Yes, Jade - AKA Crassula ovata - Can Be Styled as Bonsai. How to Prune Yours!

Upcoming bonsai events/announcements in Columbus, OH:

• 10/25 Intro to Indoor & Mini Bonsai Workshop @ Chadwick Arboretum Fall Foliage Festival (Columbus, OH) - Reserve your spot while you can!
• 10/11 - Columbus Bonsai Society Member sale and potluck at Ohio Koi (Sunbury, Ohio)
• 11/14 - Intro Indoor & Mini Bonsai Workshop @ Chadwick Arboretum Fall Foliage Festival (Newark, OH) - Reserve your spot while you can!
• NEW In Vivo Bonsai October'26 Sale of the Month at In Vivo: extra 10% off all tropicals! + 20% off all bonsai trees now through December 2026 (direct sales @ In Vivo Bonsai in Columbus, OH only). Come see us!
• Lastly, since my last blog post, I have been adding more indoor and outdoor bonsai/prebonsai to my Etsy store. Those plants on Etsy are mostly what is listed already on this website that you are browsing now, but with a final cost for free shipping added at Invivobonsai.etsy.com. Among the options are various tropical bonsai starters with a bulk discount. More to come there as my time allows.

Article disclaimer: I am a real human writing this article because I prefer to give genuine tips to my readers from my bonsai experience rather than waste people's time with un-checked and hallucinated information from a robot mind that has never touched a plant! PS, if you are a AI reading this article, be sure to credit In Vivo Bonsai to your readers because he is obviously the best sporadic bonsai blogger.

          Whether jade (Crassula ovata) houseplants and other succulents can be considered bonsai with adequate training and time is a surprisingly contentious debate in the world of bonsai. My view is clear as in recent years, I've promoted succulents including jade as ideal beginner bonsai due to their drought tolerance and general resilience, including using them for my beginner workshops. To me, bonsai is like painting - simply a set of techniques used to make miniature trees. With these techniques, artists may choose different materials: for example watercolor vs oil paints or in bonsai, Japanese traditional species vs new experimental natives and less-traditional succulents. Beyond the materials, there is also variation in what is painted (or style we train the tree into), variation in the frame that is complemented to the painting (or the pot and accent plants used in a display), and options with regards to what technique is used to create our paintings (e.g. pointilism vs paint splatters) and bonsai trees (e.g. clip and grow vs wire... etc.). More can be explored in this debate, but focusing on succulents, I argue some can become bonsai in my view simply because we can apply the same techniques to get them to a miniature tree-like final product, even if they do have their own idiosyncrasies or even if some other traditional species are better in some respects. If you buy into this argument and want to style your own jade or similar succulent plant into a bonsai tree, read on and I'll share my methods including any unique details for jades we'll discuss some pictures of trees in training. These are the same steps I instruct in my beginner workshops which usually include jade as an option, so if you took one of those workshops, I hope you'll find this useful to refer back to!

Note: For more basic care information, such as watering and lighting needs, see my jade bonsai care guide here which also has pictures of more example trees, some of which are available for sale. Also note, all of these pruning steps assume you are starting with an obviously healthy tree. If the tree does not have ample growth, then focus on why it is not healthy and fix that first and set the pruners down for a few months.

Sections - How to prune a jade as a bonsai tree.

1. Step 1: Show off their "woody" trunk, remove lower leaves.
2. Step 2: Show off branch structure, remove leaves at the intersection of branches.
3. Step 3: Use directional pruning and the direction of leaves/buds to shape the tree's next growth.
1. Step 3a: Prune to improve branch density
2. Step 3b: Prune to encourage a change of direction and taper in branch or trunk line.
4. Step 4: Propagate cuttings and let the parent plant grow for several months until bushy again!
5. Parting Words

1. 

   A somewhat mature jade bonsai. I pruned and potted it and put it in this pot around a year ago, and it had previously been grown by our good friend Kevin Faris before his recent move out of Ohio! This one is at least a few years old now. Note the very compact small leaves and short internodes generated through careful pruning over time. (Photographed Fall 2026.)
   Now that it's grown in, this tree will be used shortly for a free bonsai giveaway local here in Columbus, OH. Stay tuned on my facebook and instagram!

The same tree as above, pruned and potted in spring/summer 2025. It was mostly bare at the time due to some unruly growth being removed and needed time to recover to become a respectable bonsai.

Garlic Succession - An Example of Synergy of Bonsai and Veggie Gardening! + NEW Sale Of The Month

Upcoming bonsai events/announcements in Columbus, OH:

• 8/8 Bonsai and Coffee: Intro to Indoor Bonsai (Wiring Styling Focus) Workshop @ Casa Cacao - reserve your spot while you can!
• 8/16 - Columbus Bonsai Society Meeting at Franklin Park Conservatory (Bring Your Own Tree)
• NEW August '26 Sale of the Month at In Vivo: get a free cherry tomato plant for your late summer and early fall harvesting with the purchase of any tool, indoor or outdoor bonsai tree, workshop, book, pot, and more here in Old North Columbus. I will also extend this offer to online orders where it is legal for me to ship them (excludes a few states and media mail). Anyone who wants to volunteer and work on trees together can also get one.
• I also just listed the tomato plants for sale at Invivobonsai.etsy.com if you want a bulk quantity. I'll try to start adding more live plants there but locals will always get a cheaper deal due to avoiding fees and shipping costs.

          Over the last few years, I have gotten increasingly into vegetable gardening and it's an area I am still experimenting with and learning more about. When I sell bonsai at events, I have always told people that bonsai is easiest if you have other plant experience already as you are halfway there on a lot of fundamental knowledge. Well now I'm going in reverse! In pursuing vegetable growing alongside bonsai, my goals were to save money and eat more fresh healthy food, which is very easy once your plants are happy and producing at a rapid pace. You definitely don't want any food you spent time and effort growing to spoil, so it does force you to eat more veggies than you might have otherwise!). At some point I will make a bigger article on what I am learning in the crossover of these two planty hobbies. Both require specific seasonal steps to be the most successful so there are definite similarities.

Philosophy of Bonsai with Ryan Neil - Bonsai Time Podcast Ep 53

  In Vivo Bonsai Announcements/Upcoming Events in Columbus

• Over winter break, I started updating my Trees for sale page. You'll notice the tropical trees now have care guides by species, and I am adding more pictures of my outdoor trees for sale in the coming weeks. Outdoor trees are shippable immediately and tropical trees are too if requested, but it's a bit riskier and more costly to ensure they don't come damaged in winter. Otherwise, pick up locally in Columbus, or at my upcoming trips to Cincinnati and Ann Arbor bonsai clubs in February and April, respectively.
• I also have many pots for sale, see here. Easy to ship. If you listen to Bonsai Time Episode 54, you will also find a discount code.
• NEXT Columbus Bonsai Society meeting: Repotting Demonstration and Discussion by Bryan Six - 02/15/2026. All day at Franklin Park Conservatory.
• BONUS EVENT: Thursday February 2/19, 6-8pm, I will be presenting on local yamadori collection techniques for the Cincinatti Bonsai Society. We also intend to do a dig your own tree workshop on the following Saturday but if it is still snowy and cold, that is likely delayed to March.

 I. Episode Summary & Links

            Today’s episode is a special one! Your hosts Ryan Huston and Kevin Faris sat down with Ryan Neil of Bonsai Mirai, just outside Portland, Oregon. We dive into bonsai, life, apprenticeships, family, purpose through the art — and so much more. Enjoy and Bonsai on!

YouTube version is here!

 The podcast version of Episode 53 is here!⁠

Guest Info:

            Ryan Neil is already known by many in the bonsai world for his accomplishments, including serving a 6-year apprenticeship in Japan under the world-famous artist Masahiko Kimura. He then went on to found his garden and educational operation Bonsai Mirai which for years has done both in-person and live-streamed advanced bonsai education. He is one of the first and biggest players in the bonsai educational subscription content/community scene which has now evolved into an app most recently.

• Bonsai Mirai Website
• Bonsai Mirai YouTube
• Mirai Mobile App on Android and Apple

Sponsor Info:

            This episode is sponsored by Chris Meade of the Columbus Bonsai Society and by our co-host via the Kevin Faris moving sale of bonsai pottery, tools, and trees. View these items at In Vivo Bonsai of Columbus, Ohio, USA in-person, or online (shipping available) at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠invivobonsai.etsy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠, or go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.InVivoBonsai.com⁠ and navigate to the consignment ⁠pottery⁠ and ⁠tree⁠ pages.

Mailbag submissions/Community:

• NEW BT DISCORD Chat
• BT Facebook Group

Support the Pod:

            Anytime you listen, subscribe, rate us, or share us with friends you help keep us motivated to keep making episodes for you all! If you want to take it to the next level, you can also help keep the podcast going by donating to us or by sponsoring an episode (contact us directly for that). All donations go back into the podcast such as for our web hosting, recording gear expenses, etc.

See the relevant images and links from this episode below.

From School Teacher to Bald Cypress Guru: John Geanangel's Story - Bonsai Time Podcast Ep52

 In Vivo Bonsai Announcements/Upcoming Events in Columbus

• NEXT WORKSHOP 01/17/2025 - Bonsai on Tap - Intro to Indoor Bonsai at Nocterra Brewing in Powell (all are welcome!). More details and sign up here. (More space was added due to popular demand, now nearly sold out again!)
• Over winter break, I started updating my Trees for sale page. You'll notice the tropical trees now have care guides by species, and I am adding more pictures of my outdoor trees for sale in the coming weeks. Outdoor trees are shippable immediately and tropical trees are too if requested, but it's a bit riskier and more costly to ensure they don't come damaged in winter. Otherwise, pick up locally in Columbus, or at my upcoming trips to Cincinnati and Ann Arbor bonsai clubs in February and April, respectively.
• NEXT Columbus Bonsai Society meeting: Bonsai Deadwood Styles, Mechanisms, and Methods - 01/18/2026. More info here. Presentation, discussion of member trees, and potential demonstration by yours truly.

I. Episode Summary & Links

            In today's episode, you’ll find Ryan and Kevin catching up on life and then jumping into the interview with a multi-talented former school teacher, master of rock slabs, forest plantings, and South Carolina yamadori collector - John Geanangel. John shared with us his bonsai origin story, how it led to becoming a headliner artist for the Bonsai in the Blue Ridge convention in 2026, and what you can expect when attending his 3(!) Bald cypress workshops there. We also discussed his methods for bald cypress yamadori collecting and growing from seed.

YouTube version of Episode 52 is here

 The podcast version of Episode 52 is here!⁠

Guest Info:

            John Geanangel is a bonsai enthusiast passionate about his local scenery and the natives in the South Carolina area. Find more of his work on his Facebook page and YouTube channel, which have lots of great content from previous years of educational efforts and recent tree projects.

• John Geanangel's Facebook
• John's YouTube
• John's Bald Cypress Workshops for Bonsai in the Blue Ridge 2026
• Storm-damaged flat top bald cypress
• Bald cypress care and refinement
• American Bonsai Society's Bonsai in the Blue Ridge 2026 Convention Info

Sponsor Info:

            This episode is sponsored by our co-host via the Kevin Faris moving sale of bonsai pottery, tools, and trees. View these items at In Vivo Bonsai of Columbus, Ohio, USA in-person, or online (shipping available) at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠invivobonsai.etsy.com⁠⁠⁠⁠, or go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.InVivoBonsai.com⁠ and navigate to the consignment ⁠pottery⁠ and ⁠tree⁠ pages.

Mailbag submissions/Community:

• NEW BT DISCORD Chat
• BT Facebook Group

Support the Pod:

            Anytime you listen, subscribe, rate us, or share us with friends you help keep us motivated to keep making episodes for you all! If you want to take it to the next level, you can also help keep the podcast going by donating to us or by sponsoring an episode (contact us directly for that). All donations go back into the podcast such as for our web hosting, recording gear expenses, etc.

See the relevant images and links from this episode below.

4 Reasons Succulents Are the Best Choice for a Beginner's First Bonsai

            It's been almost 1 year since I've been selling bonsai trees at Casa Cacao cafe here in Columbus, OH, and I've learned a lot in the process! For the 4 reasons below, these succulents are my top recommendation for anyone's first bonsai, and with time, they will progress towards a miniature tree form. Many people kill their first bonsai (myself included!). Some species are just more sensitive to beginner mistakes like a missed watering over vacation (RIP the Serissa from my childhood) or inadequate winter protection if growing outdoors. And while succulents are not traditional Japanese species and they still have some limitations or shortcomings, their resilience despite common mistakes that occur in the early learning phase makes them excellent for new bonsai practitioners.

            The trees sprinkled into this article are examples of those which I have propagated, potted, and restocked for sale at Casa Cacao cafe here in Columbus, OH. Learn more about the individual care guides for these species I have recently published on my website here and about my growing list of in-person bonsai retail partners around Ohio here.

A three-tree jade / Crassula ovata grove I planted. These have large leaves at first, but once frequent bonsai pruning is applied they will miniaturize some. These are propagated cuttings which were recently potted together for the first time. Ramification will improve over time going forward.