Crassula ovata 'wave jade' & some pruning advice

[mathematical.coffee]

First off, I thought I'd share a pic of this Jade plant I picked up at the local nursery (sadly closing down) that I thought looked really cool. It definitely looks like jade plant and google image search-ing "Crassula ovata undulata" and "wave jade" both turn up similar pics (would be nice to know the "proper" name though). I think the leaves are really cool - I took a small cutting off the mother plant and am trying to grow it for my mum (fingers crossed)!


P1050354 by mathematical.coffee, on Flickr

Secondly, I just wanted to ask about my Gollum plant. I've had it since 2008 when it was just a leaf and it was my first ever succulent, so I've just let it grow as big as it wanted.
However its foliage seems quite sparse unlike some other older Gollums I see that are more shrub-like and have fuller coverage.


P1050356 by mathematical.coffee, on Flickr

How can I get mine to have fuller coverage and be more shrub-like in its leaf cover? Is it something that will happen with age (mine is only 5 years old), or should I be cutting off/pruning the branches quite harshly to induce more branching/foliage? I notice that some of the branches that were originally long and straggly (only had one leaf bunch at the tip) have started growing more leaf bunches along the branch, so perhaps I just wait for the plant to grow older and these bunches will develop into branches so that I get more leaves?

cheers,
Amy