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How to take care about Pachira aquatica ?

last year

I bought my first flower, can you advise how to take care of it? I have no experience with flowers, so I'm counting on help.

I've heard that I should water once every week or two. Am I right?

Thanks a lot in advance! :)

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Comments (6)

Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
last year
That's a nice looking tree. The first step would be to remove the white wrapper. Then see if the pot has a hole in the bottom. The botanical name "aquatica" tells us it's an aquatic plant so if the soil gets too dry, it will not be happy. But too much water in a pot without a hole could cause the roots to rot (overwatering.) Do you have a spot near a window?
Jagoda Skr
Original Author
last year
Yes, I have a place next to the window. Should the flower be exposed to the sun, is that correct ?
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Pachira aquatica (Braided Money Tree) soil type?
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Howdy! Pachira aquatica will do well in a soil that drains quickly, indeed. Yes, you'll need to water more often during the growth season - but the trade-off is that the roots will be healthy and won't rot during the winter months. I'd make a 1:1:1 mix of bark, pumice, and perlite. Instead of pumice, you could also use Turface, or Napa diatomaceous earth, part #8822. These ingredients are similar in that they have a solid structure and great internal porosity (to hold moisture and nutrients). I use quartz gravel and perlite together - the gravel gives some weight to the mix, while providing excellent stability and air-circulation and while holding very little moisture. I've also read that rough, sharp grit in your mix will promote fine root-growth. The bark that I use is called Micro Bark: it is pine/fir bark. I screen my particles so that they are between 1/8 and 3/8 of an inch. Ideally, however, all of my ingredients would be just about 1/8 of an inch. This is the critical particle-size at which a container mix will retain moisture (under 1/8 holds water - over 1/8 gives up water). This is a general rule, assuming equally-sized particles. There are many ways to modify this basic blend to get the mix right for your growing conditions. Since Pachira aquatica (Malabar Chestnut) comes from wetland areas in South America, I have always assumed that it likes to be flooded...and then allowed to dry. Outside in partial shade, my Pachira is drying out every 2 - 3 days. During the winter in the house, I cut watering back to once a week (sometimes longer). Oh! Almost forgot a final piece of advice! Avoid the braided Pachira...in my opinion, they're nothing but trouble (often, one of the trunks is totally rotten from the start). A single trunk, with healthy foliage, will serve you better. Josh
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Droopy Pachira aquatica in 3:1:1
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Comments (82)
Thanks, Josh! :) It is just bent so I will tie it up and see what happens. Sorry about the unclear image, I had trouble getting my camera to focus on that one stem. :( Anthony, I am using a fine orchid mix with perlite that I added (I believe I did 3 parts mix, 1 part perlite, as suggested from another discussion thread) (I live in southwest Arizona with a lack of access to good gardening centers and since I wanted to re-pot in a hurry to save the plants from the stalk that had root rot after receiving them I was unable to "build my own" soil). I was planning to re-pot in a year or two with better material I am going to order online and move to the next size or higher pot. Unless you feel I need to re-pot sooner. Right now, it is in a 6 inch pot. They were 3 small braided trees grouped together in a relatively small rectangular pot when I received them so I had thought a 6 inch pot would give them room to grow (without causing too much stress) as they would be separated in their own pots. This is the largest of the three small braided trees I have. Unless the tree's roots have grown at an exceptional rate since June I do not think it is pot bound (but, of course I could be wrong, this is my first time caring for these plants and I know little about gardening). I moved them, a few weeks ago, to a west facing window with better sunlight thinking they were getting too little light in the east window I had them in due to an awning being in the way and have been giving the supplements suggested here. I've seen improvement so I was doing the waiting game on the drooping. Thank you for the advice and taking the time to help. I appreciate it greatly!
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Re: Pachira Aquatica - will it be okay ?
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Comments (1)
I'm going to refer you to several recent Threads on this very subject! You're in luck! Probably the most relevant: Pachira (Money Tree) Prune and Growth Progress Recent update on my plant: Pachira (Money Tree) - Spring re-potting pics And the big Pachira Thread (various topics): Sick looking braided Money Tree Josh
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Convert braided trunk pachira aquatica to single trunk
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Comments (83)
That is a tragic story, indeed! I have done this very procedure many times, so have courage. You can go about this two primary ways: the first is simply to repot the entire tree; the second is to cut off the healthy top and root it, and also repot and hope the trunk and rootmass survive. I think it is imperative that you use a free-draining potting mix. I use bark, perlite, lava rock, and just a little potting mix as a binder/moisture retentive ingredient. And when I say "a little potting mix," I mean less than 10% of the overall mix. If you can't mix your own, I recommend a fine-grade Orchid Mix, to which you will probably add some coarse Perlite. Repot keeping the roots moist at all times, thoroughly water and saturate the new mix when done, and place the tree in outdoor shade if available - no direct sun. Keep the mix uniformly moist with light waterings for at least a week after repotting. You can either repot the tree first, and the cut the top off....or you can cut the top off and repot the tree all at once. It's a bit of a gamble, as I don't know the vitality of the tree, but I have confidence from repeated experience that the top will root (if it is healthy as you describe). I place the cut top in a vase/jar of water, and I wait for white root primordia to appear. As soon as they appear, I transfer the cutting into a container of the same moist, free-draining mix, and I keep it moist while the cutting continues to root. I use #1 nursery containers.
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last year
it is a plant.. not a flower ... if you treat it good.. maybe it will flower some day ...

heres a lot of links for you ... once you get down past the adverts ...

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffcm&q=Pachira+aquatica&ia=web

you water a plant when it needs to be watered.. based on your house... environment.. etc ....

you can not rely on someone elses concept of how to water your plant in your house ...

Al will come along with his tutorial on using TELLS ... one way to tell how much moisture is in your media... is by the weight of the pot ... when its real dry.. the pot will weigh nothing.. relatively speaking ... and the plant will probably be wilting by then ... and not watering until the plant shows some sign of wilt.. will give you a great idea of how often it needs to be watered ...

i water my plants every other week .... IF THEY NEED IT.. and my furnace is running now.. so it dries out the pots pretty quick ...

let us know if there is no drain hole in the pot.. and get it out of the wrapper.. so the pot can properly drain ..

have fun.. its isnt rocket science... just try not to love it to death by over watering it..

ken
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
last year
btw.... WHERE ARE YOU.. BIG CITY NAME ... oops ...

this might dictate whether it can take full sun thru a window ...

im far enough north that full winter sun thru a window is so weak it cant do much harm at all ...

ken
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
last year
The embedded link will take you to An Overview of Good Growing Practices. If you put the information into practice, it will help you to avoid all the most common pitfalls that encumber nearly every grower on their path to a green thumb.

It will also provide you with a better ability to ask questions, the answers to which will have the greatest impact on your own growing experience.

Al
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
last year
Yes, it should be near the window to get some sunlight.

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