A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 Jade Plants

can anyone tell me how to make my Jade plant grow fatter? It's doing really well right now, and new leaves grow everyweek, just don't know if pruning will help the trunk grow thicker?

What mine does is grow airroots that help support it's branches. And they get thicker with time. I pruned mine because I had a leaf drop due to moving it to a lower light location but it still pretty much stays close to the ground. I put the cuttings in the same pot so that it is looking fuller. But one of the things I guess you have to be careful of is that if some of the leaves shade others the ones in the shade will fall off.

I don't think I helped at all. Someone will be along who can offer much better help.

I think it just takes time.

Back east, I only saw Jades as houseplants. If one was 15" tall, I thought it was huge.

Here, on the west coast, Jades grow in the ground 4' tall easily. And, they are fat.

So, maybe patience & lots of light + regular fertilizer. But, not too much!

HI Shawn i cut mine back to make them bushier and in doing so it seems to make the stalks grow thicker. but it dose take time as there a slow growing plant.hope this helps your friend in gardening.mike57

I used to break them off right where the stem comes out of the leaf and stick the broke off part in the soil. They get bushier and lots more plants before long.

The thing got so big it kept toppling over, so I repotted it. It continued to grow and grow and grow till it toppled out of the pot and busted to pieces. So I took some of the pieces and stuck them in some dirt and they grew new...