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Help! What's wrong with my friend's money tree?

9 years ago

I got my friend this money tree as a present. When I bought it, all the leaves were standing up at full perkiness. In the couple months since then, it has grown a ton of new leaves but EVERYTHING IS DROOPING! You can see how sad and drippy all the leaves are. The old leaves are angled down, and the stems are the new leaves are bent right in half.

An album with more pictures here: http://imgur.com/a/utdAf

Pot:

He repotted it into a slightly larger ceramic pot with Black Gold organic potting soil. The pot has a drainage hole and we put a couple inches of gravel in the bottom to help draining.

Watering:

He was keeping it really wet, watering it every day. When I realized it was wilting, I told him to cut back on the watering and only water when the top of the soil is dry.

Sun:

It is in a north-facing room and gets less than an hour of direct sunlight a day. When I realized it was wilting, I told him to put it closer to the window, thinking it might want more sun?

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Comments (5)

greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
9 years ago
Something is impairing root-function, otherwise the new growth would be turgid. Did you say if there is good drainage?

Josh
User
9 years ago
I am new to houseplants and I am still learning, but what are all the rocks on the surface of the soil? I think I read somewhere that rocks on the soil surface can stop the soil from drying out properly. That is not the problem but it might be a contributing factor. Usually there are muliple problems. I wonder what the professionals will say. I was thinking of getting one of these plants so I am curious.
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I need help figuring out what's wrong with my money tree/Pachira
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Hi Cassidi, Your money tree is quite impressive, especially with you living in a dry climate like Colorado. Drooping leaves can sometimes be attributed to a root bound plant, meaning that the roots are choking each other and making it hard for the plant to get the air and water it needs. When was the last time you repotted your money tree? Misting will help with the browning on the tips. The average home is dryer than the sahara desert, mostly because of AC and frequent cool air movement. In the garden shop I work at we had a money tree doing the same browning and dropping of leaves as you described. Misting helped quite a bit. The black spots could be a bacterial problem. Did they show up after the plant started looking sad or before? If after, then they came because the plant was in a weakened state. If before, then the bacteria might be the source of the problems. Do the black spots turn into the little holes in your plant? If its bacteria then the only way you can control it is to pull all the leaves infected and throw them away. Also the cleaning mentioned above might help. I recommend letting the soil dry out between waterings. This allows the roots to breathe and would be a good recovery tactic if your plant is root bound. Also be sure to fertilize your plant with a slow release (preferably organic) fertilizer. This will allow the plant to take the nutrition it needs and not burn the plant like some liquid fertilizers can. Well, I hope I helped. Good luck on your Pachira's recovery. Sincerely, Roselyn Small
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What's wrong with my money tree?
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Comments (4)
Many things can and do cause leaf abscission (shedding). Reduced light intensity or duration, over/under-watering, tight roots, an excessively high level of soluble salts in the soil, insect infestation, disease, sudden chill ...... Usually an increase in light intensity doesn't cause shedding unless it's a very significant increase, and a reduction in the photo load causes fewer and LARGER leaves - not smaller. I agree that it needs more light, but the probability there are factors other than light in play that are contributing to the plant's decline are high, especially since you already suspect that you're over-watering. The best way to care for your plant is to identify and address cultural conditions that are less than ideal. IOW - eliminate the limiting factors, starting with those most likely to be limiting. For you, I would guess those most important to be light levels and the combination of soil choice and watering habits. Al
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What's wrong with my money tree?
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Comments (5)
turbokat89, it is beginning to wilt. If the medium is dry, water it. If it improves in 'posture' and/or color, then that is what it needed. If it improves in posture only, then it probably needs fertilizer. The standard is a balanced water soluble product at half the labeled rate; applied instead of water, not more regularly than once a month. You can return to the regular plain watering program as soon as the desired effect has been attained,
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What’s wrong with my money tree?
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Comments (3)
No it isn’t, the first thing I thought was root rot so I checked the trunk first to see if it was soft. It’s still solid.
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lauraeli_
9 years ago
I was going to say root rot, but this is a swamp plant so I would think it could handle the extra water.
alisonoz_gw
9 years ago
I think part of the problem is the lighting. When plants are grown in such a low-light situation, the new growth can be terribly tender and sappy and a sudden increase in light may cause drooping.
I also think overwatering may still be adding to the plant being overly tender and an even further reduction to harden it up could be useful. Although your friend has repotted it, it's still sitting on a saucer with only a few small ridges between pot and base - so there is really not a lot of scope for "drainage" - if you could find something - even a few bottle caps - to place under the pot on the saucer - balancing the weight - to just raise it a little further I think that would be better.
I don't see any problem with the ornamental rocks on top - mulching with any material is useful to avoid surface dryout esp in situation with air-con or heaters, and surface dryout can lead people to "assume" the rest of the soil is also dry.
The plant looks good except for that concern of yours, and perhaps just rotating the pot to distribute the limited sun effect. It is perhaps just not enough light for the species to thrive
greenman28 NorCal 7b/8a
9 years ago
Good advice to elevate the pot in its saucer to keep the drainage holes above any excess water.

This plant isn't a swamp plant, per se, but rather a wetland plant that is used to flooding and then draining. In a container, however, one should not attempt to replicate the soil conditions. Instead, replicate the irrigation conditions by thoroughly saturating the root-zone with each watering, and then allowing the medium to drain. During the Summer, lots of water and fertilizer.

Josh

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