Hey, Billy Rae! Go for it! You have nothing to fear! My only advice, up front, is this: Don't buy a braided group of plants. In my opinion, the braided plants are doomed to failure. Now, onto the story of how I came by my Pachira: My brother has a Pachira that used to be braided...slowly, all but one of the trunks died. The remaining trunk had been the largest/healthiest from the start, which is why I always suggest that a buyer simply purchase a full, healthy, single-trunked specimen. Anyhow, my brother is rough on plants. During one of his "moods," he broke several leaves off his Pachira...I can't remember if he bit them off, or if he was swinging his glow-sticks around the room like weapons. Long story short, he placed one of those leaves in the bottom of a plastic cup, filled with generic peat-based potting soil. The soil was constantly moist/wet because there were no drainage holes in the cup. He handed me the cup, and said here, take it. So I did. I brought the leaf from Sacramento to Auburn, where it sat from February to May on a warm Eastern window-sill. Surprisingly, it grew into a full-sized plant! Now, I summer my Pachira on the front deck (western exposure), beneath a large maple tree. One year, I put my Pachira out before the maple had leafed-out...big mistake! Nearly every Pachira leaf was sunburned white. New leaves grew when the dead leaves dropped, but now I know to wait until I can offer filtered sunlight. After a period of acclimation, Pachira can handle quite a bit of sun. Josh

My friend built his pond under a 40 foot Black cherry tree and hasnt lost any fish in the 4 years he's had it . I made the mistake of planting a dwarf Plum tree near my pond . It is now as high as the roof of my house and drops tons of plums into the water . The rotting fruit make the fish drunk . They do eat some of it but what a pain trying to scoop out all the plums and seeds . Its to big to net the pond or the tree . Also in the spring the top of the water is white with flower pedals and then the leaves in the fall . Plant something else . Rick

Tunneling large animals didn't kill a tree. If you found active borers in the trunk when you cut it, that is the cause. They are probably not termites, although I really wouldn't stake my life on it, we don't have termites here so I'm not familiar with their habits. My money would be on some kind of borer. If you have other trees of same species, you should treat them annually with a product to control borers. What product may depend on the type, so you may need to do more research on what your tree is and what commonly attacks it. Here is a link that might be useful: Good brochure on borers from Colorado State

Thank you ever so much for your help. After reading both of the studies your so helpfully adviced, I am convinced I have used too much fertilizer and that the fertilizer I normally use does not have the right balance of N and Cu. One of three new twigs I have had to cut off but after watering (with no fertilizer) the two other seem healthy. So it seems like I am back on track. As you can only grow citrus in pots indoor in Sweden the market for soil and fertilizers are limited to just one brand. I will try to import a more suitable fertilizer. This tree means the world to mee. My son planted the seed when he was three years old and I regard it as his. He got really ill from lung tumor five years ago but is now declared a healty 26 year old. Even so I cannot get rid of the thought that keeping his tree alive keeps him alive. :-)