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What’s wrong with my money tree?

4 years ago

I’m hoping someone on here can help. I have probably waited too long to post this, but I am at a loss for what’s wrong with my money tree. You can see in the pictures below that it has developed some white spots on its leaves, and the leaves have begun to dry at the tips, which eventually leads to the drying of the entire leaf. The tree has sprouted several new shoots, but they seem to stop growing after about an inch, or if they grow bigger, the leaves seem to be deformed. this began about 3-4 months ago in mid winter in Colorado where I live. The tree was in a room that is well lit but by windows that face west. It wasn’t near the windows, so I moved it into another room near a south facing window where it now gets plenty of indirect sunlight every day (It’s not directly in the windows). This has not helped.

I have also repotted the plant after checking for root rot. Even though I didn’t find any, I still repotted the plant with fresh soil Using the same pot the tree has been growing in for over a year. About a month ago I removed all of the severely damaged leaves and wiped down all the remaining leaves with water to remove the dust that has built up on them, as I thought at the time that this could be a mildew problem (maybe it still is..?). As you can see from the pictures, the remaining leaves have developed the same symptoms. I have also used an anti-pest and anti-mildew spray on the tree-something that I had done fairly consistently throughout its life.

I know it could always be a watering issue, but I’m somewhat experienced with houseplants and have not changed the watering routine. The bottom of the pot has gravel base and a hole for proper drainage. Anyway, any help or insight would be greatly appreciated.

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Comments (3)

Alex Ellingboe
Original Author
4 years ago
Yes, there is a drainage hole
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
4 years ago
you might be trying to love it to death ... perhaps it just needs some time to settle down????

when did you repot it.. how long ago ... some of this could be the result of some minor stress.. that is just showing up ... the new growth looks pretty vibrant .... so far ...

if you put it right back into the old pot.. how much new media did you get in there.. did you somewhat bare root it.. to get such in???... that would be a higher stress ...

and then you changed its light variable.. by moving it around.. again minor.. but another stress ...

also ... many indoor plants shed some older leaves in winter .. or early spring.. as new growth starts ... so that has to be in the equation ... and once leaves shut down to shed.. they can get pretty ugly.. but that doesnt really mean there is anything to 'cure' ....

in my cold MI... which i consider similar to CO ... i have a forced air furnace.. do you ... when you moved it.. did it get nearer to a heat vent???

lastly.. can you take a teaspoon or something.. and dig a hole down an inch or 3.. and verify you are properly watering ... the new media might not be working like the old media did or was ...

is the window shade ever open ... is it getting enough light???

really just trying to shotgun it here .... just throwing out ideas ...

ken

ps: whats the pic with your hand in it.. is that larger new growth???

pps: as long as it has drain holes.. the stone in the bottom need not be there ... just for next time .. no need to get it out ...
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Many things can and do cause leaf abscission (shedding). Reduced light intensity or duration, over/under-watering, tight roots, an excessively high level of soluble salts in the soil, insect infestation, disease, sudden chill ...... Usually an increase in light intensity doesn't cause shedding unless it's a very significant increase, and a reduction in the photo load causes fewer and LARGER leaves - not smaller. I agree that it needs more light, but the probability there are factors other than light in play that are contributing to the plant's decline are high, especially since you already suspect that you're over-watering. The best way to care for your plant is to identify and address cultural conditions that are less than ideal. IOW - eliminate the limiting factors, starting with those most likely to be limiting. For you, I would guess those most important to be light levels and the combination of soil choice and watering habits. Al
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turbokat89, it is beginning to wilt. If the medium is dry, water it. If it improves in 'posture' and/or color, then that is what it needed. If it improves in posture only, then it probably needs fertilizer. The standard is a balanced water soluble product at half the labeled rate; applied instead of water, not more regularly than once a month. You can return to the regular plain watering program as soon as the desired effect has been attained,
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Watering from the bottom ensures all the dissolved solids in tapwater and fertilizer solutions remain in the grow medium. It can also upset the balance (ratio) of nutrients, one to the others, such that an excess of 1 nutrient makes it hard for the plant to take up enough of another nutrient (called an antagonistic deficiency). A level of dissolved solids (salts) in the soil that is too high, makes it difficult for the plant to move water to all of its parts with normal efficiency. Too, it's best to water slowly from the top, using enough water to fully saturate the soil and allow at least 20% of the total volume of water applied to exit the drain hole, which helps to flush any accumulating salts from the grow medium. The plant is definitely in want of more light. If you have a brighter spot you can acclimate it to over the course of a week to 10 days, it would provide a significantly greater opportunity for your plant to realize a larger measure of its potential, bestowed by Mother Nature. How do you determine when it's time to water the plant? Have you been fertilizing regularly? Nutrients are the building blocks plants use to grow and keep their systems orderly, so it's important when growing in containers that the grower shoulders responsibility for ensuring appropriate nutritional supplementation. Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 is an excellent product for houseplants, and it provides all nutrients required for normal growth, so it's all you need in the way of nutrients. Questions? Al
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I would disagree that you can't fertilize with organic fertilizers in pots, however if you are going to do so you need to be diligent about how you care for your tree, use a medium that is appropriate for and encourages the growth of microorganisms, and avoid plastic pots. You also have to be careful not to use anything that can damage your microorganisms. When you use organic growing methods in containers you absolutely have to treat your soil as, as much of an organism as your tree, and I would not recommend it to someone starting out with citrus. (I grow my own trees indoors in a huge window exclusively under lights and use organic methods. I get fruit every year and my trees grow very well.) Reading your responses it definitely sounds like you have a few problems: water, light, potential overfertilization. You don't "feed" a tree the way you would feed a pet, fertilizer is not "food" in that way, but should instead be applied as necessary to replace nutrients depleted from your soil. Indoors, your trees won't deplete nutrients as quickly due to the low light and slower growth, so you don't need to fertilize as often or at all. As for watering, as mentioned above you should let the tree dry out between deep waterings and watch that your soil doesn't stay wet for too long. (For example: self watering planters are death for many indoor plants). As for lamps, the kind of grow-bulbs or nice looking growing lamps are not going to provide you enough lumens to grow a tree. You could probably use them for little plants that require low light, but a tree needs more than that. A high powered LED lamp is going to be your best bet for a citrus tree. There are options for ones you can install in your house or you could hide them in some way, but if you want your trees to do well you need a lot more light than a standard grow light. I hope this was helpful, and good luck.
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Alex Ellingboe
Original Author
4 years ago
Hello Ken. Thank you for the detailed response. I have considered that I’m loving it to death and have tried to space out the stress points. This started a few months ago at least when I was definitely not loving it to death. When I first noticed it, I thought it was a light issue, so I moved it to the windows. After about a month of deterioration, I sprayed it with the anti pest/anti mildew then waited about a month, then wiped down the leaves with water to remove the dust and waited a month, then repotted it and pulled some of the dead leaves off. Maybe that’s still too much stress, but it seems to be deteriorating rapidly, so I didn’t want to waste too much time.

It has been about three weeks now since i repotted it. The soil seems to be draining/drying fine. I did bare root it to see if there was root rot, but I did not see any, and the old soil smelled fine. I used completely new soil.

I think it gets plenty of light by the southerly window. It is near a vent, but we rarely have to use our heat believe it or not, and this all started before it was near the vent. The picture with my hand in it is one of the last shoots that made it past a bud. I included it because of how the leaves are deformed. There are a lot of buds that have sprouted and then just stopped growing entirely by the looks of it. Some of those smaller ones in the picture have been that size for at least a couple months.

At this point I’m planning on letting it alone for a while and hoping the repotting and extra light of the spring will revive it. To your point, I don’t want to stress it anymore, but I posted this in case someone could look at the leaves and say, “this is a clear case of this kind of mildew...” or something like that. Thank you again for your response.

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