Gadenin日本語Get the appYellow leaves are nearly always too much water
Pachira aquatica grows a thickened trunk that stores water, so the plant carries its own reserve and can go a long time without a drink. That reserve is why it survives neglect and why it dies so readily in the hands of an attentive owner. Watering a plant that already has water in the trunk and wet compost around the roots is the single commonest way a money tree is lost.
The damage shows first as whole leaves going evenly yellow, low down and on the inside of the canopy, then dropping while still soft. Look at the fallen leaf. A soft, limp, uniformly yellow leaf came off a plant that was too wet. A crisp leaf with brown edges came off one that was too dry.
| What you see | Most likely cause | What to do now |
|---|---|---|
| Lower leaves evenly yellow, soft, dropping | Compost staying wet too long | Stop watering, check the pot drains, wait until dry two inches down |
| Brown crisp edges, leaves curling inward | Left dry far too long, or dry air near a heater | Water thoroughly until it runs out of the base, then resume normal intervals |
| Black or dark brown patches spreading from the leaf base | Root rot already under way | Unpot it and look at the roots the same day |
| Trunk soft or spongy when pressed | Rot inside the stem | Cut back to firm tissue, or take cuttings from healthy growth |
| Leaves drop with no color change at all | A sudden move, a cold draft or a big light change | Leave it in one place and water normally, it will releaf |
Press the trunk with a thumb. A healthy money tree trunk is firm like a piece of wood. Any give, softness or wrinkling at soil level means rot, and no change to watering will reverse it on its own.
Water by how dry the pot is, not by a day of the week
The right method is soak and dry. Water until it pours freely from the drainage holes, then do not water again until the compost is dry two inches (5 cm) down. That interval might be five days in a warm bright room in summer and four weeks in a cool room in winter, and both are correct.
The figures below are for a plant in a pot around eight inches (20 cm) across. A smaller pot, a terracotta pot or a bright warm position all shorten the interval. A large plastic pot in a dim corner lengthens it, sometimes dramatically.
| Season | Room temperature | Typical interval | How to water |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 60 to 75F (15 to 24C) | Every 7 to 10 days | Soak until it drains, then empty the saucer |
| Summer | Above 75F (24C) | Every 5 to 7 days | Morning, and check the pot weight before you pour |
| Autumn | 60 to 70F (15 to 21C) | Every 10 to 14 days | Stretch the interval week by week as growth slows |
| Winter | 50 to 60F (10 to 15C) | Every 3 to 4 weeks | A mild morning, tepid water, reduce frequency not volume |
How to check the pot properly
The surface of the compost dries within a day and tells you almost nothing about what is happening around the roots. Use two of these checks together and you will not overwater.
- Finger to the second knuckle Push a finger straight down at the edge of the pot. If it is cool and damp at your fingertip, wait. Dry and crumbly all the way down means water. This is the fastest check and the most reliable in a pot under ten inches (25 cm).
- Learn the weight of the pot Lift the pot straight after a full watering and again a week later. The difference is obvious once you have felt it. Weight tells you what is happening in the whole pot, not just at one spot, and it works in any size of container.
- Leave a wooden skewer in Push a skewer two thirds of the way down near the rim and pull it out to read it. Dark and damp means wait. This is the only easy way to know what a deep or wide pot is doing in the middle.
- Empty the saucer every time Tip away anything standing under the pot within half an hour. Water left in a saucer or in a decorative outer pot keeps the bottom inch of compost permanently wet, and that is where root rot and fungus gnats both begin.
Cutting back for winter
Below about 60F (15C) a money tree stops growing and stops drinking. The compost can stay wet for a month, and watering on a summer rhythm through that period is what kills more of these plants than any pest. Halve the frequency in autumn and halve it again once the room is cool.
Use water at room temperature. Cold water straight from the tap into a cool pot chills the roots and slows recovery. Water in the morning so the surface has dried by the time the room cools at night.
If the room drops below 50F (10C), move the plant somewhere warmer before you change anything about the watering. Watering a cold plant makes rot faster, not slower.
What to write down
Record the date of every watering for one full year, along with which room the plant was in. After a year you can look back and see the real intervals your home produces in each season, which is worth more than any general rule. Note the date any leaf yellowed or dropped as well, because the cause almost always sits seven to fourteen days earlier in your watering log rather than on the day the leaf fell.