Jade plants are popular houseplants because of their thick, shiny leaves and the way they grow into a sturdy tree-like shape. Relatively low maintenance, there is one requirement that will be necessary if you wish to promote a full, bushy plant: pruning.
Pruning can sound daunting; however, it can easily be done with a jade plant by anyone with a little basic knowledge. This blog will explain the steps and how best to prune your jade plant for those beautiful, bushy leaves.
Pruning Jade Plants
The pruning of jade plants involves the controlled removal of selected branches, stems, and leaves to help promote the plant's preferred growth, shape, and overall health.
Although there is a general underlying principle of jade plant pruning applying to all its various kinds, slightly different sizes and ages may have minor variations in technique.
Key aspects of pruning jade plants include:
Removal of Dead or Damaged Leaves
Shaping and Controlling the Size
Encouraging New Growth
Understanding Growth Cycles
Timing of Pruning
Selective Pruning for Specific Plants
How To Prune Jade Plants
1. Pinching for Bushier Growth
One of the effective means is pinching, which makes the jade plant full and bushy. By pinching or even trimming the tips of the stems, you bring about changes that will make the plant branch from nodes just below the cut.
This, in effect, diverts the energy of the plant into producing new branches instead of continuing to make the stem longer. Pruning is ideal for young jade plants, still filling out and need some filling in. It's easy to do with your fingers or small scissors and can be performed regularly to stimulate constant, bushy growth.
Prune overgrown stems to bring your leggy jade or top-heavy plant back into balance, and to encourage new growth. You can trim off long, spindly stems just above a leaf node or where you want new branches using a pair of sharp pruning shears.
This method helps control the size and shape of a plant and makes it compact to avoid stretched and one-sided features. A cutback on leggy growth is most useful for mature plants in need of some reshaping to hold a more attractive look.
3. Thinning Out
Thinning out is the removal of whole branches that crowd the plant or cross its branches. You provide better air circulation and light penetration, which are very much essential for your plant.
Thinning prevents the jade plant from getting too thick and may cause weaker growth or sometimes diseases. It is best indicated for jade plants that have grown too bushy and need to keep the plant symmetrical, with an adequate light and air supply to its body parts for proper development.
4. Removing Dead or Damaged Leaves
This is done to generally help keep your jade plant healthy and more aesthetically pleasing. You will be able to carefully snip off these unhealthier parts of the plant using clean, sharp scissors or pruning shears, enabling the plant to focus its energies on producing new, healthy growth.
This will keep the plant neat and avoid the spread of a disease that may eventually kill the plant. The removal of dead or damaged leaves is quite a simple but important maintenance activity for the jade plant.
When your jade plant gets too big and out of shape, one of the treatment options can be hard pruning. This involves cutting back whole big sections of the plant and working on the main branches that have grown too far.
Prune those branches just above a node where you want new growth to appear, and that'll get vigorous new growth to renew the plant. Hard pruning is a bit more aggressive and, therefore, best applied only on older or severely overgrown jade plants that require a major reshaping to regain their balance of beauty.
6. Selective Pruning for Branching
The reasons behind pruning are selective: it enables one to guide the development of your jade plant in certain directions you may want it to grow or not. For instance, if you want a shoot to grow in a specific direction, take away the competing branch so that the energy can be diverted to that shoot.
This will help you shape growth in the right direction and will make sure even development of shoots so that the plant does not have some lopsided or untoward shapes. Pruning is mainly selective and very effective in jade plants for purposes of balanced growth or the correction of an uneven growth pattern.
7. Top Pruning for Height Control
Pruning of the top can be performed to control the height of your jade plant, letting it grow wider than tall. The tallest branches can be taken off to minimize the height of the plant, which should give room for more horizontal growths to grow out.
This is especially great for those jade plants that have taken on too much of a vertical direction and need containment at a decent height. Pruning the top means reducing the plant's top just above a leaf node or where you want new branching to occur. This will help you get a bushy, balanced plant.
Always use clean, sharp pruning shears or scissors to make clean cuts and reduce the risk of disease.
Prune just above a leaf node to encourage new branches and promote bushier growth.
After pruning, avoid overwatering to prevent root rot while the plant recovers.
Regularly check your jade plant for pests or diseases, especially post-pruning, to maintain its health.
Additional Tips for Healthy Jade Plants
Soil and Drainage
Healthy plants need to be planted in well-drained ground, hence an environment that is typically related to the plant's nature. A mix for succulents or cacti works because of the speedy passage of water through it, which will help avoid the plant roots sitting in soggy water.
Poor drainage of water may cause root rot, one of the common problems with jade plants. When repotting, choose a pot that will allow drainage of excess water through its holes. If planting in a pot without drainage holes, gravel or stones should be added to the bottom of the pot.
Watering
Jade plants like a "soak and dry" type of watering. Water the plant completely, until water starts to appear in the drainage holes, then let it dry completely before the next watering. This will mimic, outdoors, the cycle the plant would endure during dry spells between rainfall.
Overwatering may cause roots to rot and other problems; it is, therefore, better to underwater a little than to keep the soil too wet. You can water your jade plant a bit more often during the growing season, but in winter you should reduce watering to a great extent.
While jade plants do not feed heavily, occasional feeding during the growing season encourages the plant. Utilize a balanced water-soluble fertilizer with equal parts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, such as 10-10-10.
Dilute the fertilizer to half-strength to avoid over-fertilizing. If the fertilizer happens to be too strong, it will burn the roots. From spring throughout the summer when the plant is most active, apply once every 2-3 months. Avoid fertilizing in the fall and winter as the plant goes into dormancy and does not need the added nutrients.
Pests and Diseases
Jade plants generally prove hardy, but they are easily infested with mealybugs, spider mites, or scale insects. These pests can be managed by regularly checking your plant and wiping off the leaves with a damp cloth. If you notice any signs of this sort of infestation, then treat the plant with insecticidal soap or neem oil.
Another way jade plants may be vulnerable is with fungal diseases, especially if too much water is applied. It requires good air circulation and a proper way of watering to avoid such problems. Also, removing the dead or damaged leaves in time will help reduce any chance of disease.
Jade plants are cold-sensitive and special care is required during winter. As the temperature drops, irrigation frequency must be reduced because the growth of the plant slows down, and it does not require so much moisture. The plant must be kept in the brightest place possible near a south-facing window to get as much light as possible.
Keep the temperature in the room between 50-75°F (10-24°C) and do not place it near drafts or cold windows. If the plant remains under temperatures below 50°F (10°C), it may incur cold damage; therefore, a stable environment is needed.
When To Prune Jade Plants
Crassula ovata (Classic Jade Plant)
Pruning for a classic jade plant is normally recommended in its active season of growth, mainly during the late spring or early summer. This will also provide an opportunity for the plant to heal fast and develop new shoots before the winter dormancy period.
Spring or early summer will also help in controlling its shape by removing any dead or leggy stems, thereby encouraging it to grow more full and bushy. Pruning should not be heavy during the fall and winter months. This is because the plant has very slow growth during this time, and thus it is less capable of healing from cuts.
This period of active growth, in the spring and early summer, is the best time for pruning for 'Gollum' jade plant. Any elongated or leggy stems should be trimmed back then to give the plant its desired compact and bushy shape.
Regular pruning during this period is important for the unique finger-like leaves and to bring on more branching. As with any other variety of jade, refrain from pruning during the colder months since the growth rate has significantly reduced and may never recover as effectively.
Crassula ovata 'Hobbit'
Pruning of 'Hobbit' jade plants is done during late spring or early summer to maximize its growth and recovery potential. This will give the right timing for the plant to be in its active growth phase, so it bounces fast from the cuts it will get, and it will be more overall full with a balanced shape.
It is necessary to prune the plant at this period of the year to maintain its characteristic rounded leaf feature and avoid it from being leggy. Pruning late in the summer or fall is less desirable, when the general trend of growth is slow, and the plant does not react as vigorously.
Local Climate: Pruning the jade plant has to be carried out about the local climate, as that determines the growth and recovery of the plant. In areas with extreme temperatures or marked seasonal changes, one has to adjust the pruning schedule accordingly.
Plant Health: Look at the overall health status of the jade plant. Stressed, diseased, or otherwise pest-infested plants will not be good candidates for pruning. Stress may be countered first by treating disease or pests. A healthy plant will bounce back faster from pruning and will take better to the shaping and size control.
Seasonal Growth Pattern: Understanding the seasonal growth pattern of the jade plant is quite necessary for its effective pruning. Although the plant grows actively in spring and summer, these are the best periods for pruning since the cuts may stimulate new growth and define the shape of the plant
Common Jade Pruning Mistakes to Avoid
Pruning Too Late
Pruning too late into the season is just not the right thing to do, considering that a jade plant has already entered its dormant period during late fall and winter, at which time growth considerably slows down. This is rather shocking during that period because the plant will not have more energy to put into replacing the old growth with new growth.
This will make for a less vigorous plant and will probably cause stunted growth once it returns to the active growing season. It is, therefore, better to prune the plant in spring or early summer when the plant has more vigor for growth and can sustain the stress caused by cutting and then quickly building up new growth.
Over-pruning means removing too many stems or leaves at the same time. It may weaken the general health of the jade plant. Excessive pruning can stress a plant, leading to disease and poor growth, whereas this is a plant relying heavily on its foliage for photosynthesis and the production of energy.
Do selective pruning instead: take off only what you need to shape the plant, maintain its size, or get rid of dead or diseased parts. This will leave the jade plant with enough healthy foliage to continue life processes and recover from pruning.
Using Dull or Dirty Tools
The problem can be further compounded using either a dull or dirty pruning tool, as this can make cuts jagged and more prone to infection and disease. Dull blades will also crush, rather than cleanly cut, the tissues of the plant. This sets up conditions for slower healing and allows pathogens to infect.
Dirty tools are also introducing pathogens to the plant, further compounding an existing problem. To avoid this, pruning should be conducted using sharp, clean pruning shears or scissors. This is important for the effectiveness and cleanliness of your tools: clean them regularly using alcohol, or any other disinfectant solution.
Neglecting the Health of the Plant
Pruning when a jade plant is stressed, diseased, or infested with pests will further deteriorate its condition and be unable to recover. A stressed or unhealthy plant may not cope with the additional stress caused by pruning; on the contrary, it starts declining more.
Check on your plant for infestation, diseases, and environmental damage resulting from stressors before pruning. These should first be treated to keep the plant in the best condition to bear the stress of pruning and for appropriate responses.
Poor results when pruning this plant may be a result of not considering the natural growth pattern of jade plants; this may render a plant crooked, untidy, or imbalanced. Jade plants have a nature of growth typical of them. Improper timing of pruning may affect its general form and appearance.
Understand the nature of your plant's growth first, to determine which branches are to be removed and how to shape it to that accord. Avoid huge alterations that would not go in sync with the plant's way of growth but do pruning in a manner to accentuates or complements the plant's general nature.
Pruning Without a Plan
Pruning without a plan may lead to something unbalanced or not nice to look at since you might take out too much in one area and leave too much in another. Good pruning involves a strategy that looks at what the plant looks like now, what it should look like, and what needs to be done.
Preparing in your mind the type of job you want to achieve ensures that this pruning improves the appearance and health of the plant and does not harm or imbalance it.
Not Cleaning Up After Pruning
Leaving behind cuttings or debris around the base of the jade plant can be a haven for pests and diseases. Leaves or branches that fall to the ground may carry insects or even pathogens that could damage the plant. After pruning, clean up all the debris immediately.
Removal of the cuttings and cleaning the area is important for keeping the growing environment healthy and reduces chances of pest infestations or any disease outbreaks.
How to Cut Jade Plants
Pruning jade plants involves several key steps to ensure healthy growth and a well-shaped appearance. Here’s how to prune a jade plant effectively:
Sharp Tools: When you’re figuring out how to prune jade plants, always use clean, sharp pruners or shears. Dull tools can crush or tear the plant’s stems, leading to poor healing and an increased risk of disease.
Gloves: When learning how to prune a jade plant, wear gardening gloves to protect your hands. Although jade plants are not typically thorny, gloves will safeguard against any accidental cuts or scratches from the plant’s leaves and stems.
Protecting Your Eyes: When figuring out how to cut back a jade plant, consider wearing protective safety goggles. This is particularly important if you are working with dense or tall sections of the plant, as cutting can occasionally send debris flying.
Stable Footing: If you're planning to prune a jade tree or trim jade plants, ensure you have stable and level footing. If you need to reach higher branches, use a sturdy ladder and have someone hold it to prevent accidents.
