Is there a reason for the duplicate post? Sometimes this Forum needs to be refreshed several times...or else you can't see New Threads or new replies to Threads. Is that what happened? Josh Here is a link that might be useful: Pachira Aquatica / Money Tree 3 trunks dead

Your plant is providing you with indications it has an unhappy root system (I looked at the video), and a healthy plant isn't possible unless the roots are happy. FWIW, the overwhelming % of growers who arrive here seeking help are here because of issues related to poor root health/function. If you can't water your soil to the point where it's fully saturated and at least 15-20% of the total volume of water you applied during the watering process has exited the drain hole, your soil is a limiting factor and you'll be fighting it for control over your plant's health until you get the plant into something more appropriate. Simply adding a large fraction of perlite to an already inappropriate soil is a step in the right direction, but all you end up with is an inappropriate soil with a lot of perlite in it. Additionally, you have the fact that Feb thru Apr are probably the worst months to consider repotting to work around. The extra soil volume you added is counterproductive at this point (increases the impact of issues related to excess water retention), so I think I would probably remove the recently added soil and return the plant to it's old pot, after inspecting the roots for rot and correcting any issues I discover. Then, I would flush the soil thoroughly and learn how to deal with the excess water retention until mid to late Jun when I would repot into something more appropriate. There is more to talk about and more specific instructions, but I'll hold on that until I learn whether or not you're interested in following a course that approaches the situation from the plant's POV, which is essentially making sure the things that are most likely to be limiting your plant are fixed. Al

I would strongly suggest removing the compacted soil - the fact its compacted is a sign there is trouble, namely that its become very dense and might hold too much water resulting in root-root. Let the soil dry and gently pull it away from the roots. Losing some roots can be a good thing, like a healthy trimming of an overgrown tree: both promote "branching." What you did is called potting-up rather than re-potting. When potting up, the roots are almost equally as "bound" as they are without re-potting at all: they are confined to the compacts soil and their growth/aeration is stunted. In fact, if you trim the leggy branches at the top at the same time you lose some roots, the plant is still balanced in its root:leaf ratio. My wife and I often go to home depot (1 mile from our house). She fell in love with a braided pachira just like yours. Its not my thing, personally, so I didn't give it "prime real-estate" on a window sill. It was pretty unhappy and its growth looked quite a bit like the growth your pachira: leggy and anemic. I kept trimming the leggy growth, but it wouldn't ramify (it wouldn't make additional branches). Finally, I repotted using 60% perlite, pruned the leggy growth, and moved it to the TV stand where it gets direct sunlight through the window, but from several feet away. That small change made a big difference: the leaves have richer color, the tree is growing two branches to replace the one I trimmed (ramification). [I also am propagating new plants from the cuttings]. Since I don't really care for the plant, I'm using osmocote CRF (controlled release fertilizer): easier and cheaper than using the dyno-gro mix. In other words, you might have a combination: lack of nutrients, lack of sunlight, root-rot (a dash of hydrogen peroxide can sometimes fix this), compacted roots... Someone with more experience than me (with pachira or plants in general) might be able to more specifically identify the problem, but my thought is to fix all the issues of which we are aware and then continue to problem-solve if the plant doesn't bounce back in a few weeks.

@ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5 - No I didn't re-pot, should I re-pot it? I'm not really sure how I would go about doing that. I know there's a few guides online, but would you be able to point me to a reliable one please? I've moved it back to it's corner where it get some light from the window. I'll leave it there and stop taking it for walkies lol. I think I misinterpreted the plant being stressed (I didn't even know plants could get stressed) as it needing sunlight or water. I bought from IKEA so it's probably not used to direct outdoor sunlight. They had a plastic bag over the branches and leaves so the leaves were already wrinkled when I bought it. @floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK - I live in York, I'll keep it indoors until mid May and take it out doors then. By being able to keep it outside until September or October, do you mean I should keep the plant indoors again once the temperature starts to drop? I thought the holes were was just from physical damage, but you watch enough YouTube videos and read enough articles online and you start getting it in your head that it's some sort of pest problem or disease.