Hi,

I am a beginner in tropics (India). I live in South where it never gets cold but, it does get really hot in Summer (more than 104 degrees).

Unfortunately, I recently bought a jade (Portulacaria afra) which on further research everyone comments as a difficult tree for beginners. But, as I have purchased it and cannot return it back I have to work with it . I have attached the first picture before pruning and a sketch what I want it to look like in the final form.

I am going slow with pruning because, I am little scared that I might wound the tree if I am reckless . Please give me your advice.

I will update this thread as we go along.

Hi Praveent,

Good to have you on board here!

I am not sur ewho told you jade was dificult. I find it an exceptionally easy plant to grow and keep alive. They can endure long stretches without Watering, and when you then pick up the watering schedule, the plant my surprise you with a flush of flowers.

The plant itself is very stron. In theory you could trim every branch where you would want to, and it would easily recover from it, sprouting new branches from loads of hidden buds.

Forming may be a bit dificult, as it is not really a woody plant, but a sucuulent bush. It takes a long time for the banches to really become wooden, and strength comes from water pressure in the your branches, causing them to easily break when you bend them. So that is a place to be carefull.

Don't worry about wounding this tree. First of all: Any trimming causes a wound, and secondly: THis plant is very strong.

The main problem comes from watering when the plant is resting. In your part of the world, the plant won't be resting that much, as temperatures are almost always high, right (Moist Sub-tropics?)

Thanks for the directions.

Yes, where I stay it is always warm and it is really humid during monsoons (July - November) and early summer (April). Does it mean that plat does not really rest and I can trim and shape it through the year?

Hello Praveent,

Welcome to the forum. So glad you could join us!

I agree with *leatherback*...the Jade is exceptionally easy to grow and requires much less water than the average bonsai plant. It is just a little more challenging to train. Here are a couple of excellent links to help you on your way. From our site(the Bonsai Empire)...
www.bonsaiempire.com/tree-species/jade-tree
And another excellent site... www.bonsai4me.com/SpeciesGuide/Crassula.html

I hope this information is helpful to you.

Hi praveent,

At first welcome to the forum!

The jade tree is easy to care for, it don't need much water, and resists some stress. What the tree makes difficult is that you can't wire it. What you can do is styling this tree by cutting off branches you don't want and let others stay, new branches will grow and maybe there are some you can use in your design.

About styling this tree: I would make this tree in the slanding tree style (Shakkan style in Japanese) because the tree is growing smoothly to the right. There are not many other choices because you can't wire the tree upright or down (there are more styles, see the train section on the website). What good is to gain inspiration is to look up some trees in this style on google or something. Here you see very different trees, and they are all different even though they are all in the same style.

Maybe you'll see a structure of a tree that fits good in your tree and thought of making a bonsai from this Jade which you can use as some kind of example. Or combine some, this all depends on what you want, and what you can do with the main branches you have now.

Good luck!

Youri

Hi again,

Youri has shared some excellent information here on styling your Jade Bonsai. I have read however, on more than one site, that Jades *can* be wired very carefully and very gradually providing you do so under specific circumstances. I agree with Youri...your Jade is already a wonderful "Slanting Form". Styling can also be controlled by pruning and trimming, for example...if you cut off a leaf in a particular spot, another leaf will grow there only smaller or, it may become a branch which will grow in the direction the leaf was facing.

Thank you for sharing such wonderful photos of your Jade Bonsai! I have a young Jade plant with four separate plants in the pot that I am about to Bonsai very soon! I'm excited about it! I am looking forward to following the progession of your beautiful Jade Bonsai!

Thanks for your instructions Youri,

While researching on this subject, I did come across the same instruction that Jade plant can be styled by pruning and without pruning. But, my concern is that it would be a very drawn out process because, it will take quite sometime for plant to grow new branches which look like wood. I guess the plant would give me few lessons in patience

I measured the plant's height from soil yesterday which is around 8" from the soil surface. I am very keen on keeping it at less than 10" so, that it sit nicely on my dining table or, as living room's center piece. I plan to prune it more aggressively in couple of weeks once I see some new leaves. I just want to be certain that it is doing OK, since I purchased it recently.

Hi Praveent,

Yes, practicing bonsai is definitely a practice in patience :whistle: however, the Jade is a very fast growing plant providing it is in it's proper placement and is having it's specific needs met.

I'm afraid you may be greatly disappointed if you keep your Jade on your dining or living room tables as this will not provide sufficient light for you plant. This will result in slow growth, larger,fewer leaves, long,lanky growth and less branching. Jades *need* direct sunlight to flourish which means placing them directly in front of a window with a South or South/West exposure or outside in an area protected from the wind.

Your primary technique for pruning will be "pinching" out the new, outer growth at the tips of the branches which it will need about once a week during growth periods...less often during rest periods. It is by constant pinching and pruning and bright, direct sunlight that the previous trainer of your Jade has achieved the tiny leaves, multi-branching and mass of foliage.

Also, because your Jade holds water in it leaves and stems, let the plant's soil dry out completely before watering again. A good way to test the soil's moisture level is to push a wooden chopstick down into the soil about 1 inch deep and leave it for about 15 - 20 minutes. When you pull it out you will see a damp line if there is still moisture in the soil. Also, too much water will make the plant top-heavy. Do not water for several days if you decide to try wiring your plant as the leaves and stems will be full of water causing them to snap and break easily.

Keeping your Jade less than 10" will make it a "Shohin" Bonsai...meaning it can be held in one hand! Wonderful!

Hi Leslie,

Thanks for the hints. Will certainly keep remember them.

Now, regarding the placement of Bonsai in the house, I reside in an apartment and I do not have South-Facing open areas but we have large french windows facing east and our dining table sits right next to it. So, it receives plenty of direct sun in the morning.

The plant is doing really well. A number of new leaves have sprouted all around so, I took the liberty of defoliating couple of top branches to direct the growth to lower branches.

Will be trying to wire the tree next week and post the pics after doing the same.

Praveen

Hi Praveent,

Your large, east facing window should suffice however, the closer the plant is to the window, the better. I recently read that for every one foot of distance a plant is away from a window, the process of photocynthesis through the leaves is significantly reduced. This will result in the growth of larger leaves in their attempt to absorb more light. Do you have a balcony?...that would be even better! I look forward to following your Jades progress.