Money Tree care guide
Pachira aquatica
Easy care✅ 🐾
Money Tree (Pachira aquatica) does best when watered about every 7 days. Let the top 2–3 cm of soil dry out before watering again; adjust the rhythm to season and light.
Place it in bright indirect light. Humidity needs are average room. The comfortable temperature range is 16–27°C. During the growing season, feed it about every 30 days.
Care difficulty: easy — great for beginners.
✅ Pet safety: Money Tree is non-toxic to cats and dogs — non-toxic.
The money tree is usually sold as three to five slim trunks braided together, and that braid is the key to caring for it: each trunk is a separate plant, so one can rot or die while the others stay healthy. Despite the name aquatica, which comes from its swampy native riverbanks, a potted pachira hates wet feet, and the classic way to lose one is a trunk that turns soft at the soil line from overwatering. The swollen base stores water, so it copes with a missed watering much better than with too much. Water about every 7 days once the soil has dried well, give it bright indirect light and 16–27°C. It is non-toxic, which makes it one of the safer choices for homes with cats, dogs and small children.
Common problems and fixes
Money tree trunk soft or mushy at the base
Why: Root and trunk rot from soil that stays wet, a pot without drainage or water left in a decorative outer pot. It starts at the soil line and often in just one trunk of the braid.
What to do: Press each trunk: if one is soft, unpot the plant, cut the dead trunk out at the root and repot the healthy ones in fresh, fast-draining soil. Water only when the top half of the pot is dry.
Money tree leaves turning yellow
Why: Several yellow leaves at once, especially lower ones, usually mean overwatering. A single old leaf yellowing now and then is normal.
What to do: Check the soil a few centimetres down before every watering and let it dry more between drinks. Always empty the saucer or cachepot 15 minutes after watering.
Money tree dropping leaves after moving
Why: A change of light or a cold draft. Pachira often sheds a few leaves when brought home from the shop or moved to a new room.
What to do: Pick a bright spot out of direct midday sun and keep it there. New leaves will come from the trunk tops within a few weeks.
Brown crispy leaf tips on a money tree
Why: Dry air from radiators, or soil left bone dry for too long in summer.
What to do: Keep it away from heating vents and water thoroughly when the soil has dried. Trim the brown tips with clean scissors, following the leaf shape.
Money tree leaning and growing long thin stems
Why: Not enough light. Pachira stretches towards the window and the new leaves come out small and pale.
What to do: Move it to a brighter spot with indirect light and turn the pot a quarter every couple of weeks. Cut leggy stems back in spring to make it bushier.
Care through the seasons
☀️ Spring and summer
In spring and summer the money tree grows actively, pushing out new hand-shaped leaves from the tops of the trunks. Water about every 7 days once the soil is dry a few centimetres down, feed every 30 days, and prune any overly long shoots. If the braid was tied with a wire or plastic tie, remove it now: the trunks thicken and the tie will cut into the bark.
❄️ Autumn and winter
In autumn and winter pachira grows slowly and drinks much less, so the risk of rot rises sharply. Water only when the soil is dry most of the way down, skip fertilizer until March and keep the room at 16°C or warmer, away from radiators and cold window glass. A few leaves yellowing in low winter light is normal; soft trunks are not.
How to propagate
Pachira roots well from stem cuttings taken in spring or summer. Cut a 15–20 cm green tip with at least two nodes, remove the lower leaves and root it in water or in a moist mix of peat and perlite at 22–25°C. Roots usually take 4–6 weeks.
A cutting grows as a single slim stem; it won't develop the swollen base of a nursery plant for years. Braided trunks are made by planting several young plants together while their stems are still flexible and twisting them gradually over time.
Pruned tops can be rooted the same way, so trimming a leggy plant in spring gives you new plants at the same time.
Tips from experience
- Squeeze each trunk of the braid now and then: firm is healthy, soft means rot.
- Remove any tie holding the braid together so it doesn't cut into growing trunks.
- Use a pot with drainage holes and never leave water standing in the cachepot.
- It is non-toxic, so it is a good choice for homes with pets and children.
- Plantik can remind you to check the soil about every 7 days, so you water when it is dry rather than by habit.
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▸How often should I water Money Tree?
About every 7 days. In winter or lower light, stretch the interval; in hot bright rooms, shorten it slightly. Always check the soil first.
▸What light does Money Tree need?
Money Tree prefers bright indirect light, with a comfortable range of 16–27°C.
▸Is Money Tree toxic to cats and dogs?
No, it is considered safe for cats and dogs. Non-toxic.
▸How often should I fertilize Money Tree?
Roughly every 30 days during spring and summer; pause or halve feeding in winter.
▸Can I save a money tree with one rotten trunk?
Usually yes. Each trunk in the braid is a separate plant, so cut out the soft one at the root and repot the healthy trunks in fresh soil.
▸How often should I water a money tree?
About every 7 days in the growing season, when the top few centimetres of soil are dry. In winter water less often, since overwatering is the main cause of rot.
▸Is the money tree safe for cats and dogs?
Yes. Pachira aquatica is non-toxic to pets and people.
▸Will my money tree trunk get thicker?
Slowly. The swollen base forms over years in bright light, and braided trunks thicken very little once they are in a small pot.