Just bought this huge jade off kijiji for 85 bucks.
I'll add more photos tomorrow.
This thing is gigantic, should I whack it or leave it as is?
It's actually like four separate trees when you look closely.
Keep in mind that I'm 6'4 and it's in the hatchback of a pt cruiser.

Hi Goatjuice, to NGA

Why would you buy a huge, beautiful jade and then whack it down??

I wouldn't necessarily,
I've noticed quite a few people online that are into that sort of thing and was curious is all.

That monster is impressive. If you want to separate one or two of the plants, so that you have more than one large plant, I don't think that the mommy will be affected much. Or, you could split it in half and still have two very large/monstrous sized plants.

Gorgeous! If I was going to cut off anything, it would be the few little branches at the bottom that are pointed down, and hiding some of that gorgeous trunk. Wow! Looks heavy.

Jade plants are natural bonsai - if grown under proper conditions, they never need pruning. If you remove one or more plants, you will have plants with huge holes were their pot mates were growing. The multiple plants form one canopy, just as a grouping of trees forms one canopy. Take one out, you lose that forever.

Pruning to remove unwanted branches or cross through branches is all it needs. If you feel the need for more plants, new ones will grow from something as small as one leaf.

You paid a lot of money for this plant. I don't think you were seeing what you could do to it as soon as you got home as part of the purchase.

Daisy

Nice! I would think that if you have a big enough space to overwinter the plant, it's gorgeous as is. If you get the itch to chop, I would recommend taking only a couple of small cuttings, as they would not detract from the impressiveness of the plant, and they will grow quite quickly.

Here are a few more pictures
I'm only going to repot it a little higher and trim a few small branches near the bottom.
Only after he gets used to his new home though.

Awesome! Such gorgeous shape!

Are you sure you can support his habits? Looks like he goes through a lot of beer.

My thought also.

I wouldn't pot into a bigger pot but if you can lift it and put some soil underneath, that would be good.

Although it looks to be in really good shape, it does not have red edges on the leaves. That means it hasn't been exposed to full sun. Introduce slowly to that sunny deck. It may take a month of gradual moves but it will be worth it in the long run.

I got a bigger jade but nothing like that monster


My two jades I had originally are still recovering from the sun blasting them. jades are better indoor plant imho they rot easily and burn in the direct sun just my two cents

At this point you want to give as much sun as you can safely provide. The long branches going every which direction will start going down as soon as the plant makes weak, stretched growth. Outdoor sun is not going to be a threat (outside an extremely hot climate) if you introduce the plant gradually. Daisy gave good advice there and a reasonable time course. My jade plants are outside in day long sun year round without any problems. Strong light seems to improve flowering as well as form.

The real issue will come up during the winter months when the plant moves indoors and that's when you want to be very careful to put it in the sunniest spot available. An unobstructed south facing window would be ideal. You can keep track of the light in a situation like that by watching the internodes (the distance between successive leaves along a stem) and trying to keep that down, so the plant stays compact. If you do have to prune to compensate, your plant will start to develop a different character. But that's the beauty of these things... they evolve as they grow.

You may already know this, but if you're not in a hurry you can just put a leaf in the soil and you will get a new plant. This one is a couple years old.

How are things going with your new Jade, Goatjuice?

Beautiful Jade bush. Good score and you got it home in one piece.
Do not even consider separating them for that would destroy the symmetry.
Yes it does need more sun.
A little pruning at a time is a good idea.
When they grow big like this, jades tend to prune themselves.
The branches become top (end) heavy and just break off.
Usually that is lower down than you would cut it, so the shape changes drastically.
It is best if you control the pruning.
Cut a few of the extended (longer) branches shorter.
Let them grow and bush out and then cut a few more, randomly spaced around the plant.
Prune large jades every few months during growing season and they will stay happy.
My mother plant 20+ years old is now 6 feet tall and has a trunk 9 inches in diameter.

Well that was true last week, but I waited too long to prune it and now it is only 2 feet tall.
The top 3 feet broke off and by the time I was finished with reshaping it I have a skeleton.
I knew better, but was too busy with other things.

All the advice above is good, especially the re-potting. It looks happy in the present pot and unless it is root bound, I would leave it alone. Do not add more soil to the top. That can sometimes be disastrous. In some cases it can cause rot at the base of the plant.