Everything you need to know about Jade Bonsai Plant

Are you one of those who forget to water? Then, Jade Plant Bonsai is perfect for you as it requires minimal water.

Apart from that, the Jade Bonsai Plant is an excellent choice to grow because for the following reasons,

Easy to care
Decorative piece
Low maintenance
Perfect for beginners

From cutting to its care, this article covers everything about the Jade plant bonsai.

Now let’s take a deep look at the Jade Plant.

Bonsai plants for sale: If you’re looking for bonsai plants for sale, there are many options available. You can find them online or in physical stores. You should look for a reputable supplier who offers a wide variety of plants. You should also read the product descriptions carefully to ensure that you are getting the right plant for your needs.

What Is Jade Bonsai?

The Jade Bonsai Plant is a miniature and perfect indoor plant that has round pad-shaped leaves. This Plant is native to the Cape Town area of South Africa. The plant has thick, glossy deep green leaves and a brown stem.

Jade Plant is classified as a succulent plant. The succulent plant usually grows in a dry area like a desert and its leaves hold water for a long period of time. While kept inside the plant produces pink-tipped, white blossom in winter due to lack of daylight.

Botanical Name	Crassula Ovata
Description	The Jade Bonsai is a succulent plant. It is having oval-shaped and deep green leaves. The stem is brown and thick. The succulent plant usually grows in arid environments such as dessert and their leaves are adapted to retain water.
Position	Sunny spots. Jade bonsai plants need full to partial sunlight.
Watering	less watering is required.
Pruning time	Spring and summer are the best time.
Repotting	Summer is the suitable time for repotting
Symbolize	Luck and prosperity
Height	7 inches
Width	7 inches
Soil type	fast-draining soil
Soil pH	6.1 to 6.3

Unique Jade Plant Bonsai with Pink Leaves and Braided Trunk

Only Limited Piece Available.

How to Bonsai a Jade Plant

Firstly, Purchase a jade plant with a thick trunk and compact branches.

Varieties that make excellent bonsai are cultivars of crassula ovata and crassula arborescens, such as

California Red tip
Hobbit
Bronze beauty
Tricolor

Things you will need

Bonsai Pot	Bonsai hook
Vinyl Mesh	Bonsai Pruners & concave Pruner
Scissors	Pebbles
Wires	Moss
Bonsai Soil Mix	Balanced granular fertilizer

Select the deep pot that will be suitable for the thick trunk and Leaves of the Jade tree.
Cut the small pieces of vinyl mesh a bit larger than the pot drainage hole. And place them in a pot to prevent soil from washing out during watering.
Now, cut the wire about 6 inches long and create loops at each end. Make the space between loops the same size as the width of drainage holes.
Attach the wire to the outside bottom of the planter, with the loops overlapping and the ends poking through inside.
Put the mesh over the hole with wires poking through the mesh and fold the wire ends over to secure it.
Install an anchorage wire at the bottom of the pot with both ends pushed up through holes. This will hold the tree in place.
Make a soil mix or you can purchase a pre-made mix from a local bonsai supplier. A bonsai soil mix for the jade plant needs good drainage.
Lift the tree from the pot and remove the dirt attached to the roots. Using the hook, untangle and spread the roots
Trim the roots so that they can be fitted in a bonsai planter. Also, remove any dead or downward-growing large roots.
Prune the twisted branches with sharp scissors. Remove one of each opposite growing branches with concave bonsai cutters. This will create an alternating branch pattern.
Spread a small amount of potting mix in the container. Place the tree spreading the roots out. Use anchor wire to secure the position of the plant. Fill the container with bonsai soil, keeping half an inch of space between it and the top of the container.
Put balanced granular fertilizer on top of the soil. Add moss or small pebbles to the soil.
Water the plant until it drains out from the bottom.
Finally, place the tree in a sunny location that receives some afternoon shade

How to Grow a Jade Bonsai

The easiest way to grow a jade bonsai plant is by propagating it through cutting. Following are the easy steps to grow jade bonsai plant,

Stem cuttings,

Selecting a cutting

Select the cutting that is 4-6 inches long and thick.
You can select the cutting with a straight single trunk or a piece with a branching stem.
If you can’t get cuttings from a local store, find a young healthy jade bonsai tree.

Growing Roots

Pinch the leaves from the bottom of the cuttings (2 inches)
Place the stem in glass with 2 inches of water.
Within a few weeks root starts to develop.
Continue to leave the cuttings in water until roots get properly developed, nearly 2 inches long.

Potting

As you have got the roots, now it is time to place the cutting into the soil.
A mixture of Akadama, pumice, and lava rock is the best potting soil for the Jade bonsai plant.
In soil, the most important is good drainage and a pot with enough drainage holes.
At first, your cuttings may be unstable. Because the roots have not created the firm foundation. Not to worry! Use a chopstick or any stick to prop that cutting up. You can also place some stones near the trunk as support.

Watering

While watering your new plant wait until the soil gets completely dry then gently mist the soil with water.
Slowly start watering your plant when you see new growth.

Leaf cuttings

With the help of a sharp blade remove a large and healthy-looking leaf.
Place the leaf into dry succulent soil. Keep the leaf away from the direct sunlight until roots begin to develop.
To encourage the growth of roots, apply a mix of succulent soil and perlite or vermiculite.
Wait till the tiny roots begin to sprout from the cut end of the leaf. It may take several weeks.
Place the leaf in a pot with a fast-draining soil mix such as perlite sand bend.
As the roots establish, new growth will appear, and the original leaf will completely shrivel.

Jade Bonsai Care guidelines

Bonsai Jade Plant Positioning & Temperature

Jade Plant bonsai prefers a bright position with natural daylight.
It should not be placed outside or in a hot position in mid-summer.
The plant is not fussy about temperature but it is frost hardy. Therefore, it would not be suitable to grow jade outside in the winter months.
Jade bonsai plants grow best in full to partial sunlight.
The temperature ranging between 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit is an ideal daytime temperature for the plant. Whereas 50-55 degrees Fahrenheit at the night.
Temperature below 32 degrees Fahrenheit will kill the jade plant.
As jade plant bonsai likes a dry climate, they should be planted outside where such conditions exist.
When a jade plant receives enough sunlight, its leaves develop red tips or edges.

Tip: During warm months, place the tree outdoor.

Jade Bonsai Tree Watering

Regular watering is not essential in jade. For the jade plant bonsai, less is far more.
You can water the bonsai plant once a week
The leaves of the plant conserve water so allow some extended periods between watering.
In winter, watering is needed once in 30 days.
In summer, the optimum watering cycle is around 10-20 days.
Overwatering the plant can lead to limb breakage.

Tip: Jade bonsai plant needs very little water. If a wrinkle starts to appear on the leaves you need to water the plant. Old bonsai watering trick: Place the entire pot in the sink of water (inch or two deep) and let the water absorb from the holes of the pot.

Jade Tree Bonsai Misting

To keep the leaves green and healthy misting is essential.
When the tree is inside, the air is dry, Mist during that time.
Avoid placing the bonsai pot near the draft or vent because it dries out the plant foliage.
A humidity tray can be used to increase the humidity around the plant.
The shallow tray filled with small pebbles has water at the bottom of the tray. Make sure water does not reach the bottom of the pot. Because as the water evaporates it will create a moister environment.

Jade Bonsai Plant Feeding

The bonsai plant relies on us to provide healthy nutrients. For this, a well-balanced bonsai feed, such as bonsai liquid fertilizer is suitable for maintaining the healthy growth of jade plant bonsai.
You can also use organic fertilizer or a chemical fertilizer diluted to one-half strength.
During the growing season fertilize it once a month from spring to autumn.
Fertilize the plant twice a week in the growing season and once a week in winter.

Jade Bonsai Tree Pruning/Styling

Jade bonsai is the fastest growing plant and it is fun to prune and style it.
As the plant is succulent it retains water in the trunk and branches. The retention of water makes the limbs of the tree heavy and naturally bends the trunk and branches.
To maintain lovely foliage and canopy it is important not to allow shoots to grow longer and straggly.
By keeping the shoots trimmed, you allow plants to develop buds and new leaves. Most new growth appears during summer or spring.
Pruning of the tree should be done during summer and spring because plants heal faster when pruning is done at that time.
Allow shoot to grow approximately 4cm and then prune it. To do this, use sharp bonsai pruning scissors.

Within 4-6 weeks new shoots start to develop.
While pruning use sharp tools because jagged cuts or dirty and dull tools will harm the plant.
Prune the branches that appear out of the place.
The node should be clipped. Node is the point where one branch grows from another.

Tip: Trim the tree once or twice a week to maintain its size.

Jade Tree Bonsai Wiring

While wiring the jade plant bonsai, monitor the plant because the bark of the jade tree is soft and wire may cut into the bark quickly.
Use the thinnest wire that will hold the plant in the desired shape.
Wiring too tightly will cause scarring, therefore wrap just tight enough to get the job done.
Begin the wiring from the base and slowly warp the wire around the trunk to anchor.
After 3-6 weeks, branches of the tree are able to maintain shape. After that, you can remove the wire.
Do not unwind the wires this could break the branch

Tip: Do not wire a plant just after repotting.

Jade Plant Bonsai Repotting

If the jade bonsai plant gets pot bound, roots stop growing. Eventually, the tree will stop growing.
The Younger jade grows rapidly. Therefore, frequent root pruning and repotting are required.
If your bonsai container is large enough, you only need to prune the roots and place them in the same container.
The suitable time for repotting is in the warmer summer months.
If your jade plant needs to be planted in a larger container, lift the plant and prune one-quarter of the root ball. With the help of a chopstick loosen the roots around the edge so that they can be placed in a new container.
While repotting, use good quality, well-drained soil such as Akadama. Akadama is the highest quality of Japanese soil. It is made from dried loam.
Do not water the soil for a week after repotting. Because watering after repotting causes root rot and it may severely damage the plant.

Tip: Allow soil to dry before removing heavy roots and branches.

Jade Bonsai Propagation

Clippings of the plant can be replanted or propagated. Allow the stem ends to dry out first. It may take a couple of months. Once the end of the stem is dry, place the cutting of the stem in a pot with dry soil. After two or more weeks, you can water the cuttings.
Jade plant can be propagated through its leaves. Just put the stem end of the leaf into the soil and soon the leaf will start to produce roots.
The best time to propagate jade is in the summer.

Jade Bonsai Pests and diseases

Mealybugs

The pest looks white and foamy.
They can be easily treated by applying a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol to the affected part of the plant.

2. Aphids

Aphids damage the plant by sucking sap from the leaves
While feeding, they inject their saliva into the plant. They also secrete a thick liquid known as honeydew. This liquid coats the leaves of the plant which makes it sticky in appearance. Also, honeydew promotes fungal growth.
The sticky liquid attracts other pests such as ants and wasps.
Aphids can be controlled by a natural parasites like lady beetles.
If natural Parasite is not enough, you can use insecticide or other remedies to get rid of aphids.

Other common bonsai pests are scale, spider mites, and root aphids.

Jade bonsai styles

1. Informal upright style

This bonsai style produces an approximately triangular tree shape, but it appears more irregular and relaxed, with curving trunks.

It leans 15 degrees or less to the right or left, but never toward the viewer. It is probably the most popular bonsai design, with a trunk that represents a living tree battered by the elements.

In higher branches, trunk curves should be closer together. For the front of the bonsai, choose the side of the trunk showing the greatest movement. Wires can be used to simulate trunk movement caused by nature’s stresses.

2. Slanting style

This style is sometimes called the leaning style. In slanting style, the trunk leans the majority of its length at an angle close to 45 degrees. Also, branches grow from both sides of the trunk.

Whether it is positioned horizontally or with slight droop, branches appear to have been pushed by the wind. To balance the tree, the root system must be bulkier on the opposite side of the slant.

Lower branches can be left longer than those above to balance the plant. Set the tree in its container so that the slanting trunk reaches over the greater part of the planter, rather than over the side.

3. Root over rock style

This design requires the longest wait among the jade plant’s recommended styles. It is intended to mimic the natural roots of trees, sprouting when they land in a crack in a rock, grow to enclose the rock.

This effect can be achieved by burying a rock among the roots of a bonsai.

Allow them to grow for a few years before slowly exposing them and letting them harden off.

Plants with established roots should be placed on top of a rock in a container, and their roots should be spread over the rock and into the soil.

Conclusion

It takes the jade bonsai plant a long time to grow. But the wait is rewarding. Most people keep them in smaller pots to make them look more dwarfed. If left to grow, jade plants can grow up to ten feet tall. You only need to replant the jade plant into a larger pot if you want it to grow larger.

The ideal dimension of the jade plant is seven inches tall and seven inches wide. Because of this dimension, it is an excellent small ornamental tree.

Another quality that makes the jade plant a good bonsai option is that it can be trained to grow in different directions. Stakes and wires or strings can easily be used to change the plant’s position. In a month, the plant will take a new direction.

It is easy to grow jade inside because of its low maintenance. And the good thing about jade bonsai is that it only grows as big as the pot in which it is planted. You can find jade in your local nursery, greenhouse, garden center as well as you can buy bonsai online.

Jade is an exceptional bonsai plant that does not receive the credit it deserves.

Therefore, we highly recommend jade as an indoor bonsai plant.