What is your growing zone and where are you located? What is your potting mix and does the pot have drainage hole(s)?

Do you have a picture of the original plant? It's too bad you have been struggling, but you've come to the right place. I'll start things off and I am sure you will get more advice with time. (fyi - weekends are often slow since folks are busy.)

Your potting mix looks heavy to me. An easy mix is 50/50 cactus and succulent soil mixed with perlite or pumice. Some people even add more perlite. This mix will ensure good drainage - and help prevent the kiddos from overdoing their "help," too! Do not use sand. It will cause the mix to be too heavy and water retentive.

When you trim the bottom of a rotted branch you should cut until you see only nice green tissue. Any brown or rotted tissue should be removed. You should let it callus for a day or two. Then insert it into the dry soil mix. Don't water until it has rooted, or you see growth. If you water too soon, it can cause rot.

The stem can sit out of the soil for a while. It has enough water stored in the leaves and stem to survive. This guy was left out for a month or so. And it even started sprouting roots!

Jennifer

That plant was overwatered a lot. Take it out of that soil and use much better, fast draining mix. If you don't have anything else, get a bag of perlite and add lots of it - min. 50% of total. Also, make sure pot has drainage hole. I can't tell for sure, but it looks like stem is rotting (or may be dry) at the soil line? - see red arrow:

My jades are potted in a mix made of grit and perlite. Drains very fast, so it isn't so easy to overwater.

ETA: Crenda posted excellent post just ahead of me :) She is right about them surviving un-potted, I had cuttings out of the soil for over 4 mo and they grow well, without any problems.

I agree with Rina that the stem may already have rot. If it is just the picture, you will be able to tell when you repot into a better mix. If it is rot, cut it back.

Sometimes when a plant has been overwatered, you can take it out of the soil, rinse off the roots and let it drain (and dry) on some newspaper or paper towels. If rot had already started in your plant, then you didn't have that choice.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

You are all great. I am going to pull out the piece that is rotten on the end and trim. So should I just leave it out until the roots are longer? I had bought the plant in a pot with no drainage and lovely little rocks covering the soil that to me seemed like normal potting mix (grr). So in my last attempt to save the plant I added sand (oops) and some rocks, moved it to pot with drainage and filled the bottom of the pot with pottery shards. I think now I will just start new with the soil and go out and buy what was suggested by Rina and Crenda. One problem was I continued watering the plant before it had roots and the piece I actually stuck in water to root until I noticed it was just rotting more.

And sorry no photo of the original plant. I<m in Montréal Canada but I<m not a big plant buff so no idea of the zone. The plant is in the sunniest window in the house.

Thank you all.