I live in Florida and my money tree leaves are beginning to get a whitish-brown color all of a sudden. I only water it once a week and I have it outdoors in a bright place that gets no direct sunlight. Any help with what is the problem?

I have a picture but am not sure how to get it in the e-mail. Anyone know?

I bought a money tree two weeks ago and the leaves are turning white. It is on the north end of the house, planted in the ground and only gets indirect sun. Any suggestions on what to do?

This thread has so many posts you will probably get more help if you start a new one. Put a one- or two-word description of the leaves in the title.

Good Luck,

Linda

I have the same problem, my braided money tree (Pachira) looks sick. It's growth has slowed considerably, and it's leaves are slowly browning and falling off. It's Spring not Winter so that's not the issue. I dug up the tree to have a look at it's roots to see if they had rotted. What I found astonished me... there was a rubber band strapped around the base of the plant, below the soil, suffocating it. This band must have been put there in it's infancy to make the braids, but now that the tree had grown to about 3ft that same rubber band was cutting off it's water supply and keeping it from growing any further.

If you are having this same problem, check your tree's roots to see if there is a strap or rubber band at the base and cut it off, as soon as you notice an unusual change in it's growth. In my case there was visible bulging around the band, signs that the tree was struggling to soak up nutrients. Hopefully my tree will recover, I may have caught this too late, but in posting this hopefully it's not too late for you.

Hello all! Here is a pic of my money tree? I also have the Brown leaves randomly falling off and was told that's ok pull them off when they are ready?! The soil i use is just a regular potting soil. It is in my office with no sunlight just the office lights, is that acceptable. Also I bottom watered it about a week ago and it still hasn't gone dry, I'm worried the roots will start to rot?! Any suggestions?

I have heard of them thriving in the office lights but i think it would grow better in natural light

Office lights are completely unacceptable for most plants, but certainly Pachira. Indoors, Pachira should be as close to a window as possible. Outdoors, Pachira do very well in partial or mosaic sunlight, although they can handle full sun *IF* the new leaves are grown to maturity in full sun. (Old indoor leaves will burn to a papery white crisp in the sun).

The container is far too large for the plant and the growing conditions (indoors, insufficient light, heavy potting mix). I would down-pot considerably, and replace the potting mix with something free-draining that will allow you to water and fertilize properly.

Josh

I have had this plant for at least a year now in my office. I did put it near a window for a little while ago however I thought that was doing more harm to plant because the leaves seemed to be burning after awhile. I also put it in a bigger pot in hopes of it growing bigger because it seemed to stop growing on its old pot. Is there any good soil mix at the stores I could pick up? Any thoughts on bottom feeding? Good or bad? Also I was told to put ice cubes on top of soil and let them melt. Also someone else said coffee grinds on thesil is good too?

No ice, no coffee grounds.

Off the shelf, you could probably use an "Orchid Mix" of bark, perlite, pumice perhaps, with as little peat moss as possible. I would still add in rinsed Perlite to the off the shelf mix. Now is a good time to re-pot these plants.

This plant needs light. Whatever happened by the window was not a "burn" from too much light, I'd wager. More likely leaf-loss from overwatering. When these leaves burn, they become a blanched white color and the leaf desiccates so that only the scaffold of the veining remains. It is a very particular response.

At this point, the plant will probably look worse before it gets better.

Josh

I bought a money tree about a year and a half ago. It did really well, it was two feet high and grew to four feet, it was plush and healthy. It was in a sunny window and I watered it about every three weeks. We moved and I put it outside on a terrace and left for a vacation for 10 days. I had someone water it. It seemed like it didn't like the direct sun as when I came back, it looked liked the leaves were very dry, almost burnt, so I brought it in. I pruned all the dead leaves, unfortunately all the dead leaves were on one side and my tree is left with one full side and one barren side. How can I get the leaves to grow back on the one side?

Well, Kristina, it won't grow leaves back...not like other plants. The only way that I've found to lower the foliage is to actively prune the stems down. New growth then emerges from just below the cut.

These plants prefer outdoor shade if they're coming from indoors. They *can* grow in full sun, but only if the leaves *grew* and *matured* in full sun. Otherwise, the older indoor leaves just burn to nothing.

Josh

Would putting in front off a window that gets full morning sun from the sunrise work well or should I put it near another window approximately 90 degrees from that one? Also it was recently re-potted into that pot that you said was too big, ca you re-pot too much??

Morning sun is great.
I would re-pot into a smaller container as soon as possible. You're right, multiple re-pottings isn't typically advised, but in this case I think it'll be best for the health of the plant.

Josh

Hi,
I have bought many of these plants and learned over the years take out the gravel top and put in a soil that drains like cactus soil, I will always repot when I get the rocks glued on top in a pot with a drain hole put in a shaded area and remember what works for one person may not work for another. My advice is a normal for every one to do but I live in the South I keep my inside but if your climate is cooler you can put them out on your deck till winter/fall.
I still have trouble with some I get but I am not going to let them get the best of my growing knowledge.
Good Luck to all.

I have had my braided money tree for almost a year and a half, I have had no problems with it until about 7 months ago. I moved and now it's little branches with the leaves are turning brown and the leaves are wilting and drooping and getting brown spots and dying:( There are parts on the leaves where it is brown that look like the leaves have been eaten or torn. Also I re-potted it about 3 months ago to a larger pot, it went from a 16 in to a 21 in pot, my tree is about 5' 6'' tall, when I bought it it was about 2', I dont know anything about keeping a plant, but it is the first one I have ever had so long and it also has special meaning to me. Please someone help me I dont want it to die! What can I do? I can post a pic if needed. Thank you.

Desiree,
this Thread is getting pretty clunky and nearly to its limit. Perhaps you wouldn't mind starting a new Thread and posting the pics there. Just from your description, I can tell you that the plant is way over-potted, and in that volume of soil the roots are most likely suffering (or rotted already). If the trunks are still firm at the soil-line, the plant can be saved (most likely).

Josh

I have had this MONEY TREE i rescued from a sale at Home depot about a year ago wheb i first got him he had a few branches growing out from the braided trunk that had some leaves, the turned brown and ALL fell off due to the change of environment. He ended up sprouting new leaves and looking relatively healthy.....until last week.
He usually lives in my massage room where i do the most of my work hence WHY i put him there, over the months i started sticking coins into the gaps between the trunk it became a little offering to the tree, he doesn't get much Sun in the massage room cause it's suppose to be very dramatically lit and usually dim but sometimes i would open a curtain for him to get some Sun shine (he had even started growing this cute little branch outta the bottom trunk!) So as it got warmer i decided to bring all my plants out to the closed in Sun room, It's ALL windowed in - So they could finally get some real sunshine. It started to get really windy and cold later in the evening so i went to go bring the plants back inside and when i saw the tree he was severely sunburned! His leaves were all bleached white!!!! I quickly brought him in back to the massage room to let him heal. And this is where the problems started....
His leaves started to die (which i figured would happen) but the little branches stemming off from the braided trunks started to die and turn mushy, i ended up having to pull one off cause it dried out Completely and the cute baby stalk growing from the bottom turned into a mushy stalk it was dropping over So i cut it off :-( then today while checking on it, even thoe it's been putting out new growth ot seems two of the branches growing outta the braided trunks have turned mushy and soggy and stated sagging even with the new growth growing...i tried to find what too do Online in this case but found NOTHING really helpful so i decided to cut the mushy soggy posts from the branches to where it was healthy in hopes it will heal over and start new growth i tried to seal the cuts with a pat of rubbing Alcohol. I cut as much of the dying sunburned leaves as i could but rather let them die out naturally.
I looked at it today and noticed there some brown spots on the stalks of the branches coming outta the braided trunks, i can't figure out what it's from and if there gonna get mushy and die and I'm utterly afraid! I checked for root rot,bugs, root bound, over watering, under watering...but i can't find anything wrong with it physically. I really need some help that's WHY i joined this site in hopes THAT someone can help ME!

I'll Try to attach some pictures.

Will these branches die too?
Will my whole tree be branchless and die?
What are the Brown spot?
Why did the branches turn mushy and die?
Was cutting off the dead part OKAY?
Will new branches grow out Again from the braided trunks?
Has ANYONE had success with this little tree?
How can i promote new growth to not turn brown and die?
How can i stop my branches turning mushy brown, and why is it doing THIS?

Does ANYONE or can ANYONE answer my questions and please HELP me and My money tree?!?!?!?!

I have since taken all the coins outta the gaps in the trunk in hope he can heal!

Here's some more pictures, how do i put more then one picture in a post? Here is where i cut the mushy parts off one of the branches growing outta the braided trunks

Here is what the mushy part looked like before cutting it off the branch growing outta the braided trunks

Here is the other one that turned mushy that i cut off, any idea why this happened and how i can stop this from Happening and promote New branches to grow outta the braided trunks?

This is the current state of the plant

This thread is lengthy and quite old, you'd probably be better off starting a new post, so others can access it much easier.

Judging from the last pic, the tops of those branches are burnt too, and dead or dying. I would cut them back to healthy green tissue. When I prune my plants, I use cinnamon to seal the wound(s). Cinnamon has natural antifungal & antibacterial properties.

When moving any plant(s) to an area with more intense sunlight, you have to do it gradually. So they have time to adjust to their new environment. I would place in now in a location that receives plenty of bright indirect sunlight, and scale back on watering it for the time being. Without leaves to support, it won't drink up nearly as much water. Once it starts to grow again, then you can gradually increase your watering it back to normal.

The [hopefully] good news is that I think that your Pachira can pull thru from this ordeal. I say that because it was currently in the process of sending out new growth around the time that this happened, so it should redirect that stored energy into the nearest dormant buds from where it was pruned instead.

The coins shouldn't really be much of a problem, just as long as you weren't soaking the trunk when you watered it (which I doubt you were). But it was a good call to remove them, at least while your money tree recovers.

Good luck with your plant's recovery. I hope it pulls through. :)

EDIT: One more thing I forgot to mention, I would recommend removing any new growth that comes from the bottom of the braided trunks. That way it can focus its resources into sending new growth out only from the top instead. If it were to grow from the bottom, you'd run the risk of it diverting its energy away from the top of the braided trunks, leaving them to wither up and die back.
Even on my Pachira when it's happy and healthy, I always remove any new growth that shoots out from the bottom of its trunks.

The poor tree has been severely maltreated, unfortunately.
I'm not sure what the prognosis will be at this point. The only hope for it now is to give it more light than it was receiving in the massage room (it was slowly dying in there without enough light). If/when it begins to recover, re-pot into an appropriate potting mix, and begin fertilizing 1 - 2 weeks later.

Josh

Actually Josh it was thriving in the massage room very well it had very nice full green leaves energy branch wad full of new growth and it was beautiful! The problems only started when i moved it outside to get some Sun, it was in indirect light, still can't figure out how he got sooo Sun burned?!?!?! But when he got Sun burned it damaged all of the beautiful leaves that were full and the new growth as well. This plant was NEVER mistreated/maltreated at all. Just figured it needed some Sun and i guess i should have waited a bit longer to ensure it wouldn't get burned. It only looks so bad now is because i had pruned back most of the dying and Browning leaves to have it put out more energy into NEW growth.
I'll swipe some ground cinnamon on the places I've cut off dying branches.

Thanks for your help

The plant was declining in the massage room, lacking sufficient light (dimly lit, intimate, as you described). Opening a curtain once in a while is simply not enough light to keep a large-leafed plant like a Pachira thriving.

I've sunburned my Pachira, too...it happens. If the plant is healthy from the start, however, it will regrow its leaves very quickly.

So, keep your plant in a bright area, be very careful with watering (since the plant isn't drawing much moisture now due to the lack of leaves), and re-pot around the end of next month.

Josh

I did everything you all have advised, now he seems to be completely dead, mushy throughout the braided parts of the stalks and the new growth that was starting at the top of the branches is at a total stop, I actually lost 3 more branches ....so he has 2 left with no leaves and the ones that were starting to grow have stopped and the trunks are now beginning to be squishy where the bark is wrinkling when pushed or touched, maybe my money tree is weird but he seemed to be so much better off in the massage room with the heat and the not so bright light, cause even in indirect lighting he seems to just keep getting worst and worst, thought he would pull thru but after taking a look at him today its really really tough to say :(

Yep, unfortunately it was in a serious state of decline, most likely for months.

Josh

I bought my money tree last year around the same time as now. It is about 5' tall, it was doing amazing last year through the fall. It almost double the size and happy. Then winter came, the leaves just kept turning yellow and falling off, The new growth was small, skinny and strangely shaped. Now it's thinned out to only 1/3 the size. One main branch is drying from the top down. It's very unhappy.

I also noticed at some time last year there was a fly hatch (hundreds of them), they are very very small black flying insects, seem to be living right at the surface of the soil. Less of them in the winter, still can't get rid of them yet (though much much less in number).

The tree is in a 16" terracotta pot. I notice the pot almost feels sticky, and there seems to be a very fine white-ish cystally/dusty sediment on the outside of the pot. I'm not fertilizing it, not sure what that is?

The tree is by a sunny south west window, it should be enough light. In the winter, the heat was on, maybe it got too dry?

Please HELP!

THANKS!

Hello!
Well, it would seem the diagnosis is easy enough :-)
The potting mix is not right for this plant, and it might be over-potted, too (16-inch sounds fairly large). Posting a pic will certainly help clarify.

The fungus gnats are the black bugs, which thrive in peat-based potting mix. I would re-pot the Pachira into a coarse, free-draining mix made out of "orchid bark," pumice, perlite, turface, granite, or other gritty porous ingredients. I've posted a pic of just such a mix in the previous comments in this Thread for a visual.

Right now happens to be great for re-potting these plants - for the next month, in fact. Wash the old mix off the roots, then work the new mix between the roots, leaving no air pockets. Use moistened mix, water the plant in after potting, return the plant to its location, and resume fertilization after 1 - 2 weeks.

Josh

Hi Josh,
WOW, THANK YOU for your help & tips!
I will have to get the soil mix from gardening center tomorrow, does that kind of mixture come pre-package? or everything is separate? Could I start with a fine orchid mix and add porous ingredients. I'm in NYC, not too many plant-friendly places :(
I will take a pic of the plant tomorrow in daylight.
THANKS again!
Vic

You're welcome :-)
Yes, start with a fine orchid mix (that'll be much easier than tracking down separate ingredients). Add additional Perlite (or Pumice, Scoria if available) to the orchid mix. Then, moisten the mix ahead of time so that the bark is saturated before potting. This will make a fast-draining mix that will need to be thoroughly watered in the Summer.

Josh

leaves continue to turn yellow

pot has white dusty/crystally sediment

tree is now 1/4 the size compare to last summer when the leaves were huge, i couldn't believe how fast it was growing; now it's how fast it's dying. you can see one stalk is dried from the top down.

it's still trying to make new leave, but they come out sad!

*Well, it's been a long Thread, covering the gamut of Pachira ailments. For newcomers, or readers searching for information on Pachira, feel free to start a new Thread on this subject - no doubt it will be useful to many*
_________________________________________________
Vlau, Ignore how the plant looks and get it re-potted, pronto. :-)
Pachira will often look worse before they get better....and sometimes they'll die completely. But if the trunks are still firm, and if there's still viable foliage, I think it'll pull through.

The white minerals on the outside of the pot are of little consequence....after all, they're on the outside of the pot, rather than in the plant or in the potting mix ;-)

Josh

Hello. Im also having problem with my Money Tree. the leaves are getting yellow with white spots which are getting dried and eaten as below. As i read above icut all the yellow leaves and i also

How much light is it receiving right now? It looks a bit starved for light.

Yes, it is desperate for light. Now is late in the season for a mix change, but it might be necessary for the vitality of the plant.

Josh

Yes, more light!

jane

but im living in Malaysia. Tropical country and sun is everywhere. the pot is not in the balcony to get the direct sun but it gets sun light a lot. so you suggest i put it in the balcony?

You could be living in the sunniest desert ever, and that wouldn't matter if the plant was plopped down in a room with no windows-light can't penetrate walls the last time I checked :p

I would slowly introduce it to the balcony-don't immediately shove it out. The leaves will sunburn and drop, and the plant will have to expend even more energy to grow more leaves. I would leave it out in the morning when the sunlight isn't at its strongest, and leave it there for an hour before bringing it back in. The next day, leave it there for two hours, then the next day for three hours, etc. until it gets used to the sun.

Put it in outdoor shade if you can. It will thrive there.

Josh

I can see light from a window that's at least several feet away, but that's too far to keep a light-loving plant healthy. Some plants do fine with bright indirect light, but apparently your pachira isn't one of them. Also, glass filters light, and any kind of tint or solar film reduces the light even further.

If you have to keep the plant inside at some point it would do at least a little better if you move the plant to an unblocked window, as close to the glass as humanly possible. Better if the window faces south (or SW, but someone should correct me if i have that wrong.

Hello! I'm struggling with a specific branch of my Pachira. Should I trim this wilt part away?

So my tree seems to be growing new leaves only at the base. Not sure what i can do to get leaves to grow at the top. Last summer she was so beautiful when i left her outside. Should I be concern.

Could you post a picture of the whole tree? Are any of the upper branches dead? If you can't tell, give them a little scratch to see if there's living tissue there.

I have a money tree that is sick, dont know what to do for it. Its leaves have brown streaks in them and are falling off. Someone help me please!!

Does it have drainage in that container? How much light does it receive? Water? Fertilizer?

Josh