Pachira Aquaticas, commonly known as Money Trees, are some of my very favorite houseplants. They’re relatively easy to care for and can make a statement in any room. But while they are generally sturdy plants, they can suffer from a few major health issues that can be heartbreaking for plant lovers, such as developing soft, limp trunks.
Wondering why your Money Tree has a mushy trunk? The most common causes of unhealthy trunks are overwatering and bacteria, but shock from a new change in the plant’s environment may also be the issue. In most cases, portions of the dead plant can be removed or propagated to salvage the Money Tree.
With the right advice and some quick action, you can help your Money Tree recover. So don’t worry – if your Money Tree’s trunk is looking mushy, there are steps you can take to help bring it back to health. Below are some tips that will help you understand the causes of a soft, sickly, Money Tree trunk, and help you save your plant!
Why Has My Money Tree Gone Limp?
If your Money Tree appears to be drooping but hasn’t started to turn yellow, brown, or soft, there are two likely possible causes.
The first is shock. Money Trees often don’t tolerate changes to their environments well. This can include being moved to a new location, transported in a car, repotted into a new planter, or exposed to inconsistencies in their living space, like ceiling fans and drafty windows. These types of changes can result in “shock.”
When faced with changes that could threaten its health, a Money Tree enters a brief dormant state. This means that is will stop growing, possibly drop leaves, and otherwise look a little sickly. So, what does it need?
If your Pachira Aquatica is in shock due to a recent change, it just needs a little time. Don’t make the mistake of overwatering or piling on the fertilizer – that will only make it worse.
Instead, look around your plant’s living space for anything that could have caused shock, like a new space heater, and remove those items. Within a couple of weeks of patience and standard treatment, your Money Tree should start to look healthy again. If not, and you start to see several yellow leaves emerging at once, you may have a watering issue.
The second possible issue stems from overwatering. While it is definitely possible to underwater a Money Tree, overwatering is the most likely culprit for serious health issues. And if you are starting to notice that your tree is looking limp and that the trunk feels soft and flexible, you have probably overwatered the plant.
This is an easy mistake to make, especially since Money Trees owners may have heard that their Pachira Aquatica are tropical plants. But that does not mean that they like to be swamped with water – far from it! Money Trees should only be watered when the top 1 – 2″ of soil are dry to the touch. They also require well-draining soil and a planter with drainage holes to keep their roots comfortably dry.
Money Trees with muddy soil or standing water beneath their planters will grow soft, yellow, and eventually rot.
The Problem With Overwatering Money Trees
Human beings and animals need large amounts of water to survive, and we think of water as one of the most critical factors in survival. For that reason, we tend to assume a sick plant must need more water. But that’s rarely the case.
When you overwater a Money Tree, it can’t digest the water fast enough, and its roots become waterlogged by the muddy soil. Since plant roots need oxygen to help them absorb water and nutrients, the flooded roots result in a starved and suffocated plant.
Overwatering occurs in more ways than the obvious “gave the plant too much water too frequently” option. Oftentimes, overwatering can have more to do with the planter’s size, the type of soil being used, or the plant’s ability to drain quickly after each watering.
You might think that planting your Money Tree in a large pot allows for it to “grow into” the planter, and provides room for water to spread. But instead, planters that are too large extend the time it takes for the soil to dry out between watering. For this reason, the best practice is to use a pot that has 3-4″ between the trunk and the wall of the planter on each side.
Using soil designed to improve plant hydration can be harmful to a Money Tree, trapping the water close to the roots rather than encouraging drainage. Instead, consider sandier, well-draining soils, like succulent blends or soil with perlite, which prevent the container from becoming muddy.
When choosing a planter for your Money Tree, you’ll want to make sure to use one with at least one drainage hole in the bottom. If you want to set a nursery pot down inside of a more decorative planter, be sure to pour out any excess water that may stand in the bottom. Money Trees hate standing water.
If you’re making any of these common watering mistakes, your plant is probably in danger of becoming sick. If the only signs you see are limpness or a bit of yellowing, you can probably save your plant by watering only when the top 1-2″ of the soil is dry and making the changes outlined above.
But if you’re starting to see signs of root rot, your work is just beginning.
Root Rot & Money Tree Trunks
Money Tree roots should be firm and white in color. Roots that have grown dark and mushy or have a musty, mildew smell are rotten. When a Money Tree’s roots begin to rot, it has a disastrous effect on the plant’s health, resulting in wilting, yellowing, browning, as well as soft, wrinkled trunks, and eventual loss of the plant.
This is because the root rot allows bacteria and mold to destroy the roots – breaking them down like compost. When that happens, the roots will not heal, and they will not function well enough to provide the needed water and nutrients to the remainder of the plant.
If root rot is caught early, the rotten roots can often be trimmed away, and the plant repotted into a drier soil. Doing this can often prevent the rot from spreading and save the plant from further disease.
But what happens when root rot isn’t caught in time? Once the roots have become very decayed, it is hard for the plant to recover. When roots can’t do their job, plants eventually run out of energy and die. Unfortunately, because most of the damage is under the soil, sometimes you don’t find the problem until it is too late.
With a severe case of root rot, your Money Tree will first start to darken at the plant’s base. The dark brown or black color will soon creep further up the trunk and, if pressure is applied, the trunk may start to ooze a brownish fluid. This means that the trunk has almost completely rotted. Unfortunately, if this is the case, the damage is so severe that the trunk will probably never be healthy again.
But don’t lose hope – you may be able to propagate the plant and possibly salvage other parts of the tree.
How To Remedy Trunk Problems
If the root rot has started to soften and wrinkle the trunk, but you do not see dark brown or black roots, you may still be able to save the plant. The same is true for a Money Tree in which only one of the braided stems is beginning to rot.
But, what can be done to save a Money Tree in which all trunks (or its only trunk) is turning black? Look over the tree carefully for any leaves or stems that appear green and healthy.
Since the rot may take a while to travel up the plant’s trunk, there may still be some signs of life at the plant’s top. If so, Money Trees can be successfully propagated from cuttings. While your current Money Tree may not make it, you can regrow a new one using leaves and stems from the parent plant.
I’ve outlined the steps for propagating Money Trees in a separate article. Check out that article here for instructions on how to reproduce your Money Tree from healthy stems and leaves.
But what are your options if only one of your Money Tree trunks is rotting?
How To Remove a Soft Trunk From Your Money Tree
Although we often refer to braided Pachira Aquatica as “a Money Tree,” it’s actually multiple Money Trees! Each trunk in the braided “tree” is a separate Pachira Aquatica, woven into a design while its trunk was still young and flexible. While it can be sad to see one of the trees in the braid start to deteriorate, if only one is visibly sick, the other plants may still be saved.
You might wonder why only one tree in the braid would begin to die. Plants, like people and animals, have different levels of heartiness and tolerance. You can visit any garden center or greenhouse and see several plants, all in the same conditions, growing very differently.
This does not mean that you didn’t overwater your plant. But one of the individual trees may have been more susceptible to root decay. The good news is that, using a combination of propagation for the drying tree and repotting for the rest of the braid, you may be able to protect your plant and grow a new Money Tree in the process.
You might be thinking, “What if I just leave it as it is?” Unfortunately, that is not a good option. Once one tree trunk begins to rot, it will expose the rest of the plant to mold, bacteria, and other harmful blight that could kill your entire Money Tree.
Instead of ignoring the issue, it’s time to play doctor and save the rest of your Money Tree. You will want to get some sharp, disinfected pruning scissors, enough well-draining potting mix to fill your planter, and possibly some plastic bags, or tarp, to protect your floor.
If your Money Tree is heavy, lay the planter on its side. If you need help, ask a neighbor or a friend. Trying to tip a heavy planter alone can result in injury to the tree or to you.
Once the planter is on its side, run your finger or your scissors around the pot’s inner rim and gently wiggle the planter back and forth, pulling on it to loosen it. Don’t yank the plant from the pot or jostle its stems. Gently pull from the base of the trunks, while holding the edge of the planter. Once the plant is free, look at the roots and trunks.
Healthy roots should be firm and white. Any dark or mushy roots will need to be trimmed, even if they are attached to healthy-looking trunks. Telling the difference between the roots that belong to the rotted stem and those that do not should be relatively easy.
If one of the stems is squishy and discolored, the roots will be in an advanced stage of rot and will likely be stringy, moldy-smelling, and lacking firmness. Trim these away and very carefully free any healthy roots from other trunks that have gotten tangled in with the decaying roots.
Once you have trimmed free the dying plant, you should be able to gently pull it from the braid. If you continue to struggle, you can cut through the mushy trunk to loosen the plant further. But be careful not to cut or nick the other trunks in the process. When you are done, there should only be healthy trunks and firm, healthy roots left.
If you had to trim a significant amount of rotten root from the other trunks, you should also consider pruning the top of the plant, cutting away about 2/3 of the leaves and branches. As difficult as it will be to see your plant lose so much greenery, reducing the plant’s size allows the remaining roots to conserve energy, giving them their best chance to recover.
Remember not to discard any healthy stems or leaves from the Money Tree with the mushy trunk, since those can help you propagate a new plant. For more information on that process, read this article.
Replant the healthy trunks from your Money Tree in a pot with adequate drainage holes, using a well-draining potting mix, like one with perlite and peat moss. Should you choose to re-use your previous planter, wash it carefully with a diluted bleach mixture. Any lingering mold or bacteria in the bottom of the planter can re-infect your plant.
Also, if your repotted plant needs structural support, consider using a sturdy plant support, such as a dowel rod from your local home and garden store, to keep your plant from drooping.
After all its been through, your Money Tree will likely experience shock, so expect that it may stop growing, drop a few leaves, and look unhealthy for a few weeks.
Since it is not growing, avoid fertilizer, and be especially careful about overwatering. Locate your plant in a humid space, away from any direct light, and protect it from any drafts or extreme conditions. In a few weeks, you may begin to see signs of new growth, which will tell you that your plant is on the road to recovery.
Tips To Keep Trunks From Becoming Soft in The Future
While there are a variety of great tips to help with Money Tree care, one of the most important things you can do for your plant is to protect the roots and trunk from moisture and bacteria.
Instead of creating a schedule in which you automatically water your plant on a particular day, you should always check the soil for hydration first. Insert your finger into the soil and feel for dampness. If the soil feels moist, do not water the plant until the soil feels dry 1-2″ down.
Having trouble determining whether the soil feels damp? Consider using a
Additionally, don’t forget to use well-draining soil and an appropriately sized planter – never one that is too large for the plant. For more info on the best soils and pots for Money Trees, read this article.
Another way to prevent overwatering is to avoid pouring water directly on the trunk of the Money Tree. Water sitting on the trunk can invite the growth of mold and bacteria. And, for this same reason, always remove dead leaves from the planter. The vegetation will deteriorate within the pot and cause bacteria to grow close to your plant’s trunk.
With patience, attention, and good plant care habits, your Money Tree can grow healthy and vibrant for years. If you’ve found an area of the trunk has gone soft, don’t fear! In most cases, there are steps you can take to salvage the plant. Good luck!