So, something strange happened a few days ago, one of the branches on my Jade Plant fell off. I looked at the end which broken off and it looked as though it could've been suffering from stem/branch rot, it was brown and shrivelled not just on the outside, but throughout (can't remember if it was mushy).

I broke off that end and the rest of the branch is healthy. I was thinking this rot or whatever it was must've spread from the trunk, now what is strange is that the part of the trunk that it broke off looks very healthy (in fact all of the trunk looks healthy). So I'm guessing it wasn't stem/branch rot?

Anyway, I took off the lower leaves and planted them into the soil, and the branch itself already had some roots coming out of it when it fell off.

I would like to encourage more root growth as I would like to sell it on ebay, so should I just leave the branch where it is on the soil? (see photo).

Or should I actually plant it into the soil?

I would have done just the opposite: laid the leaves flat, planted the stem. In another pot entirely...that's a lot going on in that pot. Start with quite a small individual pot for the stem; 3-4 inches, very gritty soil, keep it dryish until the roots establish.

Everything that Zoë just said... lay the leaves on top of the soil, not buried in it. The new bud is located at the very base of the leaf. From that point a stem will grow upward and roots will go downward. Burying the leaves gives the above-ground part a disadvantage and runs a real risk of causing the whole leaf to rot.

When you pot up the stem of that cutting, try not to bury more than necessary for stability (and maybe put a rock on either side for good luck). As suggested, restraint with water is important at the beginning.

Putting this in perspective, midwinter is not an ideal time of year for propagating these plants in the northlands, unless you've got a really bright setup. You will see bigger and faster results when light is plentiful and temperatures are warm, also less likelihood of rootless succulent parts rotting out before they can get started.

Maybe wait until the cutting is twice its original size before you even consider moving it up a size, or uprooting it to see the below ground parts. These things take time (months).

Agreed. The individual leaves don't need to be anywhere near a pot until at least this stage. When you see roots, then it's time for a pot, laying on the surface, as said.



As the new plant starts growing, the mama leaf will shrivel up very slowly.

I do better with smallish jade cuttings. I would cut the broken piece in half. Plant the bare lower part with the roots down in soil. (Yes, a bare piece of stem will grow.) Peel the bottom two leaves off the top part, then plant it into soil. I'd give them their own pots, but they might be OK where they are. With smaller pieces they will be easy to stabilize in the pot until they have their own roots. Just one or two nodes down in the soil actually work better than a long piece, at least for me.