Money Tree in the North: Water It with This Once a Month and Leaves Will Grow Like Crazy, Stay Lush Green, with No Root Rot or Yellow Leaves

Compared with the South, the North really is not easy for growing money trees. They tend to get yellow leaves and root rot easily, and this has a lot to do with the climate. Money trees like a warm, humid environment and are originally a southern tree species, so growing a money tree well in the North takes much more effort than in the South. But it is not impossible to grow money trees well in the North either. You need to pay attention to the following points.

Plant Selection

In the North, growing a smaller money tree is easier to keep alive than growing a large one, because a small money tree is easy to manage and adapts quickly. A large money tree has a harder time adapting to the environment and can easily die not long after you buy it. If you have no experience growing money trees, it is best to first buy a small one to practice with. Even if it dies, you will not feel too bad, since a small one is much cheaper than a large one. A large money tree costs several hundred yuan, and if it dies within less than a month of bringing it home, nobody would feel good about it.

Light

The air in the North is relatively dry. When growing money trees, in early spring and late autumn you can let them get some sun, and in winter when sunlight is plentiful you can give them more sun. But in summer you absolutely must not put them in the sun; keep them in bright indirect light, otherwise the leaves will easily turn yellow. The air humidity in the North is inherently low, and when exposed to sun the leaves transpire more strongly, so the leaves will become dull and then dry up.

Watering

Money trees hate waterlogging, and watering is the same as in the South: do not water if the potting soil is not dry. But unlike in the South, when growing money trees in the North you must mist the leaves and the surrounding environment frequently to increase humidity and keep the leaves emerald green. For example, in weather like now, daytime temperatures in the North can reach around 20 degrees, so after 10 a.m. you should mist the money tree leaves once. By summer, if you have time, you can mist two to three times a day. If you mist too little, the leaves turn yellow or their edges dry out. If your home has heating in winter, misting is still a must. You can also place a basin of water nearby, which can help at least a little.

Temperature

When growing money trees in the North, be careful about cold protection. When the temperature drops below 10 degrees, money trees are easily chilled. The North has large temperature swings; sometimes in summer it is 7 to 8 degrees in the morning and 30 degrees at noon, so even in the middle of summer a money tree can get cold damage and yellow leaves. This means we should keep money trees indoors rather than outdoors. Especially in early spring and late autumn, be sure to pay attention: for money trees, a large temperature difference is not a good thing, while a small temperature difference can actually help them grow better.

Winter Care

Growing money trees in the North is quite hard in winter, so I will talk about winter issues separately. Generally many households have heating, so temperature is not a problem, but humidity is very low, so again, you need to mist in winter. Note: mist on clear days, and do not mist on cloudy days! Also, do not fertilize money trees in winter! Most importantly, in winter in the North do not put money trees next to radiators or stoves, and keep them away from heat sources! Some flower lovers put their plants next to the radiator in winter, and no matter how they care for them the plants stay sickly. Flowers and plants are not cats; they do not like hot places!

Control Soil pH

If you grow money trees in the North and often water them directly with tap water, it is best to water them once a month with ferrous sulfate. Both soil and water in the North tend to be alkaline, and money trees like slightly acidic soil. Too high a pH is also bad for money tree growth! Alternatively, when cooking rice, save the rice-washing water, ferment it, and then use it to water the money tree.

Growing money trees also requires ventilation. Whether in the South or the North, ventilation is the second most important point for preventing root rot! The difficulty of growing money trees in the North lies in insufficient environmental humidity; everything else is fine. So you cannot be lazy; you must take increasing environmental humidity seriously.