Moving jade plant caused it to droop

I got a jade plant secondhand yesterday. This is my first jade plant. It's a beautiful jade plant at least 5 years old. It looked very healthy when I picked it up. However, it didn't like the car ride across town. The 15 minute car ride caused the tallest stem to droop over (it was standing upright before I moved it). I held it in my lap while my husband drove, but apparently that wasn't enough.

Will the stem be able to stand up again on its own or is it more likely that the car ride damaged it permanently? Is there anything I can do to help it recover, other than stake it up and put it in a sunny spot? The soil seems to have recently been watered, so I'm hesitant to water it.

Thanks,
Jessica

wait a few days if it doesn't perk up you either need to stake it up or break it off at the bend....before you get upset, the part you take off can then be put in potting soil, in the same pot if there is room or its own pot and then you will have 2 plants...keep that in mind later to cause the leaves get knocked off pretty easy as well and they too can simple be placed in soil and will produce more plants...and Jade trees do NOT require alot of water

The heat in the car likely caused the wilt. It should come back but if it doesn't, I would follow Trina's advice.

woohoo the master has spoken I said something right!!!

Thanks for the advice. It was in the evening with the windows partially open--not much heat here in Seattle at night. I think it was the motion in the car. But I'll keep an eye on it, and cut the stem if it doesn't recover.

How is it doing today?

I so hope it recovers for you but if it doesn't then you have two

It's still droopy today. I've staked it up for the moment. Do you think I should cut it now, or wait and see if it does better after the next watering? It's not due for a watering yet.

how often are you watering it? because they don't need much water

I'm aware that they don't need much water, so I haven't yet watered the plant since I got the plant a week ago and moved it. It seemed to have been recently watered when I picked it up. Before last Wednesday, the plant belonged to someone else. I don't know how much they watered it, but as I said before, it looked good until I moved it.

Is it still having trouble? Does the rest of it feel firm? Can you show a pic?

It's always possible that the people you got it from had given it a bit too much water thinking that would help it make the move better and the problems from that excess watering didn't show up until after you got it home. Can you post a picture of it? Someone might have some other ideas for you if you had a picture.

kwanjin you read my mind...I was just wondering how they were doing with this

I know it's been a long time since I posted this thread, but I wanted to give an update. The jade is doing great! I staked it up, rather than cutting it, and just put it in a sunny spot. It was still a bit fragile for most of the first year, but then last summer I put it outside in a partly sunny spot all summer and the stem turned more woody and solid, and it grew in more thickly, growing more branches and leaves off the main stalks.

I think the problem was lack of light, which caused it to grow leggy and green. With some additional sunshine over the course of a year, it's now very happy. I wish I had a picture, but my camera stopped working.

Great news! I love when a plant is helped. ^_^

When you have to move plants in the car etc, you should try NOT to open windows or have it in the direction of the cooling system, the plant that comes from inside is going to be pretty shocked with the draft or cold cooler, if you have to put them in the car you should try wrap say silk scarf around the plant or horticultural fleece as this will offer some protection. We all have to move plants, but larger plants do go into shock as we are offering them different conditions that they have to get used to.
So glad your plant has done well again, it takes time to try understand what the plant lacks or needs.
Good Luck. WeeNel.