If you're talking about the concave part of the trunk immediately above the soil line on the right side (based on the lower image) ..... looks like you have some diseased or dead roots immediately below the concave area. It's conspicuous that the entire organism is in dire straits, likely caused by the specter of root rot gone systemic.

Al

That’s the area. The entire truck is very firm. It doesn’t seem like there’s any rot. Should I start cutting and seeing if it is?

can we see the canopy ... is it all shriveled.. or only above the damage part??

i see no broken tissue indicating a rodent ga-nawing on it ... how do you jump to that???

find some good pieces.. and propagate them immediately.. so when you do exploratory surgery.. you will have a fail safe .. with that much significant damage.. i suspect what you have will not be savable....

ken

The canopy and the rest of the tree all look very healthy. The trunk even around the wound is very firm. In the past with rot, the trunk was very soft. That’s why I was questioning if it was rot. I’ve also not had problems with rot since I started using an inorganic mix.

The canopy looks very healthy as does the rest of the tree. In the past with rot, the affected area was mushy and the tree was declining. I’ve also not had problems with rot since switching to an inorganic mix.

i still think i see some shriveled leaves.. but if you took the pic from a little further away.. i wouldnt even be sure its a jade ..

who topped the plant .. and why ... plants that tall.. usually dont have trunks that thick???

ken

ps: just to be sure.. it is not a tree .. general tree rules do not.. and will not apply ... though i do understand why you might be using that term ...

ken

I am quite sure it is a jade - Crassula ovata. And it is grown like a tree - 'naked' thick trunk, that is why whip calls it a tree. I have few grown same way, & it takes some time to grow thick trunk. It doesn't have to be very tall - IMO, rather short & thick than tall & skinny. But it is a personal choice - for example some ppl like multiple trunks in the same pot.

If it is not rotting now, I think it may have in the past. Sometimes, rotting stops (not often) & maybe that is what happened. I don't see any othe reason for that...

If mine, I would check the roots. And made sure it is not rotting now.

It doesnt quite look like something was chewing or scraping as it because you can still see the growth line on the concave part. I would definitely say there may be some thing going on underneath the soil!