Hello, I got a money tree a few days ago, today I notice that one of the branches is completely dried and I don't know what to do since it is the first time that I have this kind of tree, should I cut it off? please help me because I dont want this dead branch to contaminate the rest of my tree. Also, can you advise me about the proper care for this tree? I dont want it to die and since they didnt give it the proper care at the store where I bought it, I want to save it and make it healthy and beautifull. I hope you can help me out. THANKS.

You we're probably right to cut back on watering. You definitely want to vary it by season and not water unless needed. You may consider sticking a wooden chopstick or skewer into the potting medium and checking it before watering. Looks like you may have root rot with the consequent loss of leaves and branches. This seems a bit high up for the blackened parts, but it also looks like you still have plenty of green below that point. If you can, I'd suggest taking a photo that includes the soil line and posting it. Depending on how far gone it is, you may just want to hack it up and wait for the pieces to root. Generally pretty easy to do with jades. The good news is that other than the one weakness of overwatering, they're tough as nails and re-root readily. Regarding the store soil, every time I've let a plant languish in the peat based stuff they come in, I've had problems, especially with succulents. I'd definitely pot into something else, whatever the outcome is here. At a minimum, some new compost or peat based soil heavily amended with perlite or similar (wide variety of options for this, of course, so it bears perusal of threads about potting mix). You might also consider getting it better light if possible, the green growth in the bottom of the picture looks very gangly, suggests it's not getting enough sunlight.

I can't tell a thing from your photo. If in doubt, repot the plant in fresh mix. Increase the light. See if that helps. Jane

Melissa, yes it's worth it to get your mix ready, even if this particular plant doesn't survive. You can always re-use the mix because the mix is very durable. Money Trees do root very readily, so definitely give it a try as Al suggested. I encourage you to get another plant, though, and you can apply everything you've learned, and enjoy a great experience from day one. Pick up a small, inexpensive Money Tree, plop it into your durable, free-draining mix, water and fertilize, and you will be amazed at how rewarding and easy these trees can be. On a side-note, I don't suggest you take the advice that Anthony is giving. Now is the best time of year to do heavy pruning and re-potting with your Money Trees. In fact, I just chopped my Pachira about a week ago. Notice how it is located in bright shade, just to the edge of where the full sun hits. For transitioning an indoor acclimated plant to the outdoors, this is an optimal location on my property.