Here it is almost May and I've just noticed your post. We were all beginners once; I lost about 30% of my first plantings, and continue to loose one thing or another from year to year. In most instances it was over-watering in summer, and ill-timed watering in winter. In the end, I developed a policy that, after a killing freeze, I would replace the dead plants with duplicates of whatever survived. This moved me away from a one-of-each look, to a more coherent look; unplanned, but happy results. And fewer and fewer specialty plants that I need to cover each winter. When you put on frost cloths, raise them with long stakes so they don't touch the plant. If they touch, you will get a frozen spot on the plant at any point of contact. Use clothespins to anchor the cloths to the stakes, top and bottom. With new plantings of cacti and succulents (May is the season for planting these), be sure to orient the plant so whatever side was facing south is still facing south in its final position. This will minimize sun damage. Yes, cacti sunburn. Then drape them in cheesecloth their first season, at least into the middle of monsoons, preferably all the way through to late September. This will help them adapt to their new compass orientation. While many of the cacti sold locally are frost hardy, adding cups on frosty night to the growing tips of post-like forms is a good idea. Most succulents sold locally, are specimens from milder climates, should be covered or brought into a porch (and still covered) or indoors when temperatures drop below 33. In a freeze, the water in the cells expands -- just like ice cubes in an icecube tray -- and ruptures the cells, causing the plant to turn to mush when it thaws. For these tender plants, I now limit myself to small ones I keep in pots, one I can load into a couple of beer flats and whisk into the laundry room on frosty nights. But they do like to be put outdoors again when the temperature gets back up to 40. Not always convenient for me when there are a succession of frosty nights. By now you may have heard that some parts of town are colder than others. Quite true. Cold air sinks into the valley, and it also flows to lower places such as hollows or along washes. I live next to a wash, and get more frost on that side of the garden than twenty-five feet away on the other side of the garden. Also, tiny differences in elevations can sometimes make a difference. I inherited a rock garden (well, all rocks, no plants, when I bought the house), and find that a difference in elevation of two to three feet from front to back makes a difference between frost and no frost. Also, south or west facing walls that are such brutal situations for plants in summer, can release heat through much of a winter night and make a slight "warm" patch on a night when a difference of one or two degrees makes all the difference. Consider the losses part of the learning experience, and have a great time developing your desert garden. Good luck enduring the coming summer and next winter.

You have a jade, aka, crassula ovata. It is in desparate need of light. Was this where it was when you moved in? If so, do you have a balcony on which you could slowly acclamate it when the outside temps are above 55 or so consistently. If you just moved it to this spot and it is better-lit than where it was, these could be sunburn marks. Typically sunburn marks are more uniform in shape, though. It should have about 1/5 the amount of space it has between the leaves. It almost looks like it is supposed to be a Crosby's Compact which should have all the leaves very close together with proper lighting. Jade grows spindly when it isn't getting enough light. I would take it out of the plastic pot and repot it in a clay pot. Buy one that is shorter. THey are sold as azalea pots. Your soil should be very free draining. When I mix mine, I use one part pine bark fines or soil conditioner, one part grit (decomposing granite), one part high fired clay granules (turface, aquatic soil), and one part small pea gravel. When you water it, water should run almost right through it. If you use peat based soils, they will compact and stay too wet, thus strangling the plant due to lack of oxygen. Even the soils that say they are for Cacti and Succulents are too peaty. You could also try coir inplace of the pine bark fines or in addition to them in place of peat. Almost anything you would use for a bonsai would be okay for a jade since they are very free draining. They don't need a lot of fertilizer. Use something low in nitrogen. I use Schultz Cactus Fertilizer mixed for every watering, but I only give it to them every other watering during their growing season. It is warm where I live until Oct or Nov, which is usually when I stop feeding and slow down watering to once a month until it warms up again in spring. We were warming up in March and then had a frigid spell over Easter holiday. I've gone back and forth with my plants, but having a mild spring has been nice for a change. I hope this helps, and don't hesitate to ask more questions. Do searches on this forum about Jades, and you'll get more than you ever wanted to know about jades. They are, without a doubt, my favorite. I have about 10 different plants, 10 starts from cuttings and two that are bonsaied.

Well the good news is is that you have a perfectly healthy shoot coming out. I think whatever damage that has been done is permanent, however if you give it some love and attention then that new shoot should grow fine.

They can be purchased at the Huntington Gardens, so why steal them. Jeff, run, I am we are going to be tared and feathered. My list is growing longer, or people who I don't invite to the Huntington or my house and who I send out plants to. I am running as fast as I can. I don't want you to come to my Huntington Garden either. Jeff you are always welcome here, you are honest gentleman. Norma