Pruning and Tuning My Jade Bonsai Forest (Crassula Ovata)

[@VictorHHH7]

I really liked the look at the beginning, but I’m sure it’ll look even better in time

[@CoffeeandBonsaiwithTom]

I totally understand - it’s a process. They will continue to grow and become unwieldy if not regularly pruned back. My goal is to get much more branches with smaller leaves - so very ‘full’ looking like it was before I pruned it, but with much finer detail in the leaves and branches. Stay tuned and we’ll see!! 😀 Thanks for both watching and commenting - much appreciated

[@dkstott29]

I've playing playing around with various top dressings...small red volcanic rock works nicely in a few forests....

[@CoffeeandBonsaiwithTom]

What’s your favorite so far? I have lots of red lava which I’ll give a go. I have several jades in red lava and cactus soil and they look great health wise and aesthetically. I also recently got some small black lava which I’ll experiment with. Red and black lava could look really good as well I think. I wish there were a non-white pumice as it works so well. Akadama looks better but harder to get and fairly expensive. Thanks for watching Dave!

[@dkstott29]

@CoffeeandBonsaiwithTom For a long time, I used small sized natural color aquarium gravel as a top dressing. Now I'm experimenting with options. Friend's on mine are using small akadama or calcined clay as a top dressing with their succulent plants...its got a nice clean look with cactus. It looks better than sand or white pebbles. LOL. Small 1/4 inch Red Volcanic is a nice contrast, especially with jade forests. Black lava rock just hasn't clicked with me yet. Something about the color isn't right. My soil mix right now is probably 80% bonsai jack succulent soil and 20% black gold succulent mix. My crassula jades just dried out too quickly last summer. They needed a little bit more organic soil for moisture retention.

[@MamaJArk]

My first reaction was an island jungle. You arrive shipwrecked and are faced with a dark forbidding landscape. Much more inviting now.

[@CoffeeandBonsaiwithTom]

🏝️🤣🤣. I think you nailed it! Thanks for watching. ❤️🌲

[@CoffeeandBonsaiwithTom]

For sure there is nowhere to hide in the pruned jungle! 😂