The money tree will thrive in high humidity, such as 50% and up in your home. You can achieve this by keeping a bit of water and gravel in the saucer of the pot to raise the relative humidity around your tree, place it near a humidifier, or mist it frequently.
Whether you decide to mist or not is up to you. If you haven't done so before, and you have low humidity levels in your home, try it and see what results you get. You may find your Money Tree has never been healthier than when it gets a little extra moisture each week.
Practice two different watering approaches to support your money tree. Because this plant loves moisture, consider lightly misting its leaves with a simple spray bottle after you water its roots. Again, remember not to over-saturate this plant.
High humidity: The money tree needs moisture just as much as it needs indirect sunlight. Misting the plant is a great way to keep its environment humid and its leaves clean; keeping the plant in a room with a humidifier can accomplish this for you.
Even though money trees grow in wetlands, they don't like to remain soaking wet. Water until it runs out of the bottom of the pot every one to two weeks, allowing the soil to mostly dry out between waterings. You may find you'll need to water more or less often, depending on the conditions inside your home.
In the summer when central air conditioning can dry out ambient air, consider placing a small humidifier near your money tree or misting the leaves to keep it moist. To help your money tree survive the dry weather of winter, place its pot on a pebble tray.
Watering weekly is a lot easier to remember, so we recommend giving it two ice cubes (3 tablespoons of water) every week. If you miss a week, you can double up, but don't go overboard. If your plant gets too much water, its root system and leaves will stretch out, which can cause brown leaves.
Occasional showers with warm water helps keep pests away, and will help keep the leaves clean. They like to be soaked well, then dry out, much like their native environment. Its leaves will droop and indicate when it needs water too.
Outdoors, these plants can tolerate direct sunlight, but indoors money trees need specific light requirements. They should be placed in bright to medium indirect sunlight, for at least six hours a day.
A Money Tree in need of water will display limp stems and curling leaves that turn yellow. In extreme cases leaves will turn yellow or fall away completely. A pattern of under-watering will also result in poor overall growth for the money tree as long term stress in the plant develops.
Yellow or brown leaves are often the first, noticeable indicator of a problem under the soil. Some discoloration is normal as older leaves fade from green to yellow before falling off, but if you see lots of leaves going through this pattern, this is often a sign of overwatering.
Money trees are a favorite houseplant for feng shui, and they're thought to bring good financial fortune when placed in the southeast section of your home—or the area associated with money. In feng shui, it's bad luck to place a money tree in your bathroom, as its positive energy may be drained away.
Tricks to ensure your money tree survives and thrives: Avoid too much direct sunlight, which can burn its leaves. Place it near a south-facing window during the summer months and move it to your east window in the winter. Prune browning leaves throughout the year to encourage new growth.
When cared for with appropriate watering, plant food, and proper sunlight, Chinese Money Plants can live up to around 10 years. Possibly even longer than that when in good health. The longest ever living Chinese Money Plant is said to have survived for more than two decades.
Money trees prefer bright, indirect light. Place yours near, but not right in front of, a sunny window. If the leaves look scorched, it's getting too much sun (like humans, like plants sometimes), and yellowing leaves means it's not getting enough.
The braided trunk is said to trap fortune. Typically there are five leaves on each stem, each representing metal, wind, water, fire and earth. You can sometimes find a money tree stalk with seven leaves, which is extra lucky, but that's rare. These traditions lead to the tree's overall appeal and popularity.
For a 5-inch money tree, water with 2 ice cubes or 3 tablespoons of water once a week. That amount should be enough. It should not dry out between watering. In general, money tree plants only need about 6-8 ounces of water every three weeks.
Bottom watering will not wash away salts and other minerals from the soil, so make sure to also give water over the soil every now and then.
Money trees prefer bright, indirect light and moderate-to-high humidity. Direct sunlight can lead to leaf scorching, but the plants can do relatively well in low light. Exposure to too many drafts, though, may cause leaf loss. Heater vents and hot, dry air also need to be avoided.
It's easy to assume these trees twist around as they grow, but this isn't how they grow naturally. So instead, braiding them is a simple process that you can apply to either indoor or outdoor money trees to make them structurally stronger and enhance their appearance.
You can use any denomination. However, using smaller bills tends to result in more bills for the tree, which will result in a fuller tree. Tie the folded bill around the middle with floral wire, ribbon or thread and secure to a branch. Alternately, purchase clips and use those to attach bills to the branches.
What fertilizer is best for Money trees? Money Trees don't use up any particular nutrients more than others. To cover all areas of plant health, use a balanced fertilizer with equal parts nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. These slow growers don't need high concentrations of nutrients either.