Being a figure of luck and prosperity, Pachira Aquatica — aka the Money tree or Money plant is commonly known as the ‘Provision tree.’
Because of its elegant and vibrant minty green foliage, the money tree has become one of the most popular indoor ornamental houseplants worldwide. Although it symbolizes good health and fortune, the leaves on your money tree can occasionally turn yellow due to some specific reasons.
If you are wondering, “Why are the leaves on my money tree turning yellow?” Congrats! You are at the right spot. Today, in this article, we will flick through all the possible reasons that can cause your money plant to turn yellow.
Stay along with me, as I will also explain how you can fix and prevent this from happening in the future.
So, without further ado, let’s get straight into our topic.
Why Are the Leaves on My Money Tree Turning Yellow? 5 Causes and Solutions
Yellow leaves on your money tree reveal that there’s something fishy going on. The leading causes for the yellowing of leaves in money trees are:
1. Overwatering Your Money Tree
Overwatering can be very dangerous for your money trees. In fact, not only for money trees but also for the plants requiring infrequent but proper watering.
Overwatering is the leading cause of plant death. Because overwatering your plants for extended periods can effortlessly cause root rot.
You can withdraw the most profound knowledge about root rot by skimming through the article mentioned below.
>>> Related Article: What Does Root Rot Look Like? Symptoms, Causes, and Treatment.
Overwatering results either due to frequent watering or due to improper water drainage. Both are common mistakes that beginners usually make.
Frequently watering your money tree will result in it being constantly wet and soggy. On the other hand, a potting mix that’s not well-draining results in the roots sitting in a pool of water.
Both are detrimental to your plant’s health and can swiftly cause roots to rot.
How To Properly Water Money Tree Plant?
First, you must remember that money trees don’t require frequent watering. Second, your watering schedule depends upon different factors, including temperature, lighting conditions, humidity, and the potting mixture that you are using.
A general rule of thumb is that only water your money tree when 2/3rds of the soil gets dry. You can also wait for the mix to get entirely dry before giving your plant another shot of hydration.
Two things to keep in mind are:
- Always use a pot with drainage holes at the bottom so that the excess water seeps out after thorough watering.
- Use an appropriate potting mix that’s according to the nature of your plant.
Observing how your plant reacts to different watering schedules can make you a pro in watering.
2. Too Much Sunlight or Not Enough?
The money tree requires bright but indirect sunlight to flourish at the maximum level.
On the one hand, direct light can scorch the leaves of your money tree, turning them yellow with brown tips or edges. While on the other hand, not getting enough light will result in its shunted growth, and as a result, the leaves on your money tree turn yellow.
What’s the fix?
The fix for this issue is pretty simple. If you think that your money tree is yellowing because of less available light, try moving it to a place where it can receive bright but indirect light.
It is best to keep your money tree a few feet away from the east or west-facing window. If you have your money plant in front of a south-facing window, make sure to filter the light using light curtains.
“Bright indirect light means that the direct sun rays do not touch the leaves of your plant, but the leaves are not in a complete shade as well.”
If you have your money tree outdoors, you can use sunshades to protect the foliage from the harsh rays of the midday sun.
3. Temperature Fluctuations
Intense temperature fluctuations can be the third answer to, why are the leaves on my money tree turning yellow?
If the temperature around your plant constantly fluctuates between both extremes (cold and warm), it can cause stress to your money tree, resulting in the yellowing of leaves.
How to Fix?
I would like to highlight that Pachira Aquatica is native to Central and South America.
Money trees thrive best in temperatures ranging from 60°F to 80°F or 16°C to 27°C.
These are the average year-round temperatures of the native plant areas. You can also take a look at the stats,
Image via Climate-data.org.
Therefore, to keep your money tree unharmed, try your best to mimic the conditions present in the native plant regions and keep your money tree at constant room temperature between 17°C to 25°C.
Temperature below 15°C can cause the money tree to turn yellow due to cold stress.
4. Low Levels of Humidity
Low moisture levels can swiftly cause the yellowing of leaves in some plants. Keeping your money tree in low humidity levels can cause the leaves to dry out and turn yellow.
If the yellowing is mainly associated with low moisture levels, you may also see brown edges around the leaves.
How to Fix Low Humidity Levels?
First, you should have an idea of the moisture levels you are trying to achieve. To do that, take a look at native plant areas and the average humidity levels they provide to the plant.
If we look at the stats,
We can clearly see that our money trees would require at least 60% to 70% of humidity levels to thrive. However, they do best if kept in the range of 80% moisture levels.
The graph also shows that the plants native to the regions of South America can tolerate moderate humidity levels around 50% as well.
You can utilize the following methods to increase your indoor humidity levels:
- If you live in dry areas where annual indoor humidity levels remain around 30 to 40 percent, you have to pick up a humidifier to notch these levels up.
- However, if you want to increase the levels to a limited extent, you can practice methods such as regular misting, grouping all the moisture-loving plants together in one place, and using a pebble tray.
- It is better to place such thirsty plants near a kitchen or a bathroom as those areas have higher moisture levels than others.
5. Natural Aging of the Plant
Lastly, if you ask why are the leaves on my money tree turning yellow, I would say that it’s because of the natural aging process of the plant.
When the leaves of money trees get old, they usually turn yellow and fall off the tree. The best way to tell if the yellowing is natural or due to some problem is to look for new growth on your plant.
If your money tree is sprouting new and healthy growth, and the older (notably lower) leaves are turning yellow, it is probably because of the natural aging of the plant.
However, you must have the required knowledge to spot if the yellowing is due to some underlying problems, which I hope you achieved until now.
Conclusion
With all that said, let’s conclude this talk.
If you enjoyed today’s article and found it helpful, consider sharing it with your friends and family. I hope you got the answer to, “why are the leaves on my money tree turning yellow?”
Also, I forgot to mention that sometimes the leaves in your money tree can turn yellow due to repotting or transporting shock. Therefore, if you just moved or repotted your plant, wait until it adjusts to its new environment and gradually increases light and humidity levels.
On that note, let us know in the comments if you have any questions regarding your gorgeous green buddies.
Keep your money trees happy as they are favored for their “provisioning” properties. 😉
Regards,