Just an update - the tree is officially dead. Every leaf is brown to orange. The arborist told me it wasn't necessarily my fault the tree died, because it would take more than a dog pen over its roots to kill it. He suspects that it was stressed previously by construction that took place around its base prior to me buying the property. I think he was trying to make me feel better about the situation. I've gotten a good quote for removal, $1700 to take down and leave wood on premises, $2000 to take down and remove + $125 to grind out the stump. He is willing to take $900 to get rid of the tree, letting me make a payments on the balance up to 6 months. I haven't had tree work of this size done before, but I think this is a decent price. I'm looking for a replacement tree that I can put in the bare spot. Something that will be big enough to provide shade in about 5 years. I appreciate any suggestions.

I think if I kept squeezing my Adeniums, they would probably get soft too. :-) Leaf and stem health and color tell you more about your plant than squeezing. Hard to say much from the out of focus photo other than you have a brown spot on the root that may be rot. If it's soft and mushy there and smells bad, it has to be removed asap. You could use a spoon and scoop it out. The spoon needs to be sterile the last few times you use it to get back to clean white flesh or you'll just spread the rot to other areas with the spoon. I would dust it afterwards with cinnamon, a natural fungicide. I would leave it sitting out in the air in a shady, warm, dry location for about a week to make sure the rot is gone. Then you can pot it up in decent soil and protect it from wet cold weather. randy

Just read your response. It is still raining here! But my tree is really important to me, so off I went outside and put it in a large pot I had empty, added some dry potting soil to the bottom of the pot and sides hoping it will help pull out some of the water more quickly. Thanks for your suggestion. Will let you know if the tree perks up in a few days.

I found an absolutely beautiful Jade in a dumpster when I was tossing my trash. I pulled it out and after trimming a bit it was absolutely fantastic. I proceeded to over water it and practically kill it. It got so bad that I thought it was a goner...and then I did the unthinkable. I cut off the entire matted and ruined root ball. The whole thing. I let it air a few days and stuck it in an awful mixture of street dirt. 6-months later, it is making a huge comeback. I barely water it now and give it a shower every six weeks or so to blow away any mites or whatever crawlies happen on it. It is doing fine. I happened on another specimen with an 8-inch trunk and I broke it up to make about 5 new plants with 4-inch trunks (the 8-inch was rotting). I'm hoping to get at least 3 of those rooted using the same method. Re-rooting a 4-inch trunk gave me some confidence with Jades. They seem to be really resilient if you sorta be a little mean to them ;-)