AusBonsai

No for Jades never seal it just leave it open it will first dry out then callus over and in a season or two the rough callus will fall off replaced with its normal bark or skin I should say. Sealing it can lead to rotting as the succulent is full of water. I have never sealed my jades.

this is my attempt at bending it... terrifying

I have never sealed my jades

i have never sealed jades when its a straight cut.. they always die off to the next node or two... if i cut a wedge out to bend it.... is that different?
would cutting the wedge out at a node or between a node make any difference??

I have not cut wedges from jades to make bends but it should still work.
It should not matter whether you make your wedge at or between nodes. When you bend the wedge should close up so the raw edges are close together. As the cut starts to callus the edges should heal together so that normal sap flow can continue.
When you make a straight cut there is nothing above for the sap to go to so the branch will die back to the next viable bud.
When you cut a wedge the end of the branch still needs water and nutrients so the sap will continue to flow around the cut so it should not die back (unless you have cut too far through the branch )

Looking at your picture I think you could still bend your branch more without wedges, etc. Stop watering the pot and let the plant dry out a bit and it will bend easier. Also try bending a bit at a time. Leave it now for a few days and the cells will relax inside and you will find that you can safely bend a bit further each time.
PS. I think you have coiled the wire a bit close together. 45 degree wire spacing is considered more effective.

My experience with cutting wedges has been different with Jades. They don't seem to heal together when compressed but what I did observe is that if you took a wedge out of the upper portion and then bent it taking care to ensure that you don't break the Branch then over time the plant seems to callus over the wedge while retaining the bend and over time the callus takes over for a branch with significant bends.

wow i love this !! two competing opposing and equally plausible ideas!!
i can feel some experimentation coming on - i have enough jade lying about to do this with little profound consequence

i might just have another go at wiring this one and wait till it warms up a bit

I think you have coiled the wire a bit close together. 45 degree wire spacing is considered more effective.

my enthusiasm for the science and art of bonsai is not in doubt.. my technique.. well thats a bit rough

two competing opposing and equally plausible ideas!!

I'd be inclined to lean toward Akhi's advice. You will note that I said I have never tried this with jade so my comments were based on theory and experience with other plant species. Succulents don't always behave like hardwood plants. At least Akhi has used the technique with this species.

i can feel some experimentation coming on - i have enough jade lying about to do this with little profound consequence

I'd still like you to see some research though. Any findings you make would be valuable for others.

If a Jade branch is getting too thick to bend easily then it's better to cut the branch and choose one of the resulting shoots that's growing in the direction you want. That way you get a more natural bend and taper too. In summer Jades grow so fast you can easily replace a branch in a season or two. I rarely bend the large ones.

Excuse my crappy drawing but this is what I mean..
Matt.

..another thing with pruning jades, all branches are made of a series of rings and if you prune a branch it will die back to the previous ring leaving a slight hollow that calluses over nicely. You can see the rings clearly in your photos. Even large branches as thick as your arm will do this.


Matt.

good advice Matt...
two things??
when cutting and growing a new branch i have found the new branch grows fast but the inter node/ring length is very long ... branches and trunks "should" have short internode lengths that depict age. you can see this happening in my last photo where the inter node length is about 3 times that of those in the parent branch

in your picture you show that you cut the top off the original branch once the new shoot gets to desired thickness , in my very limited experience anything that i have cut across a ring dies back to the ring below... i suspect this may be less likely to happen if you have a functional branch and leaves above it but i suspect you might run the risk of losing everything

Hey Morrie,

You're right in the differences in the internode lengths, the faster and stronger the growth is the greater the length. However larger internodal gaps isn't a problem where the branch is close to the trunk, they just need to get short further along the branch where the foliage is. Therefore letting the new shoot grow strong and fast is OK because once you get the thickness you want you'll be cutting the shoot back hard and doing it again. The aim is to get taper along the branch and then reduce the internode gap as you get closer to the tips. I hope that makes sense.

Cutting back the top of the original stump can be done gradually over a few seasons. You're right in that you risk the branch if you take too much off in one hit.

Have fun. Jades are easy to get cuttings from and grow fast in summer, so you can afford to experiment and gain experience quickly.

Matt.

That makes perfect sence