Plants don't age in the same way we think of people aging. Age in people is a described on a chronological basis, where plants age ontogenetically. This might be framed as, the parts that have taken the most cell divisions to produce are the plant's oldest parts; so strangely, the most recent part of the plant (say, a new branch high on the plant) to grow is the oldest part of the plant. The youngest part of the plant will be found in the root to shoot transition zone. This juvenile part of the plant is also nearly always the most vigorous part of the plant. Plants pass through life stages until they end up at the sexually mature stage. At that point they are capable of blooming/fruiting. Whether they DO or not is complicated and not entirely understood. Blooming and other environmental reactions of most healthy plants are primarily influenced by day length (technically it's night length), but more than a few plants are triggered by other factors, like moisture availability, temperature, predation. Some plants even seem to have an internal 'alarm clock' that acts as a trigger to bloom. There are species of bamboo that bloom as infrequently as every 130 years and when the bloom occurs, all plants of a given genetic origin bloom simultaneously, en masse (all at once), and this occurs regardless of environmental influences. Now, that a plant is capable of blooms/fruit doesn't mean it will produce same, no matter how much we hope. The factors that limit a plant's ability to bloom are as complicated as those that trigger blooming. The plant's internal chemical messengers that limit blooming is first influenced by the plants ontogenetic age, but then by health, stress, stored energy reserves, a significant number of environmental factors, and sometimes seemingly no more than a built-in piqued obstinacy that can be more irritating than Justin Bieber or the Kardashians, if that's even possible. How do I get it to bloom? Keep it healthy and let it do its thing. You can search online - there might be some simple ways to coax it to bloom exactly whenever it feels like it. How old does it have to be? The only age important to plants is what growth phase they're in. They have to be old enough chronologically to have reached sexual maturity. This is also complicated because the (ontogenetic) age of the parent plant from which the propagule (that is now your plant) was taken has to be a part of the equation. Example - a hawthorn tree from seed needs to survive around 20-25 growth cycles to bloom; whereas, a cutting from a blooming hawthorn tree can be counted on blooming within a few years if its state of vitality has been generally good. Al

I'm sorry, new here, but I can't find out how to get to the answer! I have spots and dying leaves, and I'm watching helplessly as the stuff spreads across my yard. Help! Thank you...

could the leaves have been damaged during the move ... minor tissue injury.. can take a while before it starts to show ... could we see a pic of the whole?? since we can see circling roots.. thats arent even in the media ... come spring.. it might be a good time to repot into a slightly bigger pot ... i cant tell what kind of media you have it in.. but i bet you can do better ... think of media as a water management system .. water in the top... all excess out the bottom ... when it gets old ... then you might start having problems ... the leaf damage does not look related to your watering schedule.. since it appears so location specific.. rather than the whole leaf ... but again.. i cant see the whole plant also ... after the move.. how different was the available light? ken

Hey everyone. Can someone please help me with my money tree. It has been developing brown spots, and turning slightly yellow. The leaves falls off by themselves. Below are photos of the leaves. (Also im new to the community i hope I get answers right away!(