Who doesn’t love money trees? And if you want to know how to take care of a money tree, then read this article for your complete Money tree care guide.
It’s no surprise that the Money Tree plant is so popular, as it is frequently connected with good fortune and prosperity. They look unique and cute with their braided stems and lush, glossy dark green leaves.
It is believed to be a native plant from China but is now popularly grown worldwide, especially in Taiwan and Hawaii, as a bonsai tree plant. Due to their positive vibes, they are commonly given as a present at weddings, housewarmings, birthdays, and other important occasions.
Every stem typically includes five to six leaves. It is believed to be very lucky if it has seven leaves. Thus, to get lucky and other benefits, we must know how to take care of a money tree. So our gardens will have a bit of extra life and greenery.
What is the Significance of the Money Tree?
Like other plants, they generate oxygen for us, give beauty to our surroundings, and have positive energy. Interacting with them relieves our tension.
They are popular in homes or businesses because they can thrive with little maintenance.
According to folklore, once upon a time, a farmer prayed for luck and fame, and these plants appeared in his field; by cultivating and selling them, he became wealthy and named this tree money as a tribute to all the prosperity it brought.
Traditional Chinese practitioners also revered money tree plants since they frequently grow five leaves on a stalk. According to them, the earth comprises five elements: fire, soil, water, wood, and metals.
How to Give Proper Attention and Care to our Money Tree
Because the plant requires low maintenance, paying them attention and care isn’t too challenging. However, a few circumstances that they perceive are harmful to their health.
You will be blessed by the blooming fresh green garden if you understand how to pay attention to their needs and take good care of them.
Basic Requirements of Your Money Tree
Planting a money tree indoors requires optimal light, nutrient moisture, and a humid environment. Let’s briefly describe how much:
| Soil quality requirement | It needs to be acidic to neutral in p.H and well drained with water |
| Sunlight requirement | It needs bright but indirect light |
| Water requirement | Water it thoroughly every one to two weeks, allowing the soil to dry 2 to 4 inches before you water it again. |
| Humidity requirement | They grow well in a warm and humid environment |
| Temperature requirement | Minimum 65 to maximum 75 degrees Fahrenheit |
| Nutrient requirement | Fertilize them with a good house plant fertilizer every year |
Care Tips for your Money tree
They require additional care from a plant to a tree in their development period, and we need to take extra care of them until they develop their strong root and shoot system and survive in low maintenance.
There are a few tips that will support you in their early development phases:
1. Selection of Soil:
As we have described earlier, they need soil with low to neutral p.H. They love slightly acidic soil, so select a well-drained acidic to neutral soil. You can even use Peat moss as a starting growing medium as a good alternative.
Also, check- Soil Degradation Causes, How to add nitrogen to soil, Calcium
Once stable, shift those in a bigger pot as repotting them will benefit their growth. Water them only when the soil appears dry.
They usually need to be replanted after two years. Pick a good pot double in size compared to the previous one, and ensure it has a drainage hole to allow excess water to drain away.
2. Give them Ample Growing Space:
As discussed above, we must repot or plant them in bigger pots to allow their roots to spread quickly and absorb water and nutrients.
Make sure they have fertilizers and other natural composite materials mixed into their potting mix inside their growing spaces, whether you planted them indoors or outdoors. The pot size needs to double when planting and replanting them.
Those who wanted to develop them in bonsai generally gave them limited space and practiced grafting, root reduction, defoliation, pruning, and repotting them in new pots.
3. Give them the Right Amount of Light:
Even though the Money Tree could handle direct sunshine when planted outside, it prefers 6 hours of bright to moderate indirect light each day when cultivated inside.
Make sure your plants are shifted from time to time between indoor and outdoor areas for better growth. When you water them, ensure they are not subjected to direct sunlight, as this can also damage their roots and burn their leaves.
They can also endure fluorescent lights; therefore, you must install one in your workplace so they can grow using them.
4. Give them the Right Amount of Water:
They mostly like to grow in saturated soil but are prone to root rot when continuously flooded; thus, water them weekly or biweekly once their soil is dry again.
Make sure their growing pots have holes and a saucer at their bottom to contain excess water, which you can remove, or they will reabsorb when required on extra warm days.
In winter, these saucers include pebbles so the plants will produce humidity due to transpiration in dry winter weather.
5. Give them the Right Amount of Nutrients:
Liquid fertilizer is normally recommended for nourishing them. You can use banana peel water or cooked tea wastewater without any sugar.
Direct tea can also be mixed in their soil for fertilization. Even though you can prepare compost tea by boiling tea in water at a ratio of 1:5, manure water is also a perfect soil option for acidic soil.
Always fertilize them in summer. Instead of using chemical fertilizers bi-yearly or yearly, utilize these liquid fertilizers once a month for their tremendous growth.
6. Maintain their Optimum Temperature:
As we have described, they require a minimum of 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit temperature for their growth. So we must maintain this optimum temperature with the help of air conditioners in our growing spaces.
Maintain 50% moisture in the growing environment with the help of a humidifier so that our lush green trees can grow quickly.
7. Maintain their General Growth:
Tree trimming involves clipping off the stems where new growth will appear later. They are also braided to ensure they remain flexible and grow beautifully in their places.
Gardeners also trim them from top to bottom, so they attain a lot of height while growing indoors. Trimming also helps them to get different designs and shapes.
8. Protect them from Pest Attacks:
The most common pest attacks are spider mites, mealybugs, flies, and aphids. As a result, our leaves turn yellow and eventually die.
Yellowing or wilting of the leaves also indicates the roots are attracted by fungus; to control fungus, avoid over watering them. To control general pests, spray them with soap water or neem oil.
How to Propagate them from Stem Cuttings?
During the summer or spring, when your plant is developing, use a sharp knife to detach a four-inch long stem with a few new leaf nodes. As per your choice, plant them in soil, compost, or pure water till they develop roots.
Once the roots have developed entirely in a month or less, transfer them to a new and bigger pot and shift them to a place with optimum conditions for their growth.
How to Prevent them from Root Rot?
Root rot is a disorder in which a pathogen causes the roots to deteriorate and die due to excess water that their roots cannot absorb.
When feeding your money tree, verify that there is no excess water in the pot and plate that is kept beneath the drainage holes. Remove it so plant roots won’t get spoiled.
FAQS of money tree care guide
Q: Can We Mist Our Money Tree Daily?
Yes, you can mist their leaves daily for cleaning, but avoid feeding or misting their soil daily.
Q: Do Money Trees Harm Our Pets?
They won’t harm them but can face stomach issues if they ingest their leaves in large quantities.
Q: When Can We Fertilize Our Money Tree?
Try to fertilize them in summer for good growth.
Q: Where Should We Plant Our Money Tree?
You can place them both indoors and outdoors in your offices and home.
It is suggested to keep south of your location to bring luck to Chinese traditionalists.
Q: For How Many Years Can Our Money Tree Survive?
Their lifespan generally ranges from 15 to 30 years with proper care.
Q: How Much Sunlight Does A Money Tree Require?
You can provide indirect sunlight to them for six hours daily.
Q: Which Fertilizer Is Best For Our Money Tree?
Liquid fertilizers consisting of tea and coffee are best for them due to their higher nitrogen and acidic nature.
Q: Do Money Trees Clean The Air?
Yes, it is scientifically proven that they reduce pollution from the air and provide fresh air to its cultivators.
Final Words
Money trees are remarkable, to say the least. Hence, we believe we must plant these beautiful trees in our gardens for a clean environment, positive vibes, and good fortune.
To grow them successfully, we must know how to take care of a money tree through nourishment and solutions to its issues.
My name is Olivia, and I live in the United States and love having plants in my garden. Lots of plants are there on my balcony, indoor and outdoor garden also. Here I am trying to share useful gardening tips, how to grow and care for various plants, etc.
