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

Austins are said to root from cuttings easily. Check the propagation forum and you will find a wealth of information on rooting from cuttings. The fact that it has already bloomed indicates the wood is mature enough. Make sure you get a piece of cane that has a bloom that has not opened so it has more 'energy' left in it for rooting. If I were you I would take several so you have increased odds of success. But don't wait too long.

Hi, You can save seeds. There are varieties that are not hybrids that are slow to blot.(I'm not even sure if there are hybrids that are slow to bolt. I only know OP varieties.) Bolt tolerant is not the same as sterile. They will go to seed, just slower than normal.Heat and/or day length can affect a plants biological time clock to produce babies. So varieties that are bolt tolerant are aberrations that are not following the cues to produce seed at the proper time. They could be hybrids, but often it is a plant first noticed by a grower and seeds were saved and then grown out saving seeds of subsequent generations until a stable bolt tolerant variety is made. So seed of an OP(Open Pollinated) bolt tolerant lettuce lets say can be saved no problem. If it were a hybrid, it is more complex. You would need time and space to make your hybrid an OP. You would save seed. Plant out the seed, rouge out plants that do not behave like you want, save seed, and do it all over again for at least 5 years. Hope this helps, Remy

It may yet reward you with a nice plant, keep it in clean water for now till the roots grow past the stem anyway. Try to keep it 70 degrees or higher if you can. Keep checking it. The leaves at their base look healthy. Fred when Rooted the tops in Florida (so long ago now), I cut the top row of fruit off and plunked it down in the water. The fruit always rotted away, you had to change the putrid water every day, which usually was so bad it would start to foam slightly. That is the way you did it back then, of course it was always 80 degrees or higher with 80% humidity. But it worked! The only trouble I ever had was with the dratted squirrels eating chunks out of the ripening fruit! 3 years of waiting and then some scurvy grey squirrel eats the very first spot to ripen and the whole fruit then rots!