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Pachira Aquatica dropping leaves after being moved inside

nigel-bernardkuRtR4sanigel-bernardkuRtR4sa Posts: 2
in Problem solving
I am quite new to plant care & gardening so please be understanding if I'm asking silly questions to start here. I have a beautiful pair of 1.5+ metre Money trees (pachira aquatica), both plants have lived & thrived outside either side of my front door since April this year. Now that the weather has been starting to change. Last week I decided to take both plants inside to try to protect them from the winter cold & frost with the intention to return them back outside in the spring. The plants have been inside for just over a week & the leaves are starting to change colour & fall off (see attached pictures). Is there anything wrong with the plants or is this just a consequence of the change of environment? My flat has very low daylight levels in all rooms so I was thinking of maybe try using a humidifier & a few LED grow lights to help them to continue to thrive inside as they are not used to being indoors. Any ideas?
 

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  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    edited November 2023
    Probably a consequence of being too cold, then as you say, the sudden shock of being brought indoors. I suspect it will lose a few leaves but should eventually recover. It's probably best to acclimatise it to life indoors before overnight temperatures get into single figures. Bring in at night and put back outside during the day, over a week or two. Same process when you are moving it back outdoors, when temperatures get warmer in late spring.
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    It's normally grown as an indoor/conservatory plant in the UK. It's hardiness rating is H1b: can be grown outside in the summer (min 10 - 15 C) so it's possible that you left it a bit late to bring it inside and it's got a chill. We've been getting overnight temperatures (and daytime some days) quite a bit lower than that. I wouldn't put it back outside now (don't know about you but here the forecast is for it to stay below 5 C for the next week) but keep it in a cool-ish room for a while if you can. Misting it regularly might help. I can't comment on grow-lights because I've never used them for houseplants.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • nigel-bernardkuRtR4sanigel-bernardkuRtR4sa Posts: 2
    Thanks for the info /tips. Yes we have also been predicted quite cold weather for the next week or so. Now that I've bought them in, I'm not really planning to put them back outside until the weather heats back up. Instead of misting, I have a pair of large 3.5 litre switchbot humidifiers which I normally use with aromatherapy oils around my flat. I have just given them both a good clean & I'm going to try using the humidifier to raise the humidity of the room for the two plants. I'm just a little curious about the benefits if any, of possibly adding some grow lights to help them out as my flat has very poor lighting in pretty much every room.
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    edited November 2023
    Basically the plant is reacting to the cold stress, or the shock of being moved indoors, or both, and is going to shed it's leaves in response. (Or at least, some of them). It's one of those things that once the process has started, it can't really be stopped. But it will likely recover.

    If I was you I would be keeping it in a relatively cool indoor space with good light levels, water very sparingly indeed until it is growing new leaves. Misting might induce mildew so I would avoid that, personally. You probably need to accept it will look a bit crap for a while, and hold tight while it hopefully recovers.
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
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