Horse Poo Tree

Two years ago I bought a bonsai Braided Money Tree for my desk at work. It was 8 inches tall. It wasn’t happy at work. Two of the three stalks in the braid croaked and it was down to a leaf or two, so I brought it home and repotted it, adding a little horse poo to the soil.

Now it’s almost 5 feet tall. If your money tree plant is thriving, you should be rich. Right? I wonder why that hasn’t happened?

I checked on the internet. This is your botany lesson for today.

The species used for a money tree plant is Pachira aquatica, a native of South America. The idea to braid the stalks originated in Taiwan in the 1980s and spread through other Asian nations, where the trees are associated with good luck and fortune. (Can’t be an ancient custom in Asia if the trees come from South America.)

The plant has good feng shui because it has five lobes on its leaves. The leaves are edible, along with the flowers and nuts it forms. It can be planted outside in zones 9-11. That might work here if we don’t have a hard frost. My avocado tree, after all, is at least 30 feet tall. And it even has fruit once in a while. It’s really exciting when avocados start falling from 30 feet up. Instant guacamole.

I’m not sure I’d want this outside. It looks like something illegal. Maybe THAT’S why it’s called a money tree!