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

Just an update - the tree is officially dead. Every leaf is brown to orange. The arborist told me it wasn't necessarily my fault the tree died, because it would take more than a dog pen over its roots to kill it. He suspects that it was stressed previously by construction that took place around its base prior to me buying the property. I think he was trying to make me feel better about the situation. I've gotten a good quote for removal, $1700 to take down and leave wood on premises, $2000 to take down and remove + $125 to grind out the stump. He is willing to take $900 to get rid of the tree, letting me make a payments on the balance up to 6 months. I haven't had tree work of this size done before, but I think this is a decent price. I'm looking for a replacement tree that I can put in the bare spot. Something that will be big enough to provide shade in about 5 years. I appreciate any suggestions.

Bobber, A properly diluted batch of Malathion mixed last season probably would not induce the reaction you have experienced. And I doubt it could "evolve" in the traditional sense of that word into anything more dangerous to the plant (or, thankfully, to you). It actually should break down in water. I am not sure of that, but even some rather heavily anti-Malathion web-sites that I have looked at concede that water, soil-born bacteria, and sunlight all break it down fairly rapidly into things that are less toxic to humans and I gather most insects (but not to amphibians, alas). I hate to ask, but, since you yourself raised the spectre by mentioning it, is it remotely possible that you did in fact spray the plant with a batch of premixed Roundup? Roundup is mixed with water in the bottle, and therefore I suspect it might still be very potent even after a season or two. The main active ingredient in Roundup is Glyphosate. Cornell University has a report (http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/extoxnet/ dienochlor-glyphosate/glyphosate-ext.html) that says "In water, glyphosate is strongly adsorbed to suspended organic and mineral matter and is broken down primarily by microorganisms also. Its half-life in pond water ranges from 12 days to 10 weeks." It seems to me that if half of it can last up to ten weeks in pond water, which is filled with microorganisms, then if you mixed a batch in fairly clean tap water it might remain highly active for many months. Suggestion: If you think you may have sprayed Roundup on your citrus, cut ALL the effected woody material away ASAP. If the plant is dying from the effects of a sprayed on systemic herbicide, your best hope is to cut away the affected wood. If you are lucky, the plant will resprout. I have a big orange that died to literally the ground due to a lack of water, and it resprouted, so even if you have to cut the plant back to the ground you should not give up all hope immediately. But every moment you wait, if you have indeed sprayed the plant with Roundup, is not helping the odds. Remember, in any case, that leaving dead wood on the tree does not help the part of the tree that may be alive: it actually is going to further stress the still viable part of the plant, since water will be drawn into the dying cells. Hope this helps. Don

Genna, that's great. but I don't think there is going to be any way to help you with that kind of answer,,( It looks dead...Is that out of the pot? How long did you let it stay that way? Is it in a pot now? What kind? What kind of soil? What kind of light? When or how do you know when to water? Do you fertilize? What do you use? Do you let it dry out to a wilt? Do you water when the soil is still moist? Where do you live, well what state? What growing Zone? Did you ever grow it outside? What kind of window do you keep it in if in the winter? Just a few questions