What kind of soil is it in? How big is the pot vs. the tree? In the picture, the plant looks good; a nice, crisp green. But, if you say the leaves are going brown, the obviously you have a problem. The plant is NOT dead though, but obviously there is a problem. If the leaves are browning, I suspect you have a root issue, where the plant isn't taking up water. The funny thing is, overwatering causes it by rotting the roots away, which, as you describe, is what happened to the other ones. It sounds like you may have cut off the watering before the trunk rotted, but the roots are likely rotted. As you know, having defective roots will not allow the plant to take in water, giving symptoms of underwatering. Most people then apply more water, which aids in the rotting process. So, what to do? I personally think that an emergency repot is in line. Although early to do, it's your last shot I think. You could try the cutting thing, but if you are a newbie, as you say, you'll quickly find that rooting cuttings isn't all THAT easy, especially from a plant that is weak. Rooting cuttings relies on the energy stored in the cutting to pop roots out, and a stressed plant doesn't have much energy to spare. I'd cut off the water, and start looking into getting your pachira into a new pot, if needed, and definately new soil; one with good drainage and aeration for the roots. Miracle Grow doesn't fit this description. Please let us know what you intend to do, so we can help you out. If there's one plant that is special to me, it's my pachira, so I'd like to see yours be saved. Joe

Ya, I have that problem - I just don't like buying things a season before I need them. Then when I decide what I want and need they're usually out of most of it in my size. So last summer I decided - not doing that again - and bought a couple of things that I really liked at full price - something I rarely do. Then not too long after that I get a catalog and the same stuff is marked down by about 60% and they have everything I bought at full price - IN MY SIZE!! Just can't win......

Yes, we do!! I am always telling him how much money I saved HIM --- even though it is OURS. I cannot think of one project we have ever done that has not taken 5x the time and cost twice the money! We try to DIY whenever we can, as we figure that for the most part if someone else can do it, so can we. It is also a standing joke among our friends as although I am really good at spending my own money, I am even better at spending someone else's. So if I go shopping with a friend, I always make it a point to tell how much money we "saved". My threads are still on this page - UPDATE ON PATHETIC BATHROOM and BEDROOM UPDATE. I think that maybe I spent $175 on all of the materials and hardware. I found those rods at a Value City here that is closing --- I paid $4.00 each!! One of my next plans is to update my backyard. We have a big cement slab there that used to be the kids' basketball court. It is now just an eyesore. I also want to take out the flagstone patio that we had put in about 8 years ago. I SHOULD have done it myself as these guys ripped me off for $1,500 and didn't even put a base under it. It is all uneven. But these are not projects I will do myself. I don't have the back-power anymore - - and concrete was never my forte anyway!!

Good luck on the test, Joyful, I'm sure you'll do fine. Accidents are a pain. Figuratively, and all too often literally. I'm going through my own vehicle woes. Several years ago I bought a van from a friend's son's estate. Since then I've put about $5,000 into it... (heavy sigh) Transmission & starter ($3k) and about $1500 in brakes several times and different parts and many same ones over and over. The brakes would drag and last summer finally got it cured (a brake line believe it or not). About a week ago the pedal was going to the floor. So I was hobbling home putting fluid in at several stops. Both wheel cylinders in the rear were bad and leaking and soaked the linings so my recent full brake job had to be done again to the tune of another $300. But then I think that I've gotten what 2 1/2 or 3 years out of it and so all things considered, it's not been as bad as it seems. The things that made me put the money into the transmission were: 1) It starts SO well in ANY weather, even sitting outside for days in sub-zero temps 2) It runs SO smooth 3) It drives great (when it goes!) Front end is tight, drives nice and straight down the road 4) Reasonable gas mileage and doesn't burn any oil 5) Quite comfortable and these days what's very important 6) Comfortable to get in and out of. Since getting busted up, that makes a big difference. It's got a few problems, a/c doesn't work and I won't spend $800 to fix it, the blower fan now only works on high, and the vacuum hoses must be leaking because it'll only work on defrost, gas gauge doesn't work, one of the speakers cuts out now and then... yeah a few other minor problems, but all of these I can live with. But I was kind of bummed out at the last expense. So I'm looking for a decent deal on something. I asked the owner of the shop if he knew anyone who had a good used vehicle for sale, preferably a mini van, SUV or a mini to mid sized pickup. Well he has a mini van that he might get from a customer. The oil light came on and they kept driving it and siezed the engine. He'd charge me nothing for the van, only what it would cost to put a rebuilt engine into it. It's a 2001, in very good shape from what I saw and I started thinking that a rebuilt engine, I'd have essentially a new engine, the biggest problem point could be the tranny, but would be worth thinking about. He said it'd run about $2700 for an engine. It's got many more bells & whistles on it than I have with mine. But I haven't heard from them whether they got it or not. Guess I need to call them or stop by and ask. I'm kind of leaning toward buying it and keep using the one I have until more problems develop. Then I'd have a spare and since I have to drive for an income, I need reliable transportation. I was even kicking around whether I could turn around and sell it for a little profit. The book value looked like it has some room. But that wouldn't make a lot of sense I guess. Argh! For me, a vehicle isn't a status symbol. It's to get me and my junk from point A to point B and back again, reliably and safely. So if anyone knows of a good used vehicle at a reasonable price, let me know. I was kicking around the idea of a new vehicle, with the Kia Sportage going for less than $12k... But there's extra costs in a new rig too. My head is spinning! Keep us posted OJ. Oh, btw, on the popup windows you're getting and especially on an older machine, if you use a browser like Opera or K-meleon, they have a built in popup stopper and both of them use far less resources than does Internet Explorer. Easier on your system, faster and stops the popups in their tracks!