The wilted branches should come 'back to life' if just shrivelled from thirst. Did you pot it up after receiving? The branch in 2nd pic looks rotted. I would take that one off asap and hope rot didn't invade rest of the trunk. I am not sure if there is more rot on other branches - did you check if the trunk & branches are firm or soft? There is difference in feel if it is dehydrated or if rotting. Do you happen to have pic of the plant that upon receiving it?

When I received it i stuck it a couple of inches deep in gritty mix out of ditect sunlight, and started by misting it every other day. After i saw leaf buds poking out i gave it a little drink. These are very poor quality pictures, the first is the one I asked for before I bought it, the second was the original ebay posting picture. The branches are wet from misting in the pictures above, which is why it might look rotted, it is still firm, just wrinkly, not the soft and mushy rotting feel, and actually has some air roots developing.

Thank you Rina, I agree with you about the misting but I panicked a little when I opened the box and everything was all dried up, I was just trying to get it to take in some water knowing that it would likely be weeks before it had roots to get water on its own.

I have it in gritty mix, and since i have seen leaf buds for a few days now I gave it a drink. I am in zone 6 by the way, so it will be indoors for quite some time. I'm just really hoping that those branches will come back, I'm not ready to whack it all off yet.

to me, it looks like stem rot. If it were mine, I'd cut away all the shriveled stuff to keep it from spreading, but I'm a little paranoid. I just bought an Echeveria haagai with stem rot from a reputable nursery. Roots looked fine, but there was no mistaking the blackening and shriveling stem.

misting a succulent doesn't do any good. It can't absorb moisture through the 'skin' so all you MIGHT be doing is slowing moisture-loss, but they're already adapted to prevent moisture from escaping through the leaves and stem, so I doubt it does any good at all. We know damp surfaces can promote rot, so I feel misting will do more ha than good.

i hope I'm wrong and it's just dehydrated. Good luck.

I'm also of the opinion it's rotted and dead. You have nothing to lose by cutting a portion off to make absolutely certain what is going on. If it is rot, then you need to stop it in its tracks by cutting it all out. If it's not, then as I say, all that's lost is one inch of the ends of each limb. I wouldn't wait any longer to find out...just my thoughts.

Gill

Well the branches in question have been removed. The larger one in the second picture was a little brown on the inside. The other was still very bright green. I removed the whole plant from the pot in hopes to see roots forming, but nothing yet :/

On the brown branch- the brown hadn't spread into the main branch anywhere, had it?

Better to lose a green branch than chance the whole plant. My feeling is you did the right thing.

You might lose your mind checking for roots- a watched pot and all that. Got a nice glass vase? It's a good way to watch for roots without having to disturb the plant.

That's a great idea, the glass vase. However I have already lost my mind, I may need to see someone about anti-anxiety medicine. The brown branch actually fell clean off the trunk very easily when I went to cut it, but the trunk looked unaffected.

Yeah, those branches were shot. No way a Jade branch comes back after that.

Josh