If you’re looking for something to add a little greenery and floral vim to your home or garden, a money tree is an attractive option. Scientifically known as Pachira Aquatica, this novel houseplant has been proclaimed to bring ‘luck and prosperity’ to your home along with an aesthetic aura.
It is a low-maintenance plant that remains happy with a little watering and feeding. However, it is sensitive to temperature and sunlight requirements. To learn more about its nurturing techniques, read below:
Sunlight
Money tree plants are tolerant to mild levels of indirect sunlight. As an indoor plant, it likes being placed in front of a brightly lit window. It likes being preserved from long-term exposures to full-sun as an outdoor plant as it can damage its leaves. Rotate your plant every once in a while so that equal lightning reaches the leaves.
A money tree can also adapt to artificial light conditions, but only under high intensity. Grow lamps that require metal halide or high-pressure sodium bulbs are perfect for them to bloom.
Watering
Your money tree requires deep but infrequent watering. The key is to water thoroughly a few times a month or whenever the soil seems dry. Focus on saturating the root zone with water rather than its leaves, stems, and trunks.
Make sure your plant is never standing in water; otherwise, be prepared for root rot. A good way of figuring out when to water it is by sticking your finger inside the pot up to your first knuckle. If it feels dry, water it thoroughly.
Temperature and Humidity
A money tree prefers living in a warm environment, but not a hot one. A temperature range of 60-75 °F (16-24 °C) is ideal for its growth. If you wish to move your plant from indoors to outdoors, keep it warm inside formerly, then transfer it outside. This helps the plant adapt to its new environment easily.
Since it comes from a wetland habitat, Pachira Aquatica needs moderate to high humidity. Keep the relative level at 50% or higher, plus daily mist your plant if you reside in a parched environment. You can also put it in a place where water is used frequently, like a bathroom or a kitchen.
Plant Nutrition
Feed your money tree with a balanced liquid fertilizer diluted to half of the recommended concentration on the package label. The half concentration is advised because it avoids the risk of burning leaves and other problems caused by extensive fertilizer amounts.
You need to fertilize your money plant every two weeks in the growing summer and spring seasons, but not in the dormant winter phase, where both watering and fertilizing should be reduced.
Toxicity
Money tree plants are mildly toxic, and this toxicity comes into action only when their leaves are ingested. In humans, it can lead to mouth and tongue swelling, or in extreme cases, diarrhea. Animals produce similar symptoms, but large amounts of ingestion can be lethal for them.
Air-Purifying
According to the NASA Clean Air study, the money tree is a powerful air-purifying plant that filters benzene, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene from the surrounding air.
Repotting
An indoor money tree can be repotted by transferring it to a drainage-holed pot and adding a peat moss based soil mix. Similarly, an outdoor money tree should be repotted in a frost-free climate under the shade of large trees with good drainage and soil of average fertility.
Additional Care
While reposition is preferred, try not to relocate your plant often since it causes leave dropping. But, no need to worry as it eventually adapts to its new environment.
Common Issues
Yellowing and shedding of leaves are the most common problems money tree keepers face, resulting from not keeping up with the watering and light requirements. Moreover, inconsistent soil moisture and extensive shipping can cause the plant to become cranky.
Diseases
Root rot, leaf blight, and scale insects are the common diseases a money tree suffers from, all of which are caused by overwatering, extensive sun exposure, not enough humidity, and underfeeding. They can cause the plant to wither or lose its vitality.
Final Thoughts
A money tree among your bonsai of plants will not only complement your garden but also bring luck and charm to you and your home. This ‘good-luck tree’ is easy to impress if one provides adequate light, watering, and food. So, it’s not that hard to keep your money tree happy.
