What I can see looks firm, nothing hanging. I would feel for any sogginess when squeezing between thumb and forefinger, and cut that away to solid tissue. I would rinse away all traces of the peat-based soil. I would let it sit in a relatively dry area. Inside with a/c is better than outside in humidity, but as long as it is exposed to a few days of air the necessary callousing should occur(some leave theirs for a week or more). While waiting, research a grit-based soil and buy what you need. They don't have to be exotic ingredients. Then repot your tree, water thoroughly, then water sparingly until you have significant new growth. Always err on the side of dry. Keep in partial sun until growth is taking off, then gradually increase to full sun. You don't need to fertilize for the first several weeks.

You bring up a good question- why rotting above and not at the base. I don't have an answer for that, but there are many here that are much more experienced than I.

Don't worry about having had to cut it down to a stub. Many do that to, over time, develop a fat base with a tapering trunk. When you get some strong growth, keep the strongest two branches(you might only have two) and let them grow. Down the road you could cut those back significantly and let two more grow out of each branch, and so on. It will be beautiful again!

ez

After a second look, I wonder if that offshoot is part of the same plant. Does it have separate roots? If so, you could plant it separately. If not, it may or may not be something you want to keep. I personally would keep it to help fatten up the base of the trunk, with the thought of cutting it off later. Either way.

ez

My 5cents...

1. pot is too large, too deep

2. soil needs some 'lightening-up'; add generous amount of perlite if you can't get anything else (I use small grit a lot); research soils for succulents on this forum. If you see recommendation to add sand anywhere, I would say DON't, unless it is really gritty (larger particles)

3. rocks on the bottom/halfway up don't work, get rid of them. Get shallower pot AND well draining mix instead.

4. just because 'nothing is hanging' (sorry ez to contradict you), doesn't mean plant is healthy. You need to squeeze (gently) trunk and branches to see if they are too soft - but sometimes they are soft just from lack of water. I do not think that is the case with your plant - it started to rot for a reason. Water was, probably, getting poured (sometimes we don't notice) over same spot on trunk, perhaps there was a small injury that allowed water to get in - anything is possible.

I would gently swish the root ball in the water, cut off roots that are mushy-slimy.

Any black spots/areas in the trunk or branches you see on cut pieces are sign of rot spreading.

Unless you get rid of them, it will continue to spread. Small and healthy piece is better - and will grow in proper conditions - than larger-longer sick one that will eventually die anyway.

It is clear to me from the last photo that the branch is growing from the trunk/stump, so you can leave it. Not 100% sure, but 4th photo from the bottom seems to show some darker areas - double check on that. If yes, cut further.

When you pot it up, don't bury trunk too deep, as long as the roots are covered, that is enough. You could put the rocks (ones you had on the bottom of the pot for 'drainage') on top of the soil around the plant to support it - how large are these rocks?

Here are couple of cuttings with very short trunks - second one had a small side branch just like yours-in case you need to cut as low as that. Cut in skinny slices until no dark discoloration.

The off shoot didn't have a separate root. I cut that off (see top middle of picture) I think I can replant that to get some new growth. I was taking a closer look at the roots and they seemed more shriveled up and hollow than thick and thriving. I decided to start cutting back the roots. The first major cut I made you can see in the bottom left of the picture below. the roots were a brownish red, similar to the rotting color that I cut out from the top of my plant. I continued cutting until I was left with only a stump but two inches in diameter at the base and three inches tall. I hope I didn't make any mistakes in doing this but as least I have a lot of baby branches that I can replant for new growth if the stump doesn't work out.

rina, I don't see the contradiction in this case since I also mentioned squeezing for softness, but it's okay when you do- I value your expertise :-]

Sherrie, sorry you've had to whittle down so drastically :-\ Remember to let what you are going to plant air-dry for a few days first to callous over. Use the search feature to find 'gritty mix' on this forum as rina said.

ez

ez - I was referring to 'hanging' only...

Sherrie

Maybe you can look thru this current thread, it has some good photos of sugi's jades, one of the cuttings having some rot issues:

-dismembering jades by Sugi - click here-

Sherrie

I just saw your last post...I wouldn't have cut those roots off...roots have different color than branches/stumps and I think they were in reasonable shape (from what I can see in your last photo!) - except few dead ones. Those would be easy pruned off, and the whole stump could have grow faster.

Well, it's late to do anything about it now. Hopefully remaining stump will root and grow, just follow what breathnez already said about callusing and so on.

I'm seeing thoughts about dusting the cuts with cinnamon? Should I do that on the top and bottom?

I don't hold much hope for the thick sections rooting, but the smaller sections should. I would have just removed any dead roots with my fingers and potted it up in a very small pot, instead of cutting the roots off entirely. You can dust any cut area with cinnamon, which is a natural fungicide. Let cut dry before trying to root. And once you put in the new potting medium, NO water at all until you see top growth, or have evidence of successful rooting.

Christopher

And no matter how disappointed you may feel from all this, there are many lessons to take from this for use in your future plantings.

ez