What to Do When a Money Tree Loses Its Leaves? A Guide to Proper Money Tree Care
A deciduous tree, up to 15 m tall, with a nearly spherical crown 8-12 m across, odd-pinnate compound leaves arranged alternately, 7-15 leaflets with toothed margins; young leaves brownish red in spring, turning yellowish brown in autumn; flowers small, petals yellow with red markings at the base, borne in panicles at the tips of branches; flowering in June and July; seeds black, spherical. How do you grow a money tree? What should you do when its leaves turn yellow?
What to Do When Money Tree Leaves Turn Yellow
1. Overwatering
The money tree likes warm, hot conditions and is fairly drought-tolerant, but it hates waterlogged soil. Overwatering often causes root rot, which in turn makes the leaves turn yellow. Take the money tree out of its pot and check whether the roots have rotted. If they have, replant it in sterilized potting soil, or bury the base of the plant in clean sand, keep it in partial shade and control watering, merely misting the leaves and branches and the surrounding area frequently; only after the money tree has grown new roots can you resume normal care. If the roots have not rotted, place the money tree in partial shade. Because it has few leaves, the soil does not dry easily after watering, so you should control watering and mist the foliage often, letting the money tree gradually return to normal growth.
2. Air That Is Too Dry
The money tree likes a humid environment, with an ideal air humidity of around 85%; air that is too dry will also cause its leaves to turn yellow. Set the money tree on a tray of wet sand, mist the foliage regularly to wash away the fine dust clinging to the leaves, and be sure to provide shade. In winter, mist the leaves and the surrounding environment so that the relative air humidity can reach above 50%. In addition, take special care in winter that the potting soil does not become too wet; it is better on the dry side, because under low temperatures overly wet potting soil is even more likely to cause root rot and can even kill the whole plant.
3. Insufficient Soil Acidity
Insufficient soil acidity will also make money tree leaves turn yellow. The growing medium for money trees is usually a mix of peat, coarse sand or rinsed coal cinders with a small amount of garden soil, with the pH adjusted to between 6 and 6.5, a slightly acidic state. Because the money tree has a large tuber, a well-developed root system and long pinnate compound leaves, it is best planted in a deeper blue-and-white porcelain or purple clay pot, but the bottom should be lined with plenty of stones, brick fragments or bark chunks to a height of about 1/4 of the pot's depth, to create a root environment with good air permeability and drainage.
4. Improper Fertilizing
The money tree is fairly fond of fertilizer, but you must get the amount right when feeding it: too much or too little will cause its leaves to turn yellow. During the growing season, water the money tree monthly with 2-3 applications of a mixture of 0.2% urea and 0.1% monopotassium phosphate. After Mid-Autumn Festival, to help the money tree get through the winter safely, stop applying nitrogen fertilizer and apply 2-3 consecutive doses of 0.3% monopotassium phosphate solution to help the young leaf rachises and newly sprouted leaves harden and fill out. Once the temperature drops below 15°C, stop all forms of topdressing to avoid fertilizer burn damaging the roots under low temperatures.
Growing Methods
Propagation is mainly by sowing, though division or root cuttings also work. Harvest the fruit when it ripens in autumn and dry it promptly in the sun to remove the husks. Because the seed coat is hard and does not let water through easily, untreated seeds often fail to germinate when sown the following spring, so either sow them in autumn after removing the husks, or stratify them in damp sand and sow in spring. Ridge sowing is generally used, with ridges 60-70 cm apart; because the germination rate is low, a large amount of seed is needed, at 30-40 kg per mu.
(1) Seed collection: the money tree fruit ripens from September to October. Choose superior individual trees that are growing well, with straight trunks, open crowns, plump fruit and at a mature age as mother trees for seed collection, and collect the fruit promptly when it turns reddish brown or orange-yellow but before the capsules split open, otherwise it will fall off on its own. But do not collect too early either, or the seeds will have a low germination rate.
Because the cold hardiness of seeds from different sources varies greatly, try to use local seeds for growing seedlings.
(2) Fruit processing: after collecting the fruit, remove the peel and fruit stalks, then dry it promptly in the sun or spread it out in the shade to dry. Once the capsules split open, beat them to release the seeds and clean them by sieving. The seeds are black, spherical, about 0.6 cm in diameter, with a seed yield of about 20%, a thousand-grain weight of around 150 g and a germination rate of 60%-80%.
(3) Seed storage and pre-sowing treatment: the seed coat of goldenrain tree seeds is hard and does not let water through easily. Without germination treatment, spring sowing the following year often results in no germination or a very low germination rate. Therefore, it is best to sow in autumn of the same year, letting the seeds complete their germination stage in the soil, which saves the steps of seed storage and germination forcing. After a winter, the seedlings emerge early and evenly the following spring and grow vigorously.
However, with autumn sowing the seeds stay in the field too long and managing the sowing site is rather troublesome. For this reason, the stratification method is also used in production to force germination. In late autumn, choose a spot with high, dry ground, good drainage and shelter from the wind, facing the sun, and dig a pit. The pit should be 1-1.5 m wide and deep enough to be above the water table and below the frozen layer, about 1 m, with the length depending on the quantity of seed. Spread a layer of gravel or coarse sand about 10-20 cm thick on the bottom of the pit, and insert a bundle of straw in the pit for ventilation. Mix the disinfected seeds with damp sand and place them in the pit, with a seed-to-sand volume ratio of 1:3 or 1:5, or layer them alternately, one layer of seeds and one layer of sand. Each layer should be about 5 cm thick. The sand should be damp enough that it holds together when squeezed in the hand, without water coming out, and crumbles apart when released. Fill until about 20 cm from ground level, then cover with 5 cm of river sand and 10-20 cm of straw and the like, and dig drainage ditches around it. Take the seeds out the following March and sow them directly.
However, with autumn sowing the seeds stay in the field too long and managing the sowing site is rather troublesome. For this reason, the stratification method is also used in production to force germination. In late autumn, choose a spot with high, dry ground, good drainage and shelter from the wind, facing the sun, and dig a pit. The pit should be 1-1.5 m wide and deep enough to be above the water table and below the frozen layer, about 1 m, with the length depending on the quantity of seed. Spread a layer of gravel or coarse sand about 10-20 cm thick on the bottom of the pit, and insert a bundle of straw in the pit for ventilation. Mix the disinfected seeds with damp sand and place them in the pit, with a seed-to-sand volume ratio of 1:3 or 1:5, or layer them alternately, one layer of seeds and one layer of sand. Each layer should be about 5 cm thick. The sand should be damp enough that it holds together when squeezed in the hand, without water coming out, and crumbles apart when released. Fill until about 20 cm from ground level, then cover with 5 cm of river sand and 10-20 cm of straw and the like, and dig drainage ditches around it. Take the seeds out the following March and sow them directly.