Starting this thread to track my collections of these "mini jade". Last year I repotted a lot of my 10+ years old Elephant Bush, and now they have grown quite a bit. They are healthy but the new stems are quite lanky.



Got repotted to this:




And I also have these:





And these:





And a lot more different kinds but smaller. Trying to get serious on shaping these but don't know where to start.

Grab some scissors and start pruning. Just dont go overboard and dont do it summer. Youll have to shape it gradually.

I tried chopping one and it didn't look good as I hoped. I made it bald.

These plants have an amazing capacity for recovery, so that may be just a temporary state.

The variegated version has a trailing form (or at least the one I know does) so I don't know how much rigidity you can expect from any given stem in the long term. Something to factor into how you imagine things a year or two down the road.

Hi, Gigi. The prostrate form can be styled in an upright position, but it will take forever to form a trunk, so it's better to take advantage of the prostrate habit by electing to go with a cascade or semi-cascade style tree. If you're wanting to make the other style trees, the upright varieties are best for that and will form up a trunk in speedy fashion (by tree time).

Typically, the upright plants are allowed to grow wild for a time until you are able to define an interesting trunk line.
The tree below has had about 3/4 of it's branches/foliage removed in order to define an interesting trunk line.

Below, you can see a large part of the main trunk was chopped off in order to give the tree rapid taper, which adds to the appearance of age:

My initial thought was that the part wired upright to the left would be the new leader, but the branch it's attached to which is growing to the right is too thick. I needed an alternate plan, so I allowed the plant to grow:


Below, you can see where I removed what I thought would be an extension of the trunk in favor of another branch further to the right, which I had left as a "just in case I want a different trunkline". Now, the trunkline is set, taper is good, and I have the first 3 or 4 branches in an appropriate position, ready to be grown out. From this point forward, it's all about refining the tree.

I'm lucky in that this tree offers an alternate front view (below). Most bonsai are designed to be viewed from their best side, referred to as the front. This one has 2 potential fronts I'll need to choose from later as the tree progresses.


Below is a tree in the raft style. It has several trunks, but they were all once part of the same branch. I cut the branch off a much larger tree and positioned it on top of the soil where it rooted. It doesn't look like much, but it was an instant bonsai start.


In the image below, it's just beginning to come together


Another now/later look:




And, 3 years in the life of a portulacaria:






Al

@Baja_Costero yes, they seem to have really good potentials and they thrive even in neglect. The variegated version I have have thicker trunks but they are more slow growing than the green ones.

@tapla, those are beautiful! I have a lot in the sizes similar to the last 3 but they are all in communal pots. My larger ones have bases/trunks as big as silver dollar coins and some are over 24 inches long. Some have bodies covered by lichens, giving them the ancient tree look.

As I see your bonsai, mine have a lot of potential if I get the courage to chop them up. I attempted to chop this up and I wasn't pleased with the result. I think this is too long to have the bonsai look.



Here are the other ones, each plant I could easily chop up into more than one plant.

My question is, what would be the ideal length to make that beautiful bonsai look?

This tree could be made into a formal upright tree - straight trunk growing straight up. If you like that idea, there is a branch just above the 2 thick lower branches, growing up and a bit to the right. If you use the existing tree as your stake, you can tie that branch to the trunk above so it's in a vertical position.

Once that branch is set in position, you can chop the trunk back immediately above that branch. That branch will be in the front of the tree and the scar left from chopping the tree back will be in the back of the tree, hidden as it heals. Here is a trunk chop sequence on a maple tree:

Tree in the middle with big white scar:


After a couple month's growth:


3 years after the chop:


Wound almost healed:


Progressing:


Most recent image:


Re your first image. You could also chop it low like I did the maple and make 2 or 3 trees out of the top parts left over after the chop. You would allow the chopped part to grow a new leader and start working on building a tree out of the chopped stump when the change in taper between the stump and the new leader is not too offensive to the eye. The transition in the taper should be smooth.

Your first tree is the hardest to find potential in. The others have more going for them in terms of both options and potential - not sure how interested you are in exploring that - don't want to go all bonsai on you on the succulents forum unless you have interest. Sometimes the best way to explain what can be done to someone else's tree is best explained by using what images of other species are at hand to serve as visuals.

Al

Wow! What a huge transformation from a chopped branch to a beautifully "shaped" tree.

I do want to grow these as bonsai. Maybe I will do it in baby steps. Maybe one plant at a time.

I'd start with one of the other trees because the gratification will be quicker to come. If you work with the first image, it will require more time and progress will seem like it's coming slowly until you're able to abandon people time and put yourself on tree time, then it won't matter how long it takes. I have what I think is a really good idea for the second tree if you're interested.

Al

Al!

This went to the back burner again as desert roses needed more attention. So I haven't done anything on my Elephant Bush. I did manage to prune and repot these.



And I pruned this but I have not had the chance to repot:

GigiPlumeria said: Al!

This went to the back burner again as desert roses needed more attention. So I haven't done anything on my Elephant Bush. I did manage to prune and repot these.

The above died.

Sorry, they looked so nice!!

Yes, I still have cuttings this size. So I will try again.

I don't really think of this as a bonsai since I just got it a few months ago and haven't trimmed it in any way yet. But it's still alive. What an improvement over my previous attempts with this plant! Sitting it on a black chair to take the pic on a gloomy day is providing a cool "floating in the air" effect.