A Detailed Guide to the Daily Care and Management of the Money Tree
1. If you find dead leaves, remove them immediately; do not let them keep stealing nutrients from the healthy leaves.
2. Care should be appropriately strengthened. The money tree likes a moist climate, but watering should follow the right method; you cannot water so that some parts are dry and some are wet, as this will also cause dead leaves to form. It is best to use a spray bottle to mist it.
3. Pay more attention at ordinary times. The money tree likes light, but it cannot be placed in direct strong sunlight. If your money tree is still in direct sunlight, then move it inside quickly; diffused light is preferable.
4. At ordinary times, also give the plant some nutrient solution to add more nutrients and prevent the leaves from turning yellow.
5. If the money tree is overwatered, the potting soil stays too wet for a long time, causing a lack of oxygen in the soil, which makes some fibrous roots rot, hindering normal respiration and the absorption of water and nutrients, and causing the leaves to turn yellow and fall off. If the money tree shows this kind of leaf drop, watering should be controlled immediately, fertilization paused, and the soil loosened frequently so that the soil is well aerated.
6. The money tree suffers from drought and dehydration. When growing flowers and plants, it is taboo to water so that the top is wet and the bottom is dry, as this likewise affects the plant's nutrient absorption and easily causes the leaves to become dull and lusterless and to wilt and droop. With the money tree, the lower old leaves turn yellow and fall first, and then the yellowing and falling gradually progress from bottom to top. At this point, water lightly and mist the plant so that the money tree gradually recovers, and then return to normal watering.
7. The money tree has gone without fertilizer for a long time. If no nitrogen fertilizer has been applied for a long time or the pot and soil have not been changed, the soil lacks nitrogen and other nutrient elements, causing the branches and leaves to become thin and weak, and the leaves to be thin and yellow. In this situation, directly repot the money tree in time, replace the soil with fresh, loose, fertile culture soil, and gradually apply more dilute, well-rotted liquid fertilizer or compound flower fertilizer.
8. The money tree has been overfertilized. If too much fertilizer is applied, new leaves will become thick and fleshy and mostly uneven, while old leaves dry at the tips, scorch yellow, and fall off. Fertilization should be stopped immediately, the amount of watering increased so that the fertilizer flows out through the drainage holes at the bottom of the pot, or the plant should be repotted immediately, the root ball rinsed with water, and then replanted in the pot.
9. Hot, high temperatures for the money tree. In summer, when the indoor air is excessively dry, if the money tree, which prefers cool conditions, is placed in a hot spot under direct strong light, the tips and margins of young leaves are very likely to scorch, or the leaves to turn yellow and fall off. The money tree should be moved promptly to a well-ventilated, shady place.
10. Excessive shade for the money tree. If the money tree, which likes sunlight, is kept for a long time in a shaded place or a spot with insufficient light, the branches and leaves will turn yellow.
11. The money tree is too crowded and lacks ventilation. If too much nitrogen fertilizer is applied to the money tree, the branches and leaves grow too luxuriantly, and if in addition it is not pruned for a long time, the inner branches and leaves do not get enough light, which easily causes the leaves to turn yellow and fall off. Fertilize reasonably and strengthen pruning so that it is well ventilated and lets light through.
A Brief Discussion of the Daily Care Methods for Potted Money Trees
Because of its auspicious name, the money tree is loved by many flower enthusiasts, and quite a few businesspeople grow money trees in their offices just for good luck. Today, the editor will tell you how exactly a potted money tree should be cared for.
The money tree likes high temperatures, humidity, and sunlight, and cannot be kept in shade for a long time. Therefore, during care and management it should be placed in a sunny spot indoors. When placing it, the leaf surfaces must face the sunlight. Otherwise, because the leaves grow toward the light, the whole branch and leaf structure will become distorted. The suitable growing temperature for a potted money tree is 20-30 degrees, and the indoor temperature in winter should be kept above 10 degrees. It is suitable for loose, fertile, well-drained, slightly acidic sandy loam soil. Common cultivated varieties include the small-leaf money tree and the large-flowered money tree.
Daily cultivation tips:
The money tree is a flowering plant that likes fertilizer, and its demand for fertilizer is greater than that of other common flowering plants. When repotting each year, fertilizer soil can make up 1/3 of the mix, or even more. Note that when fertilizing the money tree in spring and autumn, avoid too much nitrogen fertilizer to prevent the plant from growing leggy. Generally, apply nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer once every 15-20 days to promote thickening at the base. Fertilizer soil has a wide range of sources: you can collect leaf mold from the fallen leaves of broadleaf trees, add a little garden soil, and mix in some crushed bone meal and soybean cake residue. This fertilizer soil is highly effective, convenient, and easy to obtain, but it should be fully rotted, so as not to "burn" the leaves yellow. When watering during the growing period, you should both keep the potting soil moist and prevent water from accumulating in the pot. Potting soil that is too wet or too dry is unfavorable to the plant's growth and will cause the leaves to turn yellow and fall off. The first principle of watering is to prefer wet over dry; the second is "two more, two less," namely: water more in the high-temperature summer season, and water less in winter, once a month or only when dry; appropriately increase misting of the leaf surfaces to raise indoor air humidity. Large and medium-sized plants in vigorous growth should be watered more, while newly divided and potted small plants should be watered less. Because the money tree has a fairly pronounced apical growth advantage, you can pinch out the growing tip and remove the top to encourage side branches to sprout. In winter, place it in a sunny spot in a south-facing room.
In addition, when planting, it is a seedling; at this stage the seedling stems can be braided into any shape, making the stems intertwine as they grow. Generally, repot once a year.
Many flower enthusiasts buy a potted money tree for several hundred or even a thousand yuan, and it is very painful when improper care causes root rot and death. Here we briefly introduce money tree cutting propagation, as a backup plan.
Pot up the seedlings that have been successfully propagated by cuttings. Use a potting soil made by mixing equal parts leaf mold, garden soil, and river sand at 1/3 each, or equal amounts of peat soil and river sand, and apply enough rotted pig manure as a base fertilizer. Lay broken tiles at the bottom of the pot to aid drainage. Generally, plant 3 plants in one pot. When potting, do not plant too deep; it is best to let the swollen base of the stem be exposed above the soil surface. After potting, water thoroughly and place in a ventilated, shady spot; after 15-20 days, place it in a ventilated spot with half-day sun and half shade.
Summary: The above is the knowledge about how to care for potted money trees. We hope it is helpful to the flower enthusiasts who grow them.
Money Tree Planting and Care Management Techniques
The money tree, also known as Gua Li or Malabar chestnut, belongs to the Malvaceae family as an evergreen small tree. It originated in Mexico and Costa Rica, and is now widely cultivated in southern China. Because the name "money tree" represents good fortune and success, and because it has a graceful form, bright green leaves, and is easy to manage, it is suitable for indoor decoration and beautification after potting. During festivals and New Year holidays, hotels, restaurants, and city residents mostly rush to buy it, so in recent years the money tree has developed very quickly in China's flower market, and cultivating money trees has become a good project for many growers to make a fortune. Today we will introduce the cultivation techniques for the money tree.
The Biological Characteristics of the Money Tree
1. The morphological characteristics of the money tree: The money tree is an evergreen tree with an upright main trunk, and the tree can reach about 10 m in height. It has a thick, fleshy root system and a swollen stem base. The bark of young trunks is smooth and emerald green, and can also be braided into a plait; the leaves of the money tree are palmately compound, with petioles 10-28 cm long, bearing 5-9 leaflets; the fruit of the money tree is a hard capsule, and when the fruit matures, the skin changes from green to yellow-brown. Each fruit has 10-20 seeds, with a light brown seed coat and an umbilical scar on the belly; the flowers of the money tree are pale yellow, with slender filaments and 2-3 small bracts.
2. The growth habits of the money tree: The money tree likes light and is also shade-tolerant. It can grow under full sun, half-day sun, or shaded conditions, but long-term lack of light will make its growth weaker. The suitable growing temperature for the money tree is 20-30 degrees Celsius. It can also grow below 10 degrees Celsius, but below 5 degrees Celsius it is prone to disease; in mild cases this causes leaf drop, and in severe cases it can lead to death. The money tree has swollen roots and a swollen stem base that can store a large amount of water, so it is relatively drought-tolerant, while too much soil moisture will cause the fleshy roots to rot. The money tree is not very strict about soil requirements; as long as drainage is good, it can grow normally.
3. The shaping of the money tree: The shaping of the money tree can be divided into single-trunk shaping and braided shaping. Braided shaping is more traditional, and common forms on the market include "three dragons," "five dragons," and "seven dragons," among others. It has the soft, graceful beauty of intertwining branches, elegant and varied in posture. Single-trunk shaping, by contrast, is natural and beautiful, with strong vitality, and can grow into a spectacular large tree stump, very imposing, making it a new favorite on the market. For growers, the cultivation techniques for both are basically the same.
Propagation of the Money Tree
Propagation of the money tree can be divided into seed propagation and cutting propagation. Because cutting propagation has the drawbacks of a non-swollen leading stem and an unattractive seedling stalk, it is generally rarely used in horticultural production. Seed sowing and seedling propagation, however, has the characteristics of uniform emergence, straight roots and smooth seedlings, being easy to braid, and being able to grow a round, cute "radish head," so it has become the propagation method commonly used by flower growers. The specific methods are as follows:
1. Seed collection and selection: The money tree blooms twice a year and can also produce seeds twice. The first time it blooms in April-May, and the fruit matures in July-August; the second time it blooms in September-October, and the fruit matures in December. Growers should choose mature, plump seeds, remove shriveled, cracked, and moldy seeds, and must not use seeds from inferior trees or trees with obvious disease.
2. Sowing: Before sowing, the land should be deeply plowed and finely harrowed, and seedbeds suitable for seed growth should be divided. At both ends of the seedbed, stretch a rope respectively, insert a bamboo skewer every 0.3 m to set the row spacing, and use a wooden board connecting the bamboo skewers on both sides to draw a straight shallow furrow. In this shallow furrow, sow one seed at a spacing of 0.1 m. One mu of land can raise about 10,000 seedlings. When placing the seeds, note that the seed hilum should face downward; only then will the money tree that grows be straight and upright. Cover the seeds with about 2-3 cm of soil, not too thick, so as not to affect the emergence of the money tree. After covering with soil, also note to cover the seedbed with black shade netting to prevent the seeds from being scorched by the hot sun. Only when the seeds germinate may the protection of the shade netting be removed.
3. Daily management during the seedling stage: After 4 days, the seedlings can emerge. After emergence, the following management should be carried out.
① Watering: After removing the shade netting, water once every 1-2 days. A nozzle should be installed at the front of the hose; do not water directly with a faucet. Watering should continue until the surface layer of the soil is fully moist. After the seedlings have emerged uniformly, water once every 3-5 days. After 1-2 months, water appropriately according to the weather and temperature conditions.
② Fertilizing: During the entire seedling-raising period, fertilizer can be applied 3-5 times. The first time is after the seedlings have emerged uniformly; compound chemical fertilizer can be used, at about 2.5 kg per mu, applied by hand broadcasting. Because the root system of a single seedling covers a very small area, it is very important to spread the fertilizer evenly over the soil. This requires the fertilizer applicator to be especially experienced, with the speed of hand swinging and walking kept uniform and consistent. After fertilizing, rinse the leaf surfaces with water so that the fertilizer can be absorbed quickly. Afterward, fertilize once every 1-2 months, with the amount gradually increasing, at 2.5-7.5 kg per mu.
③ Weeding: Because the seedlings are planted at high density and need a large amount of nutrients, if there are too many weeds in the seedbed, it will affect the growth and development of the seedlings, so growers should promptly pull out the weeds in the seedbed.