The Pachira aquatica, commonly known as the Money Tree, is a popular indoor plant prized for its braided trunk and attractive palmate leaves. While generally considered low-maintenance, this tropical species is a vigorous grower that can reach heights of six to eight feet indoors. When a Money Tree begins to dominate a living space, intervention is necessary to maintain a manageable size and a bushy shape. Safely reducing its height involves strategic pruning, which controls size and encourages denser foliage.
Understanding Why Your Money Tree is Overgrown
Money Trees naturally tend toward rapid vertical growth, especially when conditions are favorable. Insufficient light causes etiolation, where stems stretch out, becoming thin and weak as they search for a light source. This results in a tall, sparse plant with foliage only at the top.
Over-fertilization during the active growing season also contributes to excessive height by providing nitrogen, which fuels foliage and stem growth. This rapid growth can lead to an undesirable, lanky shape.
To minimize stress and promote quick recovery, the best time for height reduction pruning is during late winter or early spring, just before the active growth cycle begins. Making a severe cut at this time ensures the plant has the energy reserves to quickly push out new shoots from the cut points.
Step-by-Step Guide to Height Reduction Pruning
To successfully reduce the plant’s height, prepare a pair of sharp pruning shears or bypass pruners. Sterilize the blades with rubbing alcohol before use to prevent transferring pathogens to the fresh cuts. Making a clean cut minimizes the surface area for infection and promotes faster healing.
The most important concept in pruning is the leaf node, the small bump on the stem where a leaf or branch grows. These nodes contain dormant buds that activate and produce new growth when the stem above them is removed. For significant height reduction, perform a hard prune, cutting back the main stems by up to one-third or one-half of their total length.
Make your cut on each stem approximately one-quarter to one-half inch above a healthy node. Choose a node that faces the direction you want the new growth to sprout. Cutting back to a node redirects the plant’s energy, forcing the dormant bud to develop a new, shorter shoot. If your Money Tree has a braided trunk, treat the emerging stems as individual plants, cutting each one back to the same height to maintain a uniform canopy.
Encouraging Bushy Growth and Long-Term Maintenance
After the height reduction cut, the plant’s recovery and subsequent growth habit depend on the care it receives. Pruning encourages lateral branching, shifting the plant’s focus from upward to sideways growth, resulting in a bushier appearance. Immediately following the prune, move the plant to bright, indirect light to stimulate robust new growth from the activated nodes.
To maintain a denser shape, implement “pinching” on new growth tips. This involves manually removing the soft, newly emerged terminal bud at the end of a branch. Pinching prevents vertical elongation and encourages the stem to branch out below that point.
Fertilizer management is also important; use a balanced liquid houseplant fertilizer diluted to half-strength only during the active growing season (spring and summer). This supports healthy growth without triggering a rapid height rebound.
For ongoing shape maintenance, perform rotational pruning throughout the year. Selectively trim any branch that grows beyond the desired outline or remove dead, yellowing, or damaged foliage as soon as it appears. This regular, lighter maintenance prevents the need for another drastic height reduction cut.
Propagating New Plants from Pruned Cuttings
The healthy material removed during height reduction can be repurposed to create new Money Trees through propagation. Select stem sections that are four to six inches long and contain a minimum of two leaf nodes. Using clean shears, make a cut just below a node, as this is where new roots will form.
Prepare the cutting by removing all but the top few leaves to reduce water loss. This allows the cutting to focus its energy on root production. You can root the cuttings in water or directly in soil.
For water propagation, place the cutting in a jar of fresh water, ensuring at least one node is submerged. Change the water every few days to maintain freshness.
For soil propagation, plant the cut end directly into a small pot filled with moist, well-draining potting mix, ensuring at least one node is buried. Place the cuttings in bright, indirect light and maintain a warm temperature. Roots typically form within a few weeks, and once they reach an inch or two in length, the new plant can be potted.