I have had my Money Tree for about five years. I have only repotted it once when I got it from the nursery. It was already pretty large when I got it. Over the years I have pruned it down drastically many times because it grows so tall. If you’re interested in pruning check out my post on pruning a Money Tree, but I don’t recommend repotting and pruning at the same time. Pick your priority and give your plant some time to recover in between. Continue reading below for tips on Money Tree repotting.
When to Repot Money Tree
Money Trees do not require frequent repotting. As I mentioned earlier, I haven’t repotted mine for five years! They do not have very aggressive roots. Factors like how often you amend your soil with nutrients and pruning can increase the amount of time your Money Tree can go between repottings.
You Can See Your Money Tree Roots
If your Money Tree is showing roots either out of the bottom of the pot or out of the top of the soil, that’s a sign that you want to repot. The roots need more room and more soil to grow into. More soil provides new nutrients and the ability to hold more moisture. I could see the roots beginning to peak out of the bottom of my pot. And when I pulled it out of the pot I could see that the Money Tree roots had really begun to crowd around all edges of the pot.
Your Money Tree is Growing Slower
If your Money Tree is not growing like it used to it may be time to repot. All plants slow their growth in the winter when the days are shorter, so don’t take that as a false positive. If it’s not winter, the next thing you want to check would be the soil’s nutrients and ph. If you haven’t been fertilizing at all, you might want to start there. An all-purpose balanced fertilizer should work fine for Money Trees. If you have been fertilizing, slow growth can actually be caused by over-fertilizing. Make sure you have been following the instructions on your fertilizer with regard to frequency, amount, and dilution. The best way to determine whether you have a nutrient problem is to use soil rapitests. They test the level of nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, and pH. If you have low levels of nutrients, begin fertilizing and follow the instructions. On the other hand, if you have over-fertilized, you can try to flush the soil with water.
If it’s not winter and your soil doesn’t have any nutrient issues, then try Money Tree repotting as your next solution. Once you have ruled out these situations, it’s most likely that your Money Tree needs more room in a new pot.
How to Repot a Money Tree
You don’t need anything special to repot a Money Tree. All you really need are a new pot and some potting soil. The new pot should be about two inches in diameter larger than your old pot if you are up potting. The new pot must also have drainage holes. If you need to add drainage to your pot follow my tutorial on drilling ceramic and glass plant pots. Money Trees will do fine in regular potting soil. You may want to amend the potting soil with a little extra perlite to your Money Tree soil mix. I like to do a 3:1 ratio of potting soil to perlite. Perlite adds bulk to your soil and improves drainage.
Now for the repotting instructions. First, remove your Money Tree from its old pot. Do this carefully especially if it’s rootbound. Once it is out of the pot inspect the roots. The roots of my Money Tree were really filling out the bottom of the old pot as you saw earlier. Your Money Tree roots should be white or light brownish and firm if they are healthy. If they are dark brown or mushy, follow up with my blog on overwatering for steps to address that.
After you have inspected the roots you can loosen the root ball a bit. Then fill your new pot with your soil mix to the height you want to place the bottom of your root ball. Backfill soil around the root ball and a bit over the top of the root ball. Money Tree repotting is pretty easy, you can see the final results below.
After Repotting Care
The main thing you want to do is to avoid additional shocks. Repotting your plant can cause some shock especially if you really disturbed the roots in the process. Wait a day or two to water your Money Tree after repotting. It’s also good to keep it in the same spot that you had it, or at least somewhere with similar light. Drastic changes in light can also cause plant shock.
I hope this guide helps you successfully repot your Money Tree. Post your questions below.
I'm a long time plant lover on the quest to happily coexist with as many plants as I can. Let's grow!