Thanks Jane_NY,

I appreciate the advice.

I understand the idea of keeping the height low enough to receive light from the window. My question now is.. what is the proper method for pruning to maintain height? I presume it's not good to keep cutting off the new growth at the top of a branch... or is it?

New growth is a tree's investment. It spends it's energy to extend branches and make more leaves so it can have more food to invest in repeating the cycle ......... little trees becoming big trees. Pruning interrupts the cycle, so it's always a setback. The best pruning strategy involves removing the least amount of foliage at the most opportune time, such that the result of your effort elicits the most enthusiastic response from your subject. IOW - most of your pruning should be tip-pruning to keep the branches in bounds, with the occasional corrective measure as required to maintain eye appeal.

Ideally, you would do your heavier pruning and repotting in the early summer, around the solstice. Your plant's food factories (leaves) will be at peak manufacturing ability during the longest and brightest days, so recovery from serious work like heavy pruning and repotting is fastest/less stressful at that time

I wouldn't presume to order your priorities, but I can say it's not to your tree's advantage to do any serious work at this time of year unless you live so close to the equator that change in day length has virtually no impact on the tree's metabolism. THEN, it doesn't much matter what you do or when. If you're more than 20* in latitude from the equator, there is a distinct advantage in making the effort to synchronize your serious work with the plants growth cycle, so you're doing the work when it will A) cause less stress, B) when the plant has stored energy reserves to help it through the stress quickly, and C) recovery due to the tree's enhanced ability to make food (A plant's food is the sugar it makes during photosynthesis. That's what fuels its growth and metabolic processes) is fastest. So I wouldn't 'cut it to the ht you want' now.

Actually, if you have a ht in mind at which you want to maintain the tree, you'll need, at some point, to cut it back to about 2/3 of that ht and then develop the canopy; and, it's best to approach that transition with an appropriate plan.

My suggestions would be to (best) wait to prune until after you repot next June, or (ok) minimally prune now, repot next June, then prune as hard as you wish after the tree has resumed growing. You'll find that repotting will (to reuse a very old phrase) provide the tree with a new lease on life. I'd also be thinking about a way to provide the plant with a summer vacation in dappled or open shade next year. With the right soil and cultural care, it's likely you'll be astounded by the apparent increase in the tree's vitality. But do you know what? What will seem like a huge growth spurt won't be a growth spurt at all. It will actually be representative of how limiting the conditions under which the plant was growing actually were. A plant cannot be driven to grow at beyond it's genetic potential, so any improvement in growth you see is just the plant reclaiming some of the lost potential it might have enjoyed all along, absent the limitations.

Questions or additional input?

Al

I would cut the top down to the group of leaves below. I agree it's not the best time to cut the tree back, but you don't have much of a choice. You can do a major prune in Spring, but that top part should come off now, imo.?

jane

There is no physiological reason why it 'should' come off now. In fact, a better case can be made (and has been) for why it shouldn't come off now, or even in the near future. It ends up boiling down to an 'aesthetics vs the plant's o/a wellbeing' type of decision. The perspective from which the issue is viewed is ultimately what's going to be the underpinning on which the grower's decision is based. While it doesn't matter to me what verdict is reached, it will matter to both the plant and its grower. It'll be interesting to learn what's decided.

Al

Thanks Al and Jane,

I greatly appreciate the discourse and options you presented. My thought is to let it ride through this winter without making any changes. It's not really harming anything for now. The days are already getting shorter (unfortunately, I don't live closer to the equator), so I would be concerned about the plants recovery.

Al, you suggested a vacation in open or dabbled shade... Due to where I live, there really arent any options for taking the plant outdoors, but a large amount of sunlight hits the front windows. I dont typically allow a lot of full strength sunlight through the blinds, but should I be increasing the sunlight?

Thank you both!

Well, unless you can tilt the plant so the upper growth can get some light, I think you will lose the leaves anyway. The upper growth is in the dark,

I wouldn't hesitate to cut off that top. I've grown these trees indoors for many years and always kept them at the height I wanted. Never bothered them.

These are tough trees which can take a lot of pruning. This is not the best time, but you have good growth below which will carry on the growth.

I live in Florida now and grow mine in containers in full sun. They are huge. These were the same trees I brought from NY where they lived their lives in my living room and office. I had to keep them pruned.

Its up to you, but the upper section is in the dark. Without light, that section will die off, which is not the best thing for the plant either.

Jane

It doesn't make sense to suggest that it (the top) is destined to die off if it grew in that spatial position - unless it grew elsewhere and the plant was moved to that position at a later date. While the grower can do whatever (s)he wants when (s)he wants, and the plant should TOLERATE being topped at this point in time, our focus as growers is probably better directed toward providing what plants appreciate than testing the limits of what they tolerate. In a similar vein, if the foliage is removed now the plant will almost certainly survive, but working toward a plant that thrives is easier to achieve if some consideration is given to the plant's strengths/weaknesses. There are simply good times and not so good times to perform different operations on plants. Synchronizing our wants with the plant's natural rhythms is better for the plant and leaves the grower feeling better about the care provided. IOW, it's more rewarding to know you're doing what's best for another living thing, as opposed to doing whatever we feel like doing when the mood strikes.

If the plant should shed the foliage at the top, or if the top dies back, it's no worse for the plant than if the top or foliage is manually removed; it's better for it in fact, because the plant receives the benefits of the added photosynthesizing ability until such time as it's pruned. As you said, "Now is not the best time."

Al

Thanks again for your inputs!

So it has been in that spot since we brought it home.

The leaves that have been lost so far have been on the long branch in the area in front of the window. I would have expected it to loose its upper leaves if there were a sunlight issue, but the upper portion of the branch is continuing to grown and produce new leaves. I definitely don't under the physiology enough to understand what's happening there.

There isn't an aesthetics issue, since it's really the most interesting thing in the room right now..so really if it wants to keep growing along the ceiling during the winter, then that's ok with us.

Pachira is very apically dominant and will continue to grow at the tip, while shedding lower older foliage that it cannot support. I agree that pruning is best done in the Summer. I generally prune mine at the end of May or the first two weeks of June.

Josh

Yes, summer is ideal, but you will further stress this plant over the winter. Its up to you, if it were mine, I'd chop off the top and let the bottom fill out.

It won't hurt this plant. Pot up the cutting and stick it in good light, it will root.

I grow these plants, almost impossible to kill.

Jane

I fail to see how leaving the plant intact and waiting for a much more favorable time to repot would be more stressful than chopping it in half just before winter? Maybe I'm missing something? And won't he still be able to propagate cuttings from the pruned remnant next summer?

Let's hope that one grower thinking a particular plant is nearly impossible to kill isn't seen as clarion call incentive for others to test the theory. Given the very large number of growers who arrive here with their Pachira gasping its last as it circles the drain (how many on this thread alone?), I think it's totally reasonable to judge the 'nearly impossible to kill' postulate as significantly wanting for substantiation. It's a plant, and not that difficult to kill if you're not paying attention to its best interests.

This whole perspective (do it because it should tolerate it) is so very foreign to me ..... but maybe that's just 'me'. My dog will tolerate a week w/o food, and my plants a summer w/o fertilizer, but I can't find the incentive to do these things in 'what they will tolerate'. I think growers are much more interested in learning how to avoid testing their plants' limits, even inadvertently, than being encouraged to determine where those limits lie.

Al

HELP PLEASE!! I've had my plant for about 13 years. Today while I was watering it I tried to adjust the tallest branch back onto the stick to hold it in place so it wouldn't continue leaning. While doing that I accidentally broke the entire thing off. Does anyone know how I can get that to reroute again? I have it sitting in a vase of water right now. Not sure if I'm supposed to put it straight in dirt to try to get it to reroute or just in water. Any advice is truest appreciated. Thank you

Erica, I've had much better luck just potting the cutting in a well-draining potting mix, such as a mix of bark, perlite, and potting mix. If you have a heating mat or can provide bottom heat, the cutting will root much faster. Also, place the cutting in a sunny window (since it is Winter now). During the Summer, I would say put the cutting in partial shade so that it doesn't get cooked. Good luck! They do root very easily, but things are always tougher in the Winter.

Josh

Hi! I'm on my second round of trying with a money tree, because I killed the first one lol, but loved it so much I had to try again. My mistake with the first money tree actually started with the store I bought it at, because they had improperly potted it with extremely poor drainage. I didn't at all know what I was doing, and when repotting it after it was already in decline, found muddy, smelly soil at the bottom of the first pot, with obviously rotting roots, but didn't trim off the sick roots and hoped the new soil would absorb the excess moisture, and transferred it into a too-large pot, etc etc. Anyway, lesson learned. This time, I repotted right away, in a medium sized pot, with a raised plastic grid at the bottom of the pot to allow for excellent drainage. Further, I'm using plant food once a week lightly mixed in water, and it's doing phenomenally! So happy! My question now relates to stimulating shoot growth. On my way home with this plant after purchase, it fell over in the back of my small car and the branches all broke off of one side of the plant. I would like an even growth on both sides. Since owning it about 2 months now, it's growing lots of new shoots, but unfortunately only on one side. Further, one of the 5 trunks on the barren side of the plant has no branches, shoots, or any indication of growth, yet is obviously green and alive. Pictures included. If only this trunk would grow leaves, it would even everything out perfectly. How can I stimulate leave growth on this trunk?

Trevor.

P.S. This thing won't let me post photos, 1 hr uploading, I give up.

When you say "branches" broke off, do you mean leaves broke off? Unfortunately, they seldom grow new leaves where the old leaves were, although it is possible if the tree has enough light and nutrients.

Keep turning your plant so that the light strikes all sides. That's about the best one can do.

Josh

Hi everyone- I'm hoping you can quell my fears and share some advice. My husband and I planted this tree together in our wedding ceremony but we have had a series of struggles and now I'm very worried it doesn't have another rebound in it. The other trunks in the braid died because the soil we put it in was too heavy (which I learned from forums after it was too late). So we put the last living trunk in water to shoot new roots and thankfully it did and it grew new stems and leaves. But then my cat ate all the leaves recently! And when I pulled it out of the soil I realized there were yellow spores- maybe fungus or something. So I scraped the yellow off because the trunk wasn't mushy so I thought maybe it would be ok and put it in water. When now about a wake later I saw slimy looking stuff floating around the bottom of the trunk and took it and the bottom was squishy and smelled bad. So since I knew that meant it was rot, I cut a huge chunk off and scraped off anything that looked remotely bad. I'm encouraged that there is still green around the bottom when I scraped and the inside is white- which I hope is good. It's in water and I'm hoping it shoots more roots. Is there anything else I can do? Is there hope?

Do you have any hydrogen peroxide (3%)? If you do, spray some at the cut wound and pour a few drops into the water in which the plant is rooting. It'll help keep further rot/infections at bay.

Is it next to a window? I would provide it with a good amount of light so that green stem can photosynthesize.

Hi. I have had this money tree for 17 months and I repotted it about 3 months ago. It seemed ok and I changed the pot today to one with better drainage and that's when I noticed that my plant barely has roots. This is a current pic

and where the plant is located. I also moved it down from the light because one of the leaves died. They just fell one by one until the stem fell out. Is this bad? How or what should I do to stimulate root growth. I really don't won't my plant to die. Please help.

A very bad indication, indeed.

First, the plant is starving for light. They need to be against a window indoors, or else they'll fail to thrive.

The lack of roots could be an indicator of a heavy, moisture-retentive potting mix that doesn't allow proper drainage and aeration. It's good that you've switched to a container with drainage, but the mix must offer drainage as well.

If you can get the plant to May, providing good light, I would re-pot into a porous bark-based mix.

Josh

Hi Josh.

Thank you for the response.

I understand what you are saying, the tree needs sunlight but will it go into shock? A window will be significantly hotter and the tree has been growing in this spot under florescent lighting for 17 months - it grew 24inches taller. When I repotted it I changed the soil and the pot was about 3 inched wider around. You mentioned bark base mix - is a peat moss mix the same? Do I have to wait until May to change the soil? Do I remove all the soil from the tree base or leave some of the old soil on it?

Debra

No, the tree won't go into shock...it will do much better.

Peat moss and bark are not the same. Thick of an Orchid Mix, mostly bark, with a bit of perlite added. Really fast drainage and aeration.

You will remove as much of the old mix as possible.

Josh

Hello Forum,

I have a Pachira plant that is around five years old or so. It has grown pretty tall and has been generally happy until recently the leaves have started changing and dropping. It has been happening to a lot of the leaves and 'm getting concerned the tree is dying. I have not been over watering through the winter and the plant is next to a shaded window. Any idea what i causing this pattern of leaf death?

Thanks!

Mineral build up, lack of light, et cetera....

Can't tell much from the image.

Josh

Tjanks Josh... Low light is possible because it was a bit of a dark winter, but that is changing with the onset of spring. What can be done about potential mineral buildup?

Flush the mix thoroughly by running fresh water through the mix. You'll want to pass about 7X the volume of the container through the mix.

Josh

Hi again.

Re: plant repotted - that's when I noticed there were little to no roots.

Since our conversation last week. I moved the plant next to a window and it appears to be doing good, no limp limbs or wilting leaves.

My question...how can I tell when the plant needs water? During repotting I also noticed that the soil on top was dry to the touch but the other half, from the middle of the 8 inch pot to the bottom, was moist. I remember you telling me to wait until May to repot and change the soil mixture to something more barky with perlite. Until then, I need help with knowing when to water to avoid over watering and allow root growth.

Debra

Hello!

Use a wooden chopstick or kabob skewer, stuck all the way into the pot, to measure the amount of moisture in the lower layers of the pot. You will need to keep the upper inches moist - not wet - by watering lightly but more frequently, until the roots have grown again.

Josh

Hi. My plant is doing much better Re: regrowing roots but now I have a question concerning the leaves. Four of them have spots and one of the leaves has a sticky dot on the back like sap. Is this normal? See attached picture of leaf and tree.

The sticky leaf is probably normal, as long as you don't see any pests. Just wipe the leaves off to clean them.

Have you fertilized your tree yet?

Josh

Ok. No I haven't. What should I use?

@AL (tapla)

Hi - I live in zone 10b. I know that you mentioned that the ideal time to prune a money tree is during summer solstice but it's always mild here that I am contemplating on pruning my money tree to encourage bushier growth.

I also was in the process of moving over the summer that I did not want to stress the plant out by pruning it before it could adjust to it's new home.

Do you think it is ok to prune it now or should I wait until spring? Also, I am aware that the angle of the cut can influence the direction of new growth. Could you elaborate on that further and provide examples so I can plan my cuts accordingly?

Thank you!

A.

While it is late in the season to be pruning, your zone will certainly help th recovery. The key is to provide strong light, so that the new growth will be sturdy and compact....otherwise you'll just end up with lanky branches that haven't improved the form or function of the tree. And, as you know, Money Trees really like to grow upward!

With Money Trees, I don't think the angle of the cut is going to change much. It's quite difficult to encourage more than a single new branch from a cut, unless the tree is mature (thick trunk caliper), in strong health, or receiving a LOT of light on its trunk.

Josh

Hello, everyone,

I was hoping one of you could tell me what is going on with my money tree, and why it grows significantly differently from my fiancee's. My plant seems to want to grow all of its leaf clusters from the same node, to the point that there is no more room and the leaves get tangled and gnarly. Her plant grows each leaf cluster from a new node. I don't know if I can really adequately describe it so I think it is better to just insert a couple pictures. The first will be of both plants together. The next two will show the gnarled leaves and and a detail shot of the nodes that look like bunches of bananas.

Any ideas about what is going on?

Hi. I emailed awhile back about my pachira plant. It is starting to grow out of control...again. Where would you cut this and when?

Hi,

First of all this is a great thread - thanks to all.

We have had our money tree since 2011 and its grown wonderfully. Its about 6 ft with 5 main branches. We are now moving from CA to CO and would very much like to take it with us, but in order to do so we will have to prune it back significantly in order for it to fit in our car.

I can see from older posts that pruning it can be ok, but my question is - can top off 4 of the 5 branches, drive it for 2 days and hope that it revives in the new place. It will have plenty of light once we get there - but I hope moving it doesn't kill it.

We'll have to top off all but the shortest branch to get it into our car. We could leave the stalks of some of the others, but I don't know if that's a good idea.

I've posted a picture of the plant in case that helps anyone give me some advice.

It will be fine. We did that when we moved to Fl. from Ny. Mine was very big, about 8-10 ft. I cut it back to fit in the car. Left it in the big pot but tied up the pot with large plastic contractor bag to keep the soil from coming out. Laid it on its side in the car. Spent 3 days there in very hot conditions, but we’d park in the shade, turn the AC on before going to bed in the motel. It was fine.

This is a good time for your plant as it’s spring and the tree will leaf out beautifully. We drove a Ford Explorer, with the Pachira, and about 50 orchids, three Plumerias and a large Ti plant.

All made the journey alive and healthy.

Jane

Thanks Jane! That's helpful.

I was wondering if someone could help me please. My 3yo destroyed mine. Tore off all the leaves and all but one branch. Will it survive and what should I use to help it? I was told fish fertalizer. I’m thinking new branches won’t grow because the cut ones don’t?! If that the case I literally only have one possible branch left for leaves to re grow on. I’m so sad about this I’ve had this tree about 5 years

Just give it lots of light and it should backbud.

Josh

UPS dropped a package on my plant! :( it happened about 2 weeks ago or so.

The stem was bent pretty bad and is quite damaged... some leaves are turning a bit yellow and some still look ok.

Any advice on what I can do (if anything) to try to save it?

thanks!

Hello!

Can anyone advice me on how to save my plant, it started to turn like this and is now even the tiny small new grown leafs are turning this way.

(Its turning lighter at the edges or better way of saying this, its drying starting from the edges)

I don't know what to do!

Hi! I’m sure someone can help me! This tree was full and beautiful. Then I gave it new soil and I think it was over fertilized! From the bottom to about half way up, the leaves turned brown and fell off including the stems. Top I saved somehow.

Does anyone know how to get the mid-section to grow back or should I just cut it back down and start over? I cut the second stem a few days ago and waiting for it to bud! What’s the guarantee it will grow back? Help! We’ve had this tree some 2007!

So all the leaves on the stem of the plant that the UPS person broke were going bad due to the damage probably blocking them from being fed properly.

Anyway, yesterday I noticed that I had a new growth below the broken part! Pretty resilient!

I can't wait to see it grow...

Excellent, now it'll have at least two branches. Very good.

Josh

I cut mine frequently because it gets too tall. Each cut produces two new branches. Those branches grow quickly and they get cut. These trees want to grow tall.

Jane

I can't believe I just read all of this, but i'm so happy I did! You are all fantastic.

Hello everyone!! What a fantastic thread. I’m hoping you might be so kind as to provide some advice. I would like to cut my pachira down closer to the Woody trunk. Looks like I should do this around June. Any other advice? Can I just cut it back to where it has no leaves at all? Very nervous to do this wrong! Thank you for the feedback.

More photos below. I have also moved the plant to a brighter spot, so that will hopefully improve the situation as well!

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@HU-126778299 hello! I had to use google translate.

Are you asking about splitting the trunks in two, separating them?

It's just about Pachira season, and I'm preparing to chop mine down and repot it!

Josh