Hi... not a lot of time, so going to go fast here, but first thing to do is get that wire off. It'll cut into the very thin skin of a jade and there's no 'underbark' under that as there would be with a regular tree. There are other ways to shape jade which if you come back here again, I'll give you hints about. Second, you said you have some bonsai soil, but what is it made of (e.g. where did you get it in terms of Wal-Mart vs a dedicated bonsai nursery) because there's a lot of junk out there too. A cactus mix (know what's in that?) isn't a bad idea, and you could mix it with e.g. small gravel sold for fishtanks (for fast drainage) until you learn more. Don't worry yet about pruning, shaping, etc. anyhow, lots of time to learn and there's lots of info out there. What's more important is keeping it alive and well... lots of sun for long hours, very careful watering (better less often and well, than bits all the time), and even more careful with fertilizer - only use what's made for cacti and/or succulents and err on the side of less often, though not necessarily diluted too much. And above all until you're used to taking care of it and doing well, don't feel compelled to stuff it into a 'bonsai' pot yet, not until you've done more research. Good luck! PS It's called Portulacaria Africans

This post was edited by moochinka on Wed, Sep 17, 14 at 22:46

So, I got the bonsai soil from a shop that sells plants. Uhm they had a couple of bonsais and they looked healthy so I thought that they are probably selling me the right thing. In Greece it's really hard to find places to buy soil.. I tried translated it and it has Peat moss, clay, vulca, lime.
The cactus mix contains black peat (?? I think that is sphagnum moss, somewhere it got lost in translation), sand and volcanic rock. Dont ask me about the ratios because there are no numbers on the packages.. I also mixed some fish tank gravel because I had plenty of it so I thought "what could go wrong". In Greece we always have sun and my room has a verywide South window so I guess it will get the sun it needs. OK, so I unwired it. How should I prune - shape it? Do I wait for it to grow and then cut off most things that I dont like?

Wait for it to grow a lot more before thinking about shaping - right now you have no options (branches/leaves) for doing that. Peat and sphagnum are very different... if you Google Images of it, you'll see, but in any case, it doesn't belong in cacti or succulent mixes as it holds water too long... the sand and volcanic rock are good though. Clay is very bad for any bonsai... too heavy and wet, but vulca (volcanic rocik?) is good, and lime unnecessary altogether.

Ok I did some research. Found out it is some kind of porous baked clay; could it be arcillite? It is some kind of granules or more like pebbles. Also I think it looks like the Akadama. I haven't watered it yet either.
Non-organic matter is about 70-75% which is fine.
The soil now is really dry but I will wait a couple of days since I see no signs of distress.. When I got the succulent it was really overwaterede and I thought for a second it was a goner. But it looks fine now.
I think the cacti soil must have spagnum in it.
My cacti thrived in the mix i have them but it must be our dry climate because we usually have temperatures 35-42 C in summer and in winter more like 5-15 C.

I think I got lost in translation here with all the ingedients... Well I will see how the plant will grow. If it shows severe signs of distress I will try another soil mix.. At least the soil looks fluffy and is dry on the top.. Should water my jade or wait till it shows me it needs water (wrinkled leaves)?

Your call! I certainly have no idea when it was last watered, under what conditions, etc., plus your guessing at what to do will help give you info for the next time. :-)

Hello!

Just thought I'd add that the plant you have is actually called Portulacaria afra variegata, or "Elephant's [Food] Bush," aka Spekboom in South Africa. The leaves are more delicate than a Jade's, and the trunk is more woody and fibrous, as well. This particular plant will not do as well if you allow it to dry out between waterings as you would a Jade. Keep the mix more evenly moist, though not wet, and fertilize and water copiously during the warm Summer months (if you put the plant outdoors).

Josh

Personally, I let my ports dry out almost completly between waterings to get a neat looking bark. I rarely fertilize, maybe 2-3 times a year. I definetly don't ever keep the soil always damp, because I end up with rot issues. Because of this, I also don't use anything with peat in it since peat is hard to rewet once dry. I tell everyone to let the oldest leaves wrinkle (the lower ones on the branches) and then water. I've had them fall out of the pots and not get watered for weeks and they were fine (in full sun too). Pretty tough species in general.

If you want to "play", you may want to consider getting one of the normal leafed ports. In my experience, the variegated grow soooo slowlllyyyy they aren't fun. I have several that I'm trying to do, have had them for 4-5 years, and they still aren't much bigger than when i got them. They do beautiful cascading branches, but getting them to thicken takes a while. And they all seem to want to be cascades! The normal leafed grow much faster and can be made into almost any style.

You can wire, but let the plant dry before you do or it snaps. Branches should be "bendy" without breaking (try on one you're going to cut off). If you leave the wire on too long, it will scar, but the scar will fill out in a few years (unlike other species where it's glaringly permanent).

Oh, and another note...they like to have their roots confined. I let mine get severely rootbound before repotting. You might want to consider a smaller pot....