I've never cut my jade to encourage branches, but a few months ago I accidentally knocked off about 15 leaves from my jade, and about every spot missing a leaf grew a new branch. I also propagated some of the leaves that came off and they seem to do pretty well. I just set them on top of soil and spritzed them every now and then.

Joey, this has been written about extensively already. Have you used the search feature and read what's been written? Just type in 'jade bonsai' in the search box and you'll get a lot to read.

I'm not very good at pruning my jades. It's not hard, I just don't keep up with it until some branches are too long and droopy from the weight of leaves. But as Emily O says, new branches will sprout easily for you. And if they sprout where you don't want them, just rub the new leaves off the stem with your finger and stop it before it gets too big.

One trick to encourage branching, without cutting any branches, it to pinch the center leaf growth; i.e. a pair of new leaves. Remove them, then you will get branching at the end of the branch/stem.

Plenty of good advice already - and as cactumcharris suggested, there are many, many posts about jades on this forum. That said, if my plants, I would repot them individually and let them grow some. I would use fast draining potting mix. They should get lots of light to grow more compact - see Crenda's jades? They have leaves just about stacked on top of each other.. I do not get such compact growth, it would likely require sunshine year-round; but still relatively compact. Decide on exact style you want your plants to be - you did say 'tree-like', but what kind of shape? And above all, read about bonsai techniques. Can't give any advice about that - I just prune mine here and there. Let us know what you are doing with them - I would like to see the results.

ETA: just wanted to add: there is no need to put any cuttings into water (unless you meant to water them). Cuttings without roots could rot easily if watered too early. Crenda showed you how easily they root even just sitting around. Just stick them into dry mix and they will root.

Joey

Here is the link to just one of the sites re: BONSAI - click here. Just to read about rules of bonsai - not specific to jades. You can grow your jades 'bonsai-like', just doing some pruning. Trying to get 'fat' trunk that tapers is something I try. Most do not taper as much as I would like :) I find 'Gollum' easier to do that, but that is just my experience.

The trunk will thicken over time. Not too much you can do to make it thicken except giving it adequate light, water, soil, etc.

Just so you know, your 'mini-jade' is not that, which is a fictitious name. It's a variegated Portulacaria afra (aka Elephant Bush), not even related to Jades. I've killed quite a few myself.

I hope the saucers came be removed from those pots. The pots need to have drainage holes.

Karen, it is indeed a Crassula ovata - look at the sectioned stem.

JMO, but I believe that Portulacaria afra is easier to grow as bonsai. Not that 'regular' jade can't be, but PA seems to grow in interesting shapes on it's own. Here are few of mine that are all grown from cuttings, and nothing has been done to them yet - not even branch pruning (except on 1st, where I pruned off 1 small branch shortly after potting it up):

There is a way to encourage thickening of the trunk: do not overpot; keep in best possible light so they don't etiolate; do not rush pruning off lowest branches. I am sure there is more but that is all I am doing. 'Regular' jade - Crassula ovata, that has big leaves (your plant) seems to want to grow much more upright and I find it more difficult to get tapering trunks. But that is just what I experienced, and could be wrong.