By Wayne Tammons
The Money Tree, also known as the Jade Plant, Friendship Tree, and Lucky Plant, is known for brining good luck to it's owners. Its scientific name is Crassala ovata, and Feng Shui experts commonly prescribe Money Trees to those wishing to change their fortunes for the better. Whether the Money Tree will bring you financial bliss or not, they make beautiful house plants with their thick, dark green succulent leaves and star shaped flowers.
Growing your own Money Tree is easy if you follow these tips.
In order to get started, you will need:
* A cutting from a Money Plant
* A glass jar or small pot of moist but freely draining soil
Once you have the tools you need, you can get started! Follow these steps:
1. Like most succulents, Money Plants are one of these easy plants to propagate from cuttings. Often branches will break from established Money Plants and grow roots where they fall on the earth. Choose a healthy looking specimen with glossy leaves to take your cutting from.
2. Make your cutting with a clean, sharp blade to avoid spreading plant infections and diseases. You should make your cutting about 4” long and cut off any leaves on the lower inch of the cutting.
3. Place your cutting in a glass or jar of water or plant directly into your pot of soil.
4. If you are growing your cutting in a glass of water, roots should appear within a couple of weeks. At this stage you can plant on, into a medium sized pot of freely draining soil.
In addition the above, here are some helpful tips for growing your tree:
- Since Money Plants hold water in their leaves, branches and trunks, they do not need to be watered very often. In fact, an excessive frequency of watering can cause the leaves to wrinkle and drop off. You should only water your Money Plant around once a month and let the soil dry between waterings. Never let a Money Plant stand water.
- Money Plants have dormant cycles when the plant will stop growing and rest. At this stage watering should be cut down even further- perhaps to once every two weeks.
- Although Money Plants grow well in the sunshine, changing their position from a shady to sunny spot may cause the leaves to get burnt. If you want to move your Money Plant to a brighter area of your garden, start by letting it get a few hours of sun at a time to prevent damage. A Money Plant which is getting sufficient light will get a red pigmentation appearing at the edges of the leaves.
- Money Plants can be propagated at any time of year, although you will notice that root systems appear more quickly in springtime.
- In hot climates Money Plants can be grow successfully out of doors.
- Money Plants don't generally need feeding, but if you do decide to use a fertiliser select one which is specially formulated for plants in the cacti and succulent family.
About the Author
Wayne Tammons is an avid nature lover and environmentalist. He currently works for Atlanta Tree Services and lives with his family in Johns Creek, GA.
Comments:
anonymous says:
03-08-2012
All I needs is a picture of the soil and water.
sunny says:
03-08-2012
Hi anon,
I appreciate your dropping by, but don't really understand your question. Could you be more specific?
Jey says:
03-29-2012
Hi, my friend gave me a 4 inch cut price from the tree in the same way as above, and I was wondering can I put
the plant outdoors for the whole year or do I have to keep it indoors, also can I plant the 4 inch tree outside, eventhough it has no roots?
sunny says:
03-29-2012
Hi Jey,
I am not an expert on growing money trees, but I believe they are really picky plants when it comes to the outdoors conditions. For example, the outside
temperature should not go below 41 degrees F. In addition, they are not really fond of direct sunlight. Hopefully Wayne, whose guest article the above
text is, will care to comment on this with a little more detail.
ali says:
11-29-2012
can money plant grow only in water?
sunny says:
11-30-2012
I haven't tried it myself, but I know of people who used to grow them only in water. In this case I would suggest using only well water, not tab water due to the added chlorine in the latter which definitely affects the health of the plants.
Elpojohn says:
01-12-2013
Moneyplant/friendship tree /lucky plant/Jade plant.
Whatever you want to call it, as it's known by all these names. It is very easy to grow from a cutting. It requires very little attention.
Does well in pots inside house, in cold climates and inside or outside on patios, etc. in sunny climates.
I just love my Crassala Ovatas.
sunny says:
01-17-2013
Thanks, Elpojohn, for this short but informative piece.
Anita Byrne says:
03-27-2013
I have a money plant and I have tried the leafs in water with only one successful attempt .... but I have noticed further up the top
of tree some roots are starting to grow out the side of trunk and was wondering what I should do with them !!
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