Braided Money Tree...broken stalks

15 years ago

Hi all,

I just purchased a small Braided Money Tree--Pachira macrocarpa--at Walgreens (I know better, but I had a bad day and they looked surprisingly healthy). In thoroughly checking the leaves and soil for pests, I neglected to check the trunks properly, and after I removed the elastic with the care instructions, I noticed that there were two spots where either someone got over-zealous in the braiding, or it got smooshed in shipping. The leaves look wonderful on all of the trunks with quite a bit of new growth and there are nice little leaf buds popping out all over.

I only paid $10 for it, but it's even nicer-looking than the picture on the care instructions! I've attached pics of the damage...is this something that will heal over in time, should I attempt to clip them, or just keep it until it craps and chalk it up to "duh, don't buy plants at Walgreens"?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Oh, and PS: I removed the nasty gold twist-tie immediately after snapping the pictures.

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Comments (6)

birdsnblooms
15 years ago
Elfin, it looks damaged, but not necessarily by bugs..can you take back to Walgreens and either switch or get your money back? That's what I'd do.
Honestly it doesn't look like insect damage, more like a shipping problem..looks like something scraped against the one side, unless all sides are the same. Are they?
You know, Elfin, I've bought plants from Walgreens before..lol..but never had problems. Most were C&S's, some came in the 6 packs, but others open..Yrs ago I bought a Ti log from them, and that too not only was healthy but grew. Try exchanging..Toni
elfinn
Original Author
15 years ago
Hi Toni,
Long time, no talk, how are you? :) (Whine) But this one's so prrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetttttttttttyyyyy LOL. And the best-looking there. It's definitely not bug damage, and it is on both sides. It really looks like it may have been too tightly braided. I just can't tell how old the damage is, there is very healthy growth at the top, but if shipping was the last straw for bad braiding and that's when it happened, it might not yet be showing. Grrrrrrrrrr...It's 15" w/o pot. Here's a pic. (The droopy-looking leaves at the top that are kinda camoflauged by the sconce are actually new growth opening.)
{{gwi:95489}}
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micke
15 years ago
I would think if there is new healthy growth on them, that the damage may scar over with time, the first pic looks the worst, but if you lose that trunk you will still have the other 4....., does each trunk have new growth??? It does look good, I am a sucker for those Money Trees. It looks to me like the damage is stress from being braided too tight, just like what you was thinking, it may not of split right off either. When I take those darned bread ties off it is almost like I can hear them breathing a sigh of relief!!
Don't the babies (what I call the new leaves) look like little umbrellas at first?? Kind of like the ones they put on the tropical drinks?
elfinn
Original Author
15 years ago
Hi Micke!
Thanks for easing my mind a bit. :) I've never owned one before, it just sounded like a good idea at the time LOL It was so cute! Yep, I just checked, all 5 have nice green growth and one of the broken ones has a shiny new cocktail umbrella ;) Where there is the worst break, there is a little green lump coming out of the one next to it. Is it trying to fuse to heal? Sorry, the only fat caudex plant I have is a desert rose, and the chunk that got taken out of it is starting to heal...do these do that, too? Do they eventually fuse like a ficus?
micke
15 years ago
I don't know if that is what it is doing or not, time will tell:) It may be another shoot coming out. Ficus fuse togather?? Those I cannot grow, they start to wilt when I look at them funny, my mother has one though and she had it out on her porch, something ate a hole through one of the trunks and ate all the leaves! really strange, I told her not to throw it out just wait and see what it does, and sure enough all the leaves have came back and it is nice and bushy where before it was just long and spindly. I will have to take a better look at the hole in it next time I am up there and see what it is doing:)
I am one of those that is always "seems like a good idea" when I am looking at a plant, regardless of the fact that I may have 2 more at home or have killed a few in the past, lol!!
elfinn
Original Author
15 years ago
Hi again, Micke!
Well, it's been a week now, and everything is still looking tip top. I would think that it would have browning leaves or lack of new growth by now if it was a recent injury. It put out two more umbrellas over the weekend, and one of them has 6 leaves! As for the ficus fusing, we have a large braided-ish (looks like it started out that way, but either the stems died that they needed to work with or it's a failed bonsai attempt), ficus benjamina at work, and the bottom of the trunk, where the stems are twisted together has melded and become one fat, lumpy trunk.

I also can't keep anything other than ficus elastica, which I have 3 different varieties of. I think that the others are just too picky for my drafty old house...and all of those %#*@ leaves everywhere, no thanks!

Bummer that your mom's got attacked, but I'm glad that it has recovered and is doing even better. I'd be really interested to see pics of how the hole is healing...