jade(portulaca)

[morrie]

had this for a while and beginning to wonder if i should chop some branches or just let it grow some more?

the problem is developing taper past the first main branch. i have pondered the cuts as per the photo?
(the branch coming from the base was a sacrificial) .

[Bonsai_creations]

Id remove from pot,see how far down u can drop the soil level,repot into nice blue bonsai pot,and lean it over to the right,so it brings lower branch more upright..




carnt beleave there has been 350 views and no one has given u any ideas..

[morrie]

thanks Bonsai_creations !!!! i'd given up on this thread.. i sort of thought this plant/tree had potential but sort of gathered jade are probably not serious proper bonsai
i'll certainly give your idea a go... i wasn't sure if it was ready for a bonsai pot ... but i can spend a bit of time developing the foliage pad and see what emerges

[Bonsai_creations]

They can be very nice bonsai, do a search on googles then click images... I have a few jades but work in progress, had a really nice one,until a possum fell off the roof onto it and broke a limb off, so i rewired it,and was very happy.Untill a palm tree branch landed on it this year and snapped it in half lot of work wasted.But as i said i have a few,

heres 2 i found on google for u too work towards. good luck. ps dont repot till spring.if u have already mist it every few days during good days,and never over water.
There two would of been grow out in a big pot then placed into bonsai pots. U can still get same effect but will take longer.

[kcpoole]

Jade can be a very nice "Proper Bonsai".

with yours, i woud remove the bootom left branch and then wire the left branch down as the first brnch and then build a full canopy on the top.
Nice short tree in no time at all.

Cut and wire as any tree do develop shape and ramification.

Ken

[Matt S]

Hi Morrie,

Jade can make great bonsai. Here's a link to a thread I started last year that has some growing tips:
viewtopic.php?f=130&t=21245

My advice with Jade is always to take big cuttings - at least as thick as your wrist. They strike easily and grow quickly and a big cutting will save you years of trunk development.

Matt.

[Bonsai_creations]

For sure. I put 3 thick ones in soil after letting dry out a week, 2 seem ok,one is struggling tho, two held its leaves/pods,but other is dropping them as they do but not many left on it (hurry up summer)



have u done anything to yours Morrie?

[robb63]

Hi Morrie, Jade is going to love your microclimate just as much as the other types of jade
I saw you collected. Mine thrive in full sun and shade no probs
All the bits you cut off you can scatter in your garden beds and heaps will take root without help,
just like mine do in Sydney, only better in Brisbane
The only problem I now have with jade is 'too many'
come to think of it Jades are probably the only species of bonsai I have not killed at some time
that makes em the toughest trees in my little patch.
cheers

[morrie]

had a really nice one,until a possum fell off the roof onto it and broke a limb off, so i rewired it,and was very happy.Untill a palm tree branch landed on it this year and snapped it in half lot of work wasted.But as i said i have a few,

possum and palms - finding new ways to drive us mad!!!

Jade is going to love your microclimate just as much as the other types of jade
I saw you collected. Mine thrive in full sun and shade no probs
All the bits you cut off you can scatter in your garden beds and heaps will take root without help,
just like mine do in Sydney, only better in Brisbane
The only problem I now have with jade is 'too many'

i hear ya!!!- the only problem with brisbane is finding enough space to keep them dry when it stays wet for weeks on end

thanks Bonsai_creations !!!! i'd given up on this thread.. ......
i'll certainly give your idea a go...

it seems i spoke too soon... when i went to have a look at it again i realized i have done some chopping quite a while ago -my orginal post was november last year... any way this is what i have done

1_7_17 2.jpg

1_7_17.jpg

i think i might put it back in a bigger pot come spring and let the new second branch thicken up and focus on developing a tight foliage pad on the top. not sure what to do with the lowest branch?

[Bonsai_creations]

Mate its starting to look sweet,,is there holes in that pot.I have the same one in our kitchen .. hmm bottom branch,dont cut it off unless your really sure, it might come in handy..

[morrie]

,is there holes in that pot.I have the same one in our kitchen

yep dirty great big one- drilled it me self -

the bottom branch is nice and old and gnarly ... be nice to not loose it - very straight but

[Bonsai_creations]

u Could take a slight wedge out of it and bend it to close the wedge,in summer..IF..u were going to cut it off, no harm in trying that if u were going to cut it off anyway..might die/might fuse. If u did try it use very sterile razor,
some do bend ok, but if u go too far and it kinks the branch dies, i found bend a bit ,let it adjust few weeks and bend bit more. but once u kink it.u go oh %$#@.

[Akhi]

I have had great success in cutting bits off the branch and then bending it. The callus that heals over makes the trunk gnarled as well as bends too!


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[morrie]

with theses 'succulents' , when you cut the wedge out , do you need to seal the cut with grafting paste

[Raymond B]

I would say you don't, but I don't actually have a clue! Just giving this a bump if someone else can confirm