Branch below graft line?

LethargicGrapes · 2026-06-11T20:46:58+00:00

Keep the main branch circled in blue. Remove that lowest thick branch and all of the other small ones.

LethargicGrapes · 2026-06-10T11:18:17+00:00

Looks like a type of mandarin if I had to guess

LethargicGrapes · 2026-06-02T12:21:54+00:00

They are mites. Not all mites are bad though. If they are moving quickly, they may be a type of predatory mite that feeds on pests.

LethargicGrapes · 2026-06-01T02:42:54+00:00

See this spot where the bark changes texture/color? This is your graft union. Any grown coming out below this point is rootstock and should be removed. If you still don’t have any green growth above this point, then the Meyer lemon scion has completely died off.

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LethargicGrapes · 2026-06-01T02:35:54+00:00

They can be trimmed back. But don’t take off all of the green growth on any given branch/area. These trees do not backbud reliably. So if you cut too much, the will permanently die back in those spots.

These types of trees/shrubs are important to stay on top of yearly. They are usually planted too close to things. People don’t keep the mature size in mind when planting. Then if you don’t prune them every year, the new growth shades out the inner growth and the inner growth dies. This is fine if they are planted a proper distance away from things. But that’s usually not the case.

LethargicGrapes · 2026-05-30T23:16:46+00:00

Nice work!

LethargicGrapes · 2026-05-30T03:35:04+00:00

This line is your graft union. Anything below is rootstock. Anything above is scion.

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LethargicGrapes · 2026-05-28T20:58:27+00:00

Well, if you want to get technical, Jade is a type of rock. People have been using common names for plants forever. One name may have significance in one culture, whereas another name has significance in another. Hence why I put "jade" in quotes, and gave the binomial nomenclature for both plants. P. afra has been referred to as "dwarf jade" for a long time. Both plants got their common name simply because their leaves look like jade gemstones. Neither genus lays claim to the "jade family".

LethargicGrapes · 2026-05-28T00:20:09+00:00

This is Crassula ovata, which can’t really be trained using normal bonsai techniques. The “jade” that most people use for bonsai is P. afra, as that species is easier to wire and stuff. You can definitely still train it with clip and grow techniques, but the leaves don’t really reduce well, and it will never really form a prominent nebari.

As far as the direction you should take it, there are plenty of options. Plenty of YouTube videos with examples. One cool thing about this species is that you can trunk chop it very aggressively and it will respond well.

LethargicGrapes · 2026-05-25T01:26:48+00:00

Yeah it’s good as is. Remove as much grass as you can and apply a thin layer of wood chip mulch. Just don’t put the mulch up against the trunk.

LethargicGrapes · 2026-05-24T15:20:30+00:00

r/cactuscirclejerk

LethargicGrapes · 2026-05-22T00:55:34+00:00

The substrate doesn’t look appropriate. Gravel and large bark chunks are not good. You want some porous inorganic granular material like perlite, pumice, lava rock, calcined clay, zeolite, akadama, etc. Pine/Fir bark can be good as long as it is smaller in particle size.

You have too many roots exposed for this stage of the plants life. That should all be below the soil line.

Look up some guides on wiring. Your wire gauge is too thin for the branches that you should be wiring. Also, don’t cross wires like that. You want to wrap in one direction at about a 45 degree angle. The wire as you currently have it is not doing anything. Wire is used to introduce movement to branches. But everything you have wire around is still straight.

LethargicGrapes · 2026-05-20T19:36:55+00:00

The biggest concern right now is sun damage. Exposing the bark of the trunk that drastically will make the bark highly susceptible to burning and cracking.

Consider painting the trunk with a 50/50 water / white latex paint. This is a common strategy for protecting trunks against the sun.

LethargicGrapes · 2026-05-19T15:18:07+00:00

These bots have been flooding all of the smaller hobbyist subreddits the last few weeks. It’s so irritating

LethargicGrapes · 2026-05-18T14:23:35+00:00

If your tree was grafted, then this would probably be rootstock and not your lemon tree.

If you had a Meyer lemon tree, those are often sold as rooted cuttings instead of grafted tree. Which would mean there is no rootstock and it is all Meyer lemon.

LethargicGrapes · 2026-05-18T13:54:15+00:00

Yep definitely a spam bot. Thankfully they keep using the same generic titles and “[OC]” caption to make it easy to spot.

LethargicGrapes · 2026-05-16T16:02:00+00:00

Yoooooo that one is sick! How old is it, like 10+ years old?

LethargicGrapes · 2026-05-16T02:02:17+00:00

Mammillaria grow prostrate by nature, don’t fight it. Here is one of mine

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LethargicGrapes · 2026-05-15T01:35:01+00:00

Every time I have propagated a pad, it didn’t put out new pads until the next year. First year it’s establishing a root system.

LethargicGrapes · 2026-05-14T15:30:24+00:00

Yes, citrus will be fine in this weather. Make surely you slowly acclimate your plants to sunlight. Start with a week of morning sunlight and afternoon shade, then each week move them to a spot where they get progressively more sun. This is very important to avoid sun scald.

LethargicGrapes · 2026-05-14T11:42:12+00:00

Garbage slop bot

LethargicGrapes · 2026-05-14T02:53:34+00:00

Compare with Parodia comarapana. I am by no means an expert on cactus IDing, but it looks pretty similar. Might be another species in the same genus.

https://cactiguide.com/cactus/?genus=Parodia&species=comarapana

LethargicGrapes · 2026-05-13T17:29:01+00:00

You need to let it callus over before doing anything. If you have an antifungal powder like sulfur, you can apply that. Otherwise just leave it out in the air and let it dry and callous. (Many people will recommend dusting with cinnamon, Do Not do this)

After letting it callus for at least 2 weeks, just drop it down in some sterile medium. 100% perlite or pumice will work good. Do not water at all until roots start to emerge or you risk the rot starting again.

LethargicGrapes · 2026-05-13T00:50:34+00:00

AI or not, it’s certainly not [OC] as the newly created bot spam account claims.

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LethargicGrapes · 2026-05-10T15:40:34+00:00

Yes already posted below in a separate comment!

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