When possible, pinch for branching when healthy and in high growth season. I consider Spring and Fall to be the best times. Health is based upon a lot of things, but in general if the plant is fighting pests or poor care, it may have used up the energy that would otherwise go into new growth. Also, if healthy it may not be quick to put on new growth if it has already had a flush of growth, b/c it won't have lost enough leaves. Then defoliation(partial or full) may be necessary to stimulate new growth. For me, if a plant is anemic about new growth, I wait, and while waiting, investigate possible problems.

ez

Hmm, interesting answer. I can think of a few stressors for the plant: changing environment, repotting, and not quite as much light as it would like. It bounced back from the first two stressors quickly despite the slightly sub-par light, so I think it's pretty healthy. A portion of new growth has ramification at nearly every node, but other branches don't seem to want to ramify and I'm not sure why.

I think I'm gonna let it settle a bit and see if those branches sprout any new growth. If not, at least that will let the plant "settle in" (be healthy), and see if I can get those branches to split down the road.

If you want a more enthusiastic response to your pruning/pinching efforts, make sure your plant is healthy, outdoors in full sun, and it's early to mid-summer. Do all your pinching/pruning on the same day, and the harder you prune/pinch/ the more energy reserves the plant has, the more back-budding you'll get.

I grow portulacaria rather than jades - same growth habit, though - and I do prune several large jades annually for others. I usually prune all the winter's growth off my plants in June. This ensures MUCH better ramification because the habit allows only short internodes to remain on the plant. Short internodes also promote a rougher appearance to the periderm as the plant ages if you like the look of age on your plants - who doesn't? After the pruning, I basically pinch 2-3 times before fall, then allow the plant to grow as it likes through the winter. Your schedule might vary a little based on geography, but essence of how to keep your tree looking full without it looking so terribly heavy, especially in the top of the plant, is in what I wrote.

Al

Thanks!

So a little more info (in the form of pics).

About half the branches are like this, with maybe slightly longer internodes than I'd want, but ramification at nearly each node:

Other branches, I can't seem to get them to ramify, such as this branch - you can see I pinched the end back and it is still just shooting out a single bud:

But I just noticed today that buds are sprouting all all around the base of the plant just above the root/soil line. Not sure if I should rub them off, or let them grow a bit with the hope it will widen the trunk of the plant.

You can let the buds at the base grow to help develop a wider root flare if you like, but make sure they're not too close together. If they're too close together you have to leave a stub and hope it dries up and falls off. Pruning them off flush if they're too close can have a girdling effect that can affect branches immediately above the wound caused by their removal.

If you have eliminated trifurcations, I would take EVERY branch with more than 1 pair of leaves back to 2 leaves, then look carefully at the tree to see which additional branches don't belong in the composition. After that, I'd get into the rhythm I described above.

Al

Thanks again! Those buds are pretty close, so I might be smart to remove the middle one.

I have eliminated trifurcation, though buds are growing back at one spot, so I'll have to keep that in check.

As far as taking each branch back to two leaves:

- Two leaves or two sets of leaves (in other words, one node or two nodes)?

- Does this include branches that are well-ramified, or just ones that have yet to split off?

- You said to do this if I've eliminated trifurcation. I'm just curious why the conditional, "if" I've removed trifurcation? If I hadn't eliminated trifurcation, I'm assuming you would suggest doing that first to see if it promotes ramification elsewhere?

Re: which branches don't belong in the composition. There are several. I had left them alone thus far in hopes they would contribute to thickening the entire plant up. Here is a pic of the whole plant:

- The branch on the left: There are two parts I would chop. The downward facing part on the far left. It has two branches: one growing into the schefflerra that I would pretty certainly chop, and one growing more-so outward which I would at least consider chopping back to the "2-leaves" point you suggested, if not removing that entire downward growth. Additionally, it has an upward growth inside the plant where my eye tells me there should be space. I left that branch with hopes it would add girth to the plant over time before I remove it, but I'm not certain that's good logic.

- Then there is also some downward growth on some of the right-side branches. I left them for the same reason: give the plant girth and energy.

Are these things I should chop sooner than later? or wait until spring (per the rhythm you described)? The plant is in a south-west window.

PS - I currently have it in cactus soil with 60% perlite, but I'm considering switching it (and my other favorite plants including my cylindrical snake, scheff, and crosby compact) to gritty mix. My Ficus Retusa is in a mix that looks like it is nearly 100% turface already, and my sapling Benjamina is in 1:1:1. I'd love your opinion on soil as well!

j

Is there any variegation on leaves? It may be a reflection, but few of the leaves look variegated to me. TIA.

Its really hard to tell what's growing in which direction from a 2D image. The plant's foliage is well away from the main structure of the tree, and that's probably the next thing I would focus on.

Left branch, I would sever it just beyond the second branch from the trunk - the one that appears to be growing toward about 10 o'clock. The right branch, I would either remove the downward growing branch or stub it off at about 2" if you think it can be a natural-looking part of the composition. Then I would stub off the remaining branches. If you plan on the apex being where it is now, and not lower, and the 3 branches that form the apex are originating from very close to the same place, I'd remove one of the 3 at the top.

IOW - I'd pretty much take it back to bare bones and work with what breaks, and you will get a lot of breaks if you take it back that hard. That might sound unsettling to you, but it's business as usual for me. If it was mine, I'd actually remove the entire top too - just above the back branch, and it wouldn't have a leaf left on it except for the 3 pairs of leaves on second order branch (growing upward) on the left first order branch. (First order branches grow from the trunk; second order branches grow from first order branches; ...........

Why I would take it back: I can't see ANY of the leaves currently on the tree being part of the composition. Your tree's shape lies in branches that will occur close to the trunk but have not yet grown; this, because you need to have the foliage close to center mass if the tree is to look natural. So, at some point, you're going to have to cut every end off every existing branch if you're to utilize the branches yet to grow closer to the tree. If you don't, what you'll end up with is light (skinny) second order branches near the trunk growing off heavier first order, what will be the heavy monsters (already on the tree) at the canopy perimeter - exactly what you want to avoid.

Not a Jade, but I left only a couple of branches on this tree so I could correct the heavy branches near the top:

If you cut yours back hard, move it outdoors until it turns cool. Keep it in shade for a week, even if no leaves because the periderm will suffer sunburn. After a week or so, move it to a full sun position during a string of cloudy days.

You asked about soils. All my succulents, houseplants, and trees (a LOT of ficus) are in the gritty mix. I've been tinkering/experimenting with soils a good long while now (close to 30 years) and haven't found anything I like better than the basic 1:1:1 gritty mix. I might modify it a little for different plants, but I usually stick with the same ingredients - especially for 2 gallon pots or smaller. Larger pots usually get more grit added to cut down on water retention.

Soils are up to you, but the concept of using some particles that hold water internally and some that hold water only on their surface, and are large enough that little or no water is held in the spaces between particles is a sound one, even though how you implement that concept might vary. Understanding the concept is much more valuable to the grower than any recipe could ever be.

Al

Rina - that is just the lighting: no variegation. The tips of the leaves are red, but other than that, its a lightish green.

Al - Thanks! To be honest, when I look at the plant, I know deep down the best thing to do is chop the branches way back, but I'm sort of afraid. To use your words, its not "business as usual" for me! I hate the way the thick ends of branches look when you chop them, before they are hidden by foliage. But I think I need to let my know this plant is going into surgery (as soon as I gather the courage).

When you first truncate a heavy branch, it dies back a little from the wound and sort of sits there. You wait until the new branches break closer to the trunk, then cut back again, just distal to a keeper - a branch close to the trunk and growing in a favorable direction. Eventually, those small branches will thicken and the stub you left will die back to tissue that is viable. This tissue will conform to where the sap is flowing into the branch you cut back to, so it will sort of automatically taper. On woody plants, we can make that tapered cut when we truncate the fat branch and seal it so it doesn't die back proximal to the wound, but jades don't work like that.

If I was mulling this over, I'd say to myself, "I know it has to be done at some point. It's summer now with plenty of time for the plant to bounce back and back-bud, so might as well get it over with. YOU might not have the same mindset about appearance, so I completely understand the trepidation. The more experiment and take note of the response to your ministrations in the area of pruning/pinching, the more comfortable you'll become. Taking control over how your plant looks is a big step. I don't mean that in the sense that it takes a lot of special knowledge or courage or risk; more like it's a step into an area of the hobby that increases your potential for the personal rewards that come from knowing that when it comes to your plant's health and appearance, you can say, "I got this!"

As what I know about plants increases, the potential to gain satisfaction from helping others with their plants increases; and I can see that there is no end to the increase in rewards related to my own interactions with plant material that come with learning new things. I see it often enough in my travels across the forums that I have to imagine that must be the case for everyone. I can tell you've done some reading and some homework, so I have no doubt that whatever decision you make will be the right one. You seem like the kind of person that, as long as the enthusiasm holds, won't be satisfied unless you're moving forward in the hobby.

Al

Your spot on. I was editing some writing from home today and almost chopped it a few times, but the trepidation got the best of me. I also noticed more back budding in various places, so I'm still considering a moderate chop or continuing the clip and grow rather tthan a major chop. In part, I hesitate because I may wait for a mentor from the local bonsai society for advice right in the moment. Same with my scheff and retusa.

What? 3 times past president of the San Toshi Bonsai Society and a bonsai judge doesn't count?

Al

Haha, not that I don't trust your users. I agree with it, and have even thought of cutting back more aggressively. It's that I don't trust myself in the moment holding the shears!

I understand better than you might imagine. I have a lot of people wander into our shop (a glass company) with bonsai they're reluctant to work on due to nothing other than the fact it's brand new to them. I even keep a pair of concave cutters and scissors at the shop. When it comes to repotting and root pruning, it's the same thing, only different. ;-) Your confidence will grow as you practice.

I don't think I saw the F retusa you mentioned. This one, sort of a twin trunk, I worked on last Sunday, will be ready for a nice pot in a year or two.

before

after

Sorry for the delay getting back to you. Regarding the Retusa, here is a pic.

Fortunately for the tree, unfortunately for the pic, sun is pouring in the south facing window from the south-west. It lost some (about 50%) of its leaves, and then also suffered a climate change (slightly cooler, dryer and darker), so I'm expecting some more leaf loss. A couple have been dropping each day, but buds are also growing at the apex/terminal of branches. It will need some major pruning in the spring, but I planned to let it acclimate and grow as it will for the time being (until I see more growth than loss of leaves). Aside from clearing the excess of 'twigs' inside the plant, I've thought about training the branch on the left downward, but it "loosens" the aerial root. There are also 3 branches (sort of visible in the pic) that could be trained as the apex. I'm pretty sure which is naturally dominant and I think that works for the direction I see the plant going in the future, but the three branches currently appear to compete a bit (at least to my eye).

You can see that I removed about 90% of the trees top mass in the picture above. I can show you pictures of a half dozen more that had similar or even more severe treatment if you like. Point being, now is a good time to prune or repot, but not both and not for much longer - it's getting late for the Steeler's fans. Allowing the plant to continue to grow more leaves at the ends of branches is just going to make it harder to chase the foliage back (closer to the trunk).

..... no need to train the low branch further downward unless its current position is an optical illusion. If you prune that branch back to tiny branches so there are only a few leaves on the whole thing, you'll get back-budding back at least as far as the distal aerial root, which I assume you want to keep, and more likely all the way back to the trunk; then you train THOSE new branches that occur. If every leaf that is on the tree right now were to remain viable indefinitely, none would become a part of the composition. The branches that will make up the composition are yet to pop.

Also, the top is already very heavy and hogging all the energy. If you don't prune/reduce it to remove the heaviness and to slow it down, you're going to get a LOT of dieback on lower branches because the tree is genetically committed to its top third unless you trump that by pruning. You need to reduce the top third significantly to strengthen the middle & bottom third of the plant before your only recourse is a chop and a do-over.

Al

That makes sense. I guess with the defoliation made me worry about the health. With so many stems, I have trouble seeing what I want to cut to shape the tree. This is a tree I'd love to sit down with someone and get their advice branch by branch. I know I need to pick where the energy should go, because a little energy in each "twig" looks chaotic.

Hey, I started another thread about pruning this tree. I trimmed back more, but I don't know how hard I can trim without hurting the plant. My gut says I need to trim back the main 'trunks,' but I don't want to shock the plant too badly. Would this (see pics) be too much? Would you just suggest trimming the upper branches back further? Or have I done enough removing the growth terminals?

The 3 trunks are highlighted in red, the blue is where I'm thinking of cutting, leaving the left most 'trunk' as a branch, the middle one as the main trunk, and the removing the one furthest to the right.

I would be interested in your (Al) opinion about the above retusa too. I feel like taking out the thick branch right above the middle aerial root. And taking the left branch marked in red to the first side shoot. Is this still advisable considering that the plant lives indoors. I think the OP wants this plant indoors and does not have the option to put it outdoors.

It's hard to see clearly in 2D, but the heavy branches in the top should be cut back to 1 or 2 thin branches of the next order. It's unfortunate that the plant can't go outdoors, which would make a significant difference in leaf size and internode length. If you look at the first picture where the 2 red lines nearly converge and there's a horizontal red line indicating a potential cut ...... you could easily go just a little lower and make the cut just above the subordinate branch angling off to the right.

F retusa in the beginning stages: