Why do leaves fall from the money tree?

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A money tree has been living at my place for several years. Once they gave me a sprout with a parting word "plant and you will be happy." Over time, I was imbued with great respect for the plant - an amazing will to live, a huge supply of strength and the desire to look good even in difficult times are worth a lot. The second name, Crassula, was given to the plant for plump fleshy oval leaves with a sharp tip. They once began to fall for no apparent reason, which, however, were later established. Why leaves fall from the money tree, I will tell in the article.

How to care for a money tree

In order for the plant to be healthy and strong, it is necessary to create conditions close to natural for it. Crassula belongs to succulents, knows how to store water for the future, painlessly endure long periods of drought. The plant is ideal for beginner gardeners and very scattered people who are not able to carry out systematic watering and feeding, but do not want to limit themselves to cacti.

Outwardly, the money tree resembles a small stocky tree with a brownish trunk and twigs covered with dense leathery leaves, which contain a supply of moisture for a rainy day.

In South Africa and Madagascar, where she comes from, crassula (the Latin name of the plant is Crassula) grows up to 3 - 4 meters. There are shrubby and creeping grassy species. In total there are about 300.

In the home version, the size of the money tree depends on the size of the pot. Moreover, during the transplantation, I saw that his root system was rather weak compared to the green mass, and I chose the pot deeper and more powerful so that he balanced the ground part with his weight.

Watering should be done according to the principle “it is better not to top up than to pour”. Money tree tolerates drought well and treats constantly moist, swampy soil very poorly. A surprise for me was his fear of direct sunlight. The main thing is that I caught on time and moved the fat girl to a slightly shaded corner.

Judging by the appearance, there were no complaints about the temperature in the room near the plant. We are not particularly thermophilic and keep the level of heating in the house at around 21-23 degrees.

I was happy looking at my money tree, and at heart, smiling, waiting for the promised prosperity. But one day I found on the windowsill several leaves with slightly withered petioles. Then their number increased, the leaves fell off at the slightest touch. I began to look for the source of the outrage.

Causes of leaf loss in a fat woman

An external examination did not reveal any special violations, but the leaves of the money tree continued to fall, and I decided to go by the method of “on the contrary”, eliminating the most obvious reasons.

Waterlogging I dropped right away. The whole appearance of the plant claims that it will live fine without watering for a week. It is not worth it to get to fanaticism and check the level of vitality by this method, but in practice, my tree perfectly survived 10 days of my vacation without loss and stress.
Direct sunlight burn was excluded initially. Once was enough for me. Now, if I took out a pot of money tree to the street in the summer, I hid it in a gazebo entwined with decorative grapes. It is light there in the morning, and by noon the sun goes to the other side.
Excessive amount of fertilizer My fat girl was not threatened either, I made it a rule to feed her once a month from March to October, and for the winter I took a break. Used mainly “Uniflor-cactus”, “Lignogumat” and alternated with infusion of wood ash. Remembering that fertilizer should not fall on the stem and leaves, it was watered strictly under the root, observing the proportions.
Temperature differences I looked longer, watched the thermometer, studied the quality of water for irrigation. They turned out to be approximately the same, so it was also not possible to refer to the pernicious contrast of heat and cold.

The leaves of the money tree continued to fall. I decided to take the plant out of the pot, although I replanted it relatively recently, about a year ago. The problem lay there, in the thick of the roots. I transplanted in a hurry and did not put a drainage layer on the bottom of the pot. One of the roots began to decay, it was squeezed close to the sidewall.

Damage just started to save the plant, I had to:

thoroughly rinse the root system first in the pelvis, and then in running water;
remove the damaged part with a sharp knife;
for 20 minutes put the Crassula in a bucket with a weak solution of potassium permanganate;
slightly dry the underground part, laying on an old but clean rag and leaving the roots open.

Then I put away the old pot and threw out the old soil. For planting, I chose a larger container and put a layer of small expanded clay on the bottom. Then she carefully planted a fat girl and covered it with a new mixture of sand, perlite, and cactus soil.

Then she covered the top with an old pan and left it for 4 days alone. I didn’t water it. A week later, my beauty came to, the weakened leaves still sprinkled, but a little later new buds began to wake up. And after 5 months the money tree bloomed! I did not know that the plant is capable of this.

Being interested in what else can affect the well-being of the money tree, I found out a few more reasons, among which were the leaders:

drafts;
heavy soil;
watering with cold water;
the presence of pests.

The most prosaic explanation was the natural partial change of deciduous cover by a plant. Fallen leaves, if not removed from the pot, take root over time and begin to develop as a new shoot.

Another method of reproduction is the formation of aerial roots directly on the branch, then the death of the petiole, fall on the soil and further growth.

How to solve the problem with leaf decay

Sometimes there is an opinion that the money tree not only attracts wealth, but also shows the state of the owner’s financial affairs, as well as options for their development. Ostensibly loss of leaves predicts losses and loss of property. You can save a fat girl only by fixing financial matters.

I managed to cure my tree without a lot of money. I did not become an oligarch, but the redgrass flaunts in my room, pleases with the raised branches, and there are no empty places on them, since the leaf fall has long ceased.

In practice, I found out that when caring for a fat woman, it is very important:

observe the watering regime and remove excess fluid from the pan;
Do not put it in the sun;
observe the measure in dressing;
Do not place the pot near heating appliances;
when transplanting, be sure to lay the drainage layer;
if the air in the room is dry, then a fat shower is recommended a small shower using a spray bottle (once a week is enough).

Mushroom infections in the fat woman start with the roots. For prevention, it is recommended sometimes to arrange small periods of drought, delaying watering for 3-5 days, and 2 times a year to shed with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

From pests effective Fitosporin-M. According to the instructions, he gets divorced twice. First, 1 part of the drug is diluted in 2 parts of water, and then a working solution is prepared at a rate of 1:10. The drug is designed for external use, they wipe the leaves, trying not to spill liquid on the soil.

Another reason for falling leaves of the money tree may be a lack of lighting. The plant reaches for a light source, the trunk becomes thin and curved, the circulation of nutrients is disturbed. As a result, in order to survive, the fat woman begins to dump green mass.

In fact, the money tree - the plant is very unpretentious, independently overcomes small current problems. I am glad that once I did not give up the sprout I was given, I was able to recognize the ailment of Crassula and help her in time. Which I also wish you, if today, as I once did, you care about why the leaves from the money tree fall.