Welcome Sanjna, both to this country and forum. You're right this is a wonderful community and very helpful. I don't have a pachira yet but I've seen several posts here lately about them so, while you are waiting for responses, search this forum for "money tree". There is one in particular--one of the ones about a sick money tree with a really good link to pachira that tells you all about it. Plus all the previous responses in prior posts should help. Good luck, Sandy

Hi there and welcome aboard!

I recently killed my tree:-(
I believe I overwatered it and it started to get soft and mushy at the base of the stem. It lost most of it's leaves and eventually died. I've learned since that they like to be on the dryer side and in fairly small pots.(for their size) I don't think that I will buy another one....tooo fussy for me!

Hope someone here can give you more hopeful advise for your tree!
Diane

THanks Diane and Breenthumb. Sorry Diane to hear about your tree. Actually I was feeling about for rot and this yucky centipede came out of the soil. (long with gazillion legs each side.)I'm wondering if it's the culprit. ANy thoughts on whether that could do it and how to ease the worm into it's next incarnation?!!

Hi, so I'm posting what I did with my Pachira money tree in the hope that I did the right thing and if not ppl will know what NOT to do with theirs!

It was looking almost dead (droopy to the max, translucent) so I rolled it out of it's pot to look at the roots. The soil was very moist and around the roots was all compacted - took the shape of the pot at the bottom.) So I knocked the soil gently off the roots and found lots of dead rootlets in the soil, all black. Also the actual roots were really small - only about 3 inches off the base and very thin - i was really surprised by that I guess I've never seen roots before and thought they'd be solid looking. but they didn't look terrible.

also some rotted stuff from the trunk (long story) was rolled around in there. Basically a lot of STUFF in the soil, so I washed the roots a bit, cleared the junk out of the soil and replanted it. voila. I should have taken a pic of the roots but I remembered just as I had finished putting the soil back in. I'll let you know if I killed it even more by doing this...thanks forum.

Hello Sanja, sorry as well to hear about your Pachira (money) tree. I have a few and so far have been quite successful with them. I mist the leaves regularly with a spray bottle and water it from the bottom once a month. I was given this information from an oriental gardner who insisted this was the only way to take care of these plants. I hope this helps....

George

Thanks George. I'm afraid its too late and my money tree is No More. Maybe it missed being surrounded by artifacts of the Tang dynasty. My dynasty's pretty old but definitely cannot compete!
I think the gardner's advice was right. Also that the roots are shallow and dont need a very tall pot. Glad they've worked for you. I am trying to root the stem of mine so let's see! I also gave my boyfriend one for his birthday in March. He forgets to water it constantly. I end up doing it when I go over. He has it sitting on a table (S/W window) and ignores it totally. And wouldn't you know it's growing like a weed, beautiful dark green, MUCH prettier than when I bought it from the nursery, and he and his roommate have endless laughs about this. It is soooo frustrating!!!!!

My 5 ft Pachira is shedding its leaves. First they turn yellow and then brown. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I've been careful in watering the plant as I was instructed. About a month ago I noticed that it had pests, and I got rid of them - at least I think so. I mist the leaves twice a week. I even bought a plant light that gives blue light; I live in Finland where there is hardly any sunlight at this time of year. I've been browsing the net and have noticed that many people have the same problem with their pachiras, but I haven't found out what's wrong with the plant and what to do about it.

I have one of these with a few leaves at the top. Is it possible that some of these lesser-known house plants are deciduous i.e. lose their leaves in winter or in less hours of daylight or whatever and that if we cut down on watering a bit and leave them alone they will start to leaf out again in January when the days get longer? My plumerias do that and several others. But they do look silly with just a stick poking out of the pot.

I bought a money tree about two months ago and it seemed to be doing ok and then all of a sudden kt lost several leaves. It still has a lot of leaves on it. Is it normal for them to lose leaves like that?

Across, it's normal to lose some leaves as the seasons change, but 1. make sure not to overwater and 2 check for insects. Just to be on the safe side.
Did you repot since you bought it? Pachira's like to be a bit potbound, and never left soggy. Soil has to dry between waterings..
But I'm jumping the gun here..most likely you're losing leaves because of seasons. Toni

Thanks Toni. Yes, I did repot it when I bought it. I put it in a container that was about 1" bigger. The tree is about 4 1/2 ft. tall. I hope you are right and it is losing leaves because of the season change! Amy

I bought a money tree at the last Lunar New Year and have been keeping it in the office ever since. I water it every other day or two, when the top soil feels dry, with Grow More 20-20-20 diluted in water. I repotted it several months ago into a 4" pot, using the mix I use for AVs. It has since grown well, top leaves larger than the bottom leaves. I want to braid it... but am afraid to break the trunk. I'd appreciate if any of us here could share the trick. Here's pic of my tree

{{gwi:107382}}

Thanks for looking.

the leaves of my money tree are turning brown and swiveling up. what does this mean? can someone help? thnx!

Cinwen - start your own thread... and tell us how you're growing it - light, temp., humidity, soil mix, etc. etc.