It is an Ochna; Here is Ochna Thomasiana, Vietnamese mickey mouse plant. Here is a link that might be useful: Ochna Thomasiana

Hello, I have a braided money tree that started with three trunks when I bought it in spring 2015 (almost 1 year ago). It stands about 1.25' to 1.5' tall. Bought from Lowe's with no drainage hole in pot and rocks glued to the top of the soil. I water it occasionally and let it dry completely. It sits to the side of a north facing window so it gets indirect sun for long periods of time. One of the three "trunks" was completely dried out and separating from the "soil". I removed the trunk and the foliage growth for the other two "trunks" has continued. I would like to ask for specific advice on a potting mix and timing for the pachira. I am relatively new to repotting although I did recently (5 days ago) repot a small golden pothos. Thank you in advance for sharing your expertise. Best, MC Southeastern PA

If the humidity level is high enough, the fan won't be a problem, but if it's sub-40%, it will be. I'm not sure how you have your plant set up for drainage, but at least one hole should be through the bottom at some point. Even if the holes in the sides are 1/8" above the bottom - that's a problem. There should be no way the effluent that exits the drain hole should have a pathway back into the pot. If it was my plant, I'd be using a wick to assist drainage, I'd water it over the sink, then tip the pot at a 45* angle with the wick hanging down from the lowest point in the pot bottom (as though you tipped figure E 45* to the right)until the planting stops draining. 3 weeks between waterings is a certain indicator you're leaving a lot of your plant's potential untapped. Another way of saying that is, 3 weeks between waterings is a sure indication there is a significant degree of limitation in play due to an overly water-retentive soil. You would be doing well to flush the soil and fertilize with regularity, and plan a full repot (as opposed to potting up) into a medium that allows you to water correctly. Al

Thanks for the kind words, Rebecca! In all likelihood you're over-watering; and, if you're following the advice to water when the top inch or two of soil is dry (or something similar), that pretty much certifies over-watering as the cause of the spots. Check the inferior side of the leaves (bottom) to see if the marks are more prevalent/conspicuous there. If so, it's almost certainly oedema, which brings us back full circle to over-watering. There's no need to even care if the top inch or two of soil is dry unless your pot is 5" deep or less. There will be very few fine (almost microscopic) roots that do the plant's heavy lifting in that part of the pot. What IS important is what moisture levels are deep in the pot. If the top 2" of a 10" deep soil column are dry, the bottom 6" can still be 100% saturated. Ask yourself if that's really when you want to water. Use a "tell" to "tell" you when it's time to water: Using a 'tell' Over-watering saps vitality and is one of the most common plant assassins, so learning to avoid it is worth the small effort. Plants make and store their own energy source – photosynthate - (sugar/glucose). Functioning roots need energy to drive their metabolic processes, and in order to get it, they use oxygen to burn (oxidize) their food. From this, we can see that terrestrial plants need plenty of air (oxygen) in the soil to drive root function. Many off-the-shelf soils hold too much water and not enough air to support the kind of root health most growers would like to see; and, a healthy root system is a prerequisite to a healthy plant. Watering in small sips leads to avoid over-watering leads to a residual build-up of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil from tapwater and fertilizer solutions, which limits a plant's ability to absorb water – so watering in sips simply moves us to the other horn of a dilemma. It creates another problem that requires resolution. Better, would be to simply adopt a soil that drains well enough to allow watering to beyond the saturation point, so we're flushing the soil of accumulating dissolved solids whenever we water; this, w/o the plant being forced to pay a tax in the form of reduced vitality, due to prolong periods of soil saturation. Sometimes, though, that's not a course we can immediately steer, which makes controlling how often we water a very important factor. In many cases, we can judge whether or not a planting needs watering by hefting the pot. This is especially true if the pot is made from light material, like plastic, but doesn't work (as) well when the pot is made from heavier material, like clay, or when the size/weight of the pot precludes grabbing it with one hand to judge its weight and gauge the need for water. Fingers stuck an inch or two into the soil work ok for shallow pots, but not for deep pots. Deep pots might have 3 or more inches of soil that feels totally dry, while the lower several inches of the soil is 100% saturated. Obviously, the lack of oxygen in the root zone situation can wreak havoc with root health and cause the loss of a very notable measure of your plant's potential. Inexpensive watering meters don't even measure moisture levels, they measure electrical conductivity. Clean the tip and insert it into a cup of distilled water and witness the fact it reads 'DRY'. One of the most reliable methods of checking a planting's need for water is using a 'tell'. You can use a bamboo skewer in a pinch, but a wooden dowel rod of about 5/16” (75-85mm) would work better. They usually come 48” (120cm) long and can usually be cut in half and serve as a pair. Sharpen all 4 ends in a pencil sharpener and slightly blunt the tip so it's about the diameter of the head on a straight pin. Push the wooden tell deep into the soil. Don't worry, it won't harm the root system. If the plant is quite root-bound, you might need to try several places until you find one where you can push it all the way to the pot's bottom. Leave it a few seconds, then withdraw it and inspect the tip for moisture. For most plantings, withhold water until the tell comes out dry or nearly so. If you see signs of wilting, adjust the interval between waterings so drought stress isn't a recurring issue. Al