One of the most popular succulents, occupying an honorable place in plant design, is the fat girl. She impresses some gardeners with beautiful decorative leaves, others are delighted with her tree-shaped trunk with bizarre shapes. Despite the fact that the plant has spread due to its unpretentiousness, some errors in care lead to a slowdown in its development. This article will discuss the reasons why the money tree is not growing. What can be done in this regard, how to resume the previous development of a withering plant - read on.
Description
Money tree is an evergreen perennial from the genus Succulents, belonging to the family Crassulaceae. He has a luxurious rounded crown. The main advantage of a fat woman is its size. Sometimes a tree grows up to 1.5 m in height, because of which it serves as an adornment of halls and office buildings. Succulents have medium-sized leaves with a smooth surface. They are quite fleshy, covered with thick skin. Leaf blades are distinguished by a rich green color, and the presence of a reddish fringing indicates a healthy state of the plant. In their form, they resemble coins, whence comes the name of the tree. The trunk of the pulp is tree-like, has a gray color with a light brownish tint.
Origin
The birthplace of the money tree is the Southern Hemisphere, Africa. This means that the plant in the natural environment grows in hot climates. Based on this, for the fat woman you need to create an exotic atmosphere. Florists should take into account the biological feature of the plant, which, in fact, explains the unpretentiousness of the indoor flower. The fact is that succulent is able to create a reserve of moisture for itself, accumulating it in the leaves, due to which it survives in adverse conditions. Therefore, for some owners, the fat woman does not dry out, being in cool and shaded places. However, the quality of its development and exterior features in this case are significantly reduced.
Leaving once your favorite plant to its mercy and not properly caring about it, some gardeners may be perplexed as to why the money tree is not growing. In violation of the development of the plant, two conditions are noted. Sometimes the bush grows very slowly and looks painful. But it also happens that he completely stops his development, his branches begin to die. In both the first and second cases, urgent measures must be taken to save the plant.
Suspension of development
Experienced flower growers identify the three most common causes that impede the normal growth of a fat woman:
- Decay of the root system. It has been observed that such a problem occurs due to excessive wetting of plants.
- Fungus. The disease manifests itself in the form of brown or white specks on the leaves. Although it is extremely rare to bend a tree, it is necessary to carry out preventive spraying of plants in a timely manner.
- Insect pests. Most often, succulents suffer from spider mites, scabies and mealybugs. Such insidious pests pose the greatest danger to the bushes. For example, a mealybug absorbs nutrients from a plant, and it can die. The defeat of the scabbard is veiled. Often, the pest is detected after significant wilting of the branches. It is very difficult to combat the spider mite.
All of the above reasons indicate that you need to constantly conduct a thorough inspection and find out the reason why the money tree does not grow. What to do if a lesion is detected? When the pest is noticed immediately, then you need to find places of localization of insects and treat them with special tools. If for a long period there are no changes for the better, then you will have to get rid of the fat girl. If there are other types of plants in the house, pests can move to neighboring ones.
Slow growth
When a houseplant withers, it becomes clear that it is affected by some disease, and the owner begins to take measures to save it. And here is why the money tree does not grow, while maintaining a healthy appearance - for many this is a mystery. Here, observations of amateur gardeners who have managed to find out many reasons that impede its normal development can help. Let's figure out what a fat woman might not like:
- Excessiveness in lighting.
- Unsuitable flowerpot. If the pot is deep and narrow, then it will not fit the money tree. Its root system is short and grows on the sides.
- Excessive humidity. It is important to exercise caution when carrying out the spraying procedure. Excessive moisture damages not only the roots, but also the crown of the plant.
- Nutrient deficiency. Without the necessary nutrition, the plant slows down all vital processes.
- Sudden jumps in temperature.
- Unsuitable soil composition.
Do not look for reasons and rush to change something if the flower slowed down in growth in the winter. This is quite normal for an exotic plant, such is its physiology.
Recovery measures
It is not so important why the money tree is not growing, the main thing is to give it another chance. A good grower should try to rehabilitate the plant. First of all, the tree needs to be positioned correctly. Although succulents love lighted areas and can exist in direct sunlight, he also has his own preferences in this regard. He perceives ultraviolet light in the morning and evening hours with gratitude. But the scorching sun at noon for the plant is not suitable. The lack of this resource also adversely affects the growth of the exotic representative, its branches become curved and thin. The best option for lighting a money tree is diffused light.
Adjusting the normal temperature is also important, since abnormal readings on the thermometer lead to growth inhibition. In the cold, the fat woman can go into a state of rest, in hot weather she experiences stress. The plant also reacts negatively to drafts.
It is necessary to compensate the tree for lack of nutrition at a critical moment for it. It pulls out microelements and minerals from the soil very quickly, and when there are very few of them, it tries to meet the existing needs without raising them, and therefore the money tree does not grow. How to feed a fat woman? For this purpose, it is better to purchase a set of necessary elements for succulents in a flower shop. However, in this case, the allocated dose will not be enough. It needs to be increased to the maximum amount. Fertilizers are applied in the warm season - from spring to autumn. Pre-watered plant. If this measure does not help, then you will have to change the soil.
If the flower needs a transplant, then you need to take care of acquiring a new flowerpot.
Soil requirements
But what if the flower was moved to a new container due to a mismatch in the size of the old pot and at the same time did not please the owner with the expected result? Why does not the money tree grow after transplanting? The main reason is the composition of the soil. This requirement must be given special attention. The substrate should be loose, well permeable, with a low nitrogen content.
If the soil was brought in from the store, then it already has all the necessary substances for maintaining the plant. Then it remains to take care of good drainage. Thanks to this, the earth will quickly absorb water and return its excess. Small coals and pebbles, vermiculite can serve as baking powder. A crushed red brick is laid at the bottom of the pot.
How to prepare the soil yourself?
What soil does the money tree need? Crassula loves slightly acidic porous soil with the addition of humus. To prepare the suitable soil on your own, you need to take in equal proportions of leaf and turf soil. In addition, fine pebbles and coarse sand (not more than 20%) should be added to the composition.
Given that the tree will grow, you can pre-prepare another flowerpot and nutritious soil. For this purpose, remove the upper, soddy layer of soil no more than 10 cm and put rotten leaves into it. Regarding the latter, you can take any with the exception of oak, needles, poplar and ash. Do not forget to dilute the soil with sand and pebbles (you can crushed clay shards).
It would be nice to get an indicator in the garden store to measure the acidity of the earth. For a fat woman, this figure should be 5.5.
How to water a money tree in winter?
In winter, the plant is at rest, its development is insignificant or not observed at all. Therefore, humidification should be minimal. To find out the needs of a fat woman, you should regularly check the substrate. The dried up topsoil indicates that the plant needs watering. To prevent cracking, moisturizing should be carried out every 20 days. If the house is too warm, then watering is frequent up to two times a month. At low, uncomfortable temperatures, they are temporarily stopped.
The value of a suitable microclimate
The fact that the birthplace of the money tree is hot Africa does not mean that the plant needs to create too high a temperature. In summer, in the room where the fat woman is located, the indicators on the thermometer should not rise higher than +20 ° C. In cold weather - not lower than + 16 ° C. It is necessary that the room is warm and humid. This involves daily spraying in the morning.
Conclusion
As you can see, the exotic representative is a balanced plant. Rich soil, optimal conditions of humidity and temperature, a ceramic pot corresponding to the root system of the Crassula - all that is needed for its development. Fulfilling such simple requirements, you can grow a beautiful tree.