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occ's avatar

Houseplant question: caring for a "money tree"?

Asked by occ (4179points) April 6th, 2013

For many years I had a potted plant called a money tree (no joke, that is the actual name of the plant. Alas, dollar bills do not grow on it). It grew well and I repotted it as it grew… At one point the leaves started falling off. I tried putting it outside, but then forgot about it. I just noticed that it did really poorly outside and lost all its leaves. Is there anything I can do to revive it if I bring it inside?

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3 Answers

gailcalled's avatar

If you are talking about a Malabar chestnut, which is nicknamed “money tree,” here are instructions and tips. Is the stalk twisted and looking like a long braid?

Don’t you really want to raise your ceilings to 25 feet and buy a banana tree?

gailcalled (54647points)“Great Answer” (2points) Flag as…
occ's avatar

Thanks, Gail! We took your advice and got a short banana tree and love it – it looks fantastic! However I still have the money tree, which is as you describe with a braided trunk. It’s a very small one, maybe one and a half feet tall. I clicked through to your link but it doesn’t mention what to do if all the leaves have fallen off. Will it grow new leaves? Or do I need to throw this one in the compost and get a new one? Thanks.

occ (4179points)“Great Answer” (0points) Flag as…
gailcalled's avatar

Sorry. I know nothing about the money tree. General resuscitation methods are draconian pruning, removing the root ball and trimming the roots and repotting with new soil. Nothing ventured, I always say.

Google Malabar chestnut again; there may be better links.

Short banana tree? Get back to me in August re; height.

gailcalled (54647points)“Great Answer” (0points) Flag as…

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