytail that is 20+ years old.

Anyway, I'm tempted to cut everything to only the 2 big trunks and maybe a few side branches. I've even thought about repotting and trying to get the big trunks trained more upright.

It is slow process to train big trunks growing upright, they are quite woody now. Someone already mentioned that if you were to separate them, they can be potted more upright.

If you were to cut where the orange line is, picture each halve being potted up upright - you have 2 nice plants right away:

There should be more pruning of additional side branches, this is just my suggestion...and maybe you don't want to do that 'much' pruning.

Do you know if other trunks are separate plants or are they attached below soil line? They can be separated either way, I am just wondering.

Whatever you decide to do, don't discard any cuttings - there are many ppl that would like thicker/fatter cuttings - if you don't want more plants :)

Pruning back to where the branches are thicker will certainly provide more strength for the new foliage that grows out. I think the top center will have a big gap though. If you decide to keep the trunks together in one pot, perhaps you could change the potting angle of one main trunk relative to the other and close that gap. I don't know how fused the roots are after all these years- maybe such a manipulation is not possible.

I must say you have a very healthy, attractive plant. Strong work! ;-)

ez

Here is an example of a 'grove of trees' my sister has and let's me prune and shape for her. I pruned it pretty hard and wired some branches (to fill gaps in the canopy) before taking this shot.

Though much smaller than yours, it gives you another option to think about. Granted some of your trunks are much smaller in relation to the main ones, but that could even out over time if you keep the big ones pruned and let the skinny ones grow wild.

ez

Well, first of all it's a finger jade, in this case 'Gollum' :-)

Secondly, I would have taken the exact opposite approach to pruning, starting by removing any dangling or downward growth, then slowly working upward to expose the excellent trunks, but not really touching any of the upper canopy.

Josh

Similar to my suggestion Josh?

I believe there was concern due to upper branches being pulled down by their own weight, so probably some upper pruning necessary...

ez

Gma, I don't see any posts of yours in this Thread. Am I going blind?

Ez, I don't share that concern. The canopy looked awesome, and more than capable of supporting itself. If anything, a light tip-pruning could have reduced any weight.

Josh

I was upset with myself for pruning anything. However, yesterday I decided to repot and separate those little ones growing sideways and got an unexpected treat! I have two 13 yo jades! One has a bifurcated trunk and the other has branches. I'm including pictures and haven't pruned anymore. I would love all of your input on where to go from here.

Nice couplafew trees you have now, but you know my next question ;-) -what will your goal be with them?

The one with the bifurcated trunk looks like it would lend itself to a bonsai-type styling, while the other might more easily grow like you were previously doing. I don't see that there are any critical decisions that NEED to be made now. You could pot them back up separately just as they are, and just look and imagine for a while. And pot up the little ones for gifts to continue the legacy.

ez

Waiting for suggestions from Josh...:)

breathnez, I was thinking the bifurcated one would make a nice bonsai type. I did go ahead and repot separately. For now they are in my sunroom and I stop and observe them when I pass. I now have 34 little ones! I couldn't bear to throw them away.

Josh, it's me! Gill aka Greenclaws from the UK, have no idea why my user name changed, didn't notice it had until I just logged back in. Will see if this post is the same.....? I'm sure your eyes are just perfect :) The whole plant is bigger than I had imagined.

Goodness knows what's going on, I'll investigate and hopefully return with my proper handle.....

Gill UK

Any photos to share of the jades in their new pots?

ez

Yes I'll post those later today.

Here they are in new pots. Nothing else pruned since the first attempt.

The six photos above are of the bifurcated one.This is one was growing sideways and is why it has that windswept look. I was wondering if maybe I should repot it back that way instead of more upright like this?

There must be a limit on photos per post. Here are the rest.

The bifurcated one looks good in its pot. It's hard to feel good about suggesting anything more radical based solely on pictures, but if it were mine I would be looking to cut back the long, crisscrossing secondary branches to give it a cleaner look IF I could do it in a way that created a balanced look to the tree structure. It might end up a leafless stub but I know it would grow back.

As to the other plant, that's a tougher one. I hadn't thought of a windswept, but that could work.

ez

ez so the 3 little ones with established root systems that were also in the pot will be ok if they don't have any leaves? (sorry about the foot)

Also, all the cuttings 32+ !

Yes they should survive, and will begin to leaf out in several weeks. What's important to remember( you probably already do and I'm wasting text) is that the plant won't be using any moisture from the soil until it does leaf out, so keep it a little on the dry side. You could instead, if you want, prune the branches so you have just a few leaves left for photosynthesis. I'm not certain how big a difference it makes, but others with more knowledge may hold an opinion on that.

ez

ok thanks! Those 3 have the most potential for training because they are still small. I'm going to try to pay more attention than before.

Good, and post more pictures as they grow, I hope.

ez

@dinamc1, you mentioned a windswept style yesterday and today I found this while performing a Google search for succulent bonsai:

Maybe it will prove an inspiration. It seems probable it was completely defoliated to inspect the branch structure and to increase ramification. Enjoy!

ez

Oh wow! Thank you so much ez! I think i'll go with it since it' already growing that way. If all leaves are removed from a plant they'll just sprout again? No need to leave a few?

It may take bit longer, but the new leaves should start sprouting.

below is a totally defoliated and pruned jade - Dec. 7. and new leaves started to grow within a month:

Not on a jade, though it's a common practice to let a plant grow and build up energy so that it leafs out richly after a defoliation. In a weakened state, new leaf buds may be few and develop slowly. After a repot, it may be several months to more than a year before it's ready for radical pruning. Every tree has to be judged individually. Fast foliage growth is a good signal for readiness to handle the stresses of pruning.

ez

Also, I had about 35-ish cuttings from the initial pruning. I left leaves on those to promote root formation, is that ok? I'll prune and try to train them after they have healthy roots.

The leaves will be used as a moisture source for the plant as needed, so yes leave them on.

ez