Sadly, I froze my jade tree. Please help!

Question

I am just sick to report that I left my 4 ft jade tree outside under a blanket for about 30 hours when the temperature dropped from 80 to to as low as 20 degrees. It was protected from the snow and I knew it would warm up to 50 deg the following day. I have since read that the tree can’t handle drastic temp. changes. So all the beautiful branches are drooping to the floor. I was told if any of them are soft, they won’t come back – almost all of them are soft. One article said I should let them fall off naturally; another said I need to remove them with a pruning saw or the rotting will spread to the trunk and possibly one branch (fortunately still firm) . Please respond with your recommendation on how I should proceed. Attached is a current photo of the tree. It’s 4:15 pm MT on Monday … I discovered it 72 hours ago, although it had warmed up to 40-50 deg 6 hours before.

Thanks so much for any advice/recommendations.

PS. This is a photo from my phone – hope it gets to you.

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Answer 1

Sorry to hear about your jade plant. Unfortunately, it probably won't come back. My best suggestion is to cut it down to the base and keep it indoors - it may take something of a miracle, but it's possible the core survived and will struggle back.

This article ends with a paragraph about frozen succulents - https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/environmental/how-to-treat-frozen-plants.htm