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How to Care for a Japanese Money Tree
How to Care for a Japanese Money Tree. Japanese money trees, known botanically as Pachira aquatica, are ornamental houseplants that are said to bring good luck and great wealth to their owners. Money trees rose to popularity in the 1980s when a Taiwanese couple began braiding the trunks of multiple trees together and selling them as low-maintenance...
Japanese money trees, known botanically as Pachira aquatica, are ornamental houseplants that are said to bring good luck and great wealth to their owners. Money trees rose to popularity in the 1980s when a Taiwanese couple began braiding the trunks of multiple trees together and selling them as low-maintenance houseplants. Japanese money trees thrive in low-light conditions and perform well indoors with very little care.
Things You'll Need
Watering can
Shallow tray
Decorative pebbles
Houseplant fertilizer
Grow your Japanese money tree in a temperature-controlled room that is kept between 60 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
Position the tree within 8 feet of a window that can provide it with a minimum of four hours of bright, indirect sunlight each day. It can thrive under fluorescent lighting.
Give the tree a thorough watering about once a week. Use the moisture of the soil as a guide; allow the top 1 inch of soil to dry to the touch between watering. Reduce the frequency of watering during the winter months when the plant is dormant.
Increase the humidity in your home to make the Japanese money tree more comfortable. Set the tree's planting container on a shallow tray filled with pebbles and water.
Apply a light fertilizer throughout the growing season. Use a half-strength solution of a balanced, water-soluble houseplant fertilizer every other time the tree is watered or every two weeks. Cease fertilizing during the winter.
Prune any discolored, damaged, diseased or dead leaves from the tree to keep it looking healthy and attractive.
Tips & Warnings
Move your Japanese money tree to a larger planting container every two years. When repotting a money tree, plant it at the same height it was growing in its previous container and use a well-drained, sandy potting mix, such as for cactus.
A Japanese money tree can be grown as a bonsai, if you wish, with regular pruning. Pinch or prune off the growing tips.
Make sure that the container you use has drainage holes or else the roots of your Japanese money tree may rot if it is left to sit in standing water.
