Do Money Tree Leaves Grow Back? (+How To)

The money trees have lush and beautiful leaves that might fall off under various circumstances.

It doesn’t feel good to see your money tree losing its leaves, and you might wonder if your money tree leaves will grow back. So, today we are going to discuss the same with you.

If your money tree is not getting the right amount of water and lighting conditions, it can end up losing all its leaves. However, if you adjust their care routine and give an adequate amount of water, light, and fertilizer to your money tree, new leaves will grow back.

When taking care of your money tree, you should study the requirements of the plants very carefully, or else you will make a mistake that will cause the leaves to drop.

Let’s understand the reasons behind your money tree losing its leaves and how to grow them back.

Why are all the leaves falling off my money tree?

Your money tree is losing leaves because of a problem in its care routine. If something is wrong, you need to identify what it is. So we have listed few possible problems and their solutions for your help.

Overwatering

Overwatering can lead to severe problems as it is an unfavorable condition for the plant’s roots. The roots of the plant have to stay wet due to the excess water.

If you keep watering your money tree without checking the soil and ignore the signs afterward, your plant will give up on you.

When the money tree is overwatered, its roots suffocate and fail to absorb water or nutrients from the soil. The plant doesn’t get enough supply and becomes weak. The plant loses the energy to hold the leaves, and therefore they fall off.

Solution: Before you think of new leaves, you need to give your money tree time and care to recover.

• To begin with, stop watering the money tree.
• Find a bright spot for the plant that gets indirect light. Allow the soil to dry out.
• Prune the damaged leaves.
• If the condition is severe, take the plant out of the pot, prune the damaged roots and repot it in a new pot with fresh soil mix.

Underwatering

When you leave your plant without any care for days, it will develop different problems. When it doesn’t get enough water, it becomes dehydrated.

A dehydrated plant is low on energy and can’t function as a healthy plant. The soil becomes dry after using all the retained water; the roots cannot absorb any nutrients from the soil anymore, making the plant dull and weak.

All these lead to unhealthy leaves that have no energy and eventually drop.

Solution: An underwatered money tree can be revived quickly with water and care.

• Give the money tree a thorough shower.
• Let the extra water flow out of the drainage holes.
• Once the plant and soil are dry, water it again.
• Fix a watering routine, so you don’t forget to water the money tree.

Also Read: How Often Should I Water My Money Tree? (Money Tree Water Requirements)

Direct sunlight

Direct sunlight is not the ideal condition for your money tree as the plant is not used to the sun’s harsh rays.

If your money has been getting direct sun for a prolonged period, it will get scorched, and the leaves will get affected by it the most.

Due to too much direct sunlight, the money tree leaves will become discolored, dry, and then drop from the plant. This will also make the soil dry, and the plant will become dehydrated.

Solution: To get your money tree back to health after it is scorched by the sun, you need to:

• Relocate the plant and keep it in a spot that doesn’t get direct sunlight.
• Prune the scorched leaves as they will not become healthy again.
• Avoid fertilizing the plant till it recovers.
• Water the plant till the excess water starts coming out of the drainage holes. But if the plant has lost a lot of leaves, give it less water than usual. 

Low light

Money trees can survive low light for few days, but if you extend it and keep the plant in low light for days, its leaves are bound to fall off.

Lack of light leads to a lack of photosynthesis and results in low energy in your money tree. Due to this, the plant fails to hold the leaves, and they drop.

Solution: You need to provide proper light to your money tree to keep the plant and its leaves healthy.

• Find a spot for your money tree that gets 6-8 hours of indirect sunlight every day.
• Avoid placing the money tree in direct sun, especially during afternoons.
• Consider placing the money tree under direct sunlight for few hours in winter.
• Get artificial lights if your house doesn’t have a natural source of light.

Also Read: How Much Light Does A Money Tree Need? (Money Tree Light Requirements)

Underfertilization

The soil alone cannot provide all the nutrients to the plants. Therefore, the plant requires water and fertilizers. Fertilizers help the plants to grow by providing the needed nutrients. 

If you are not giving any fertilizer to your money tree during the growing period, you are making a mistake. Without fertilizer, the soil will run out of nutrition, and the money tree will become weak due to a lack of nutrition.

Due to the weakness, the plant’s leaves will not be able to hold themselves and will die and fall off.

Solution: Fertilizing is the only solution to this problem.

• Money trees are light feeders, so use a liquid fertilizer and give the money tree half of the recommended dose by diluting it.
• Fertilize the money tree once or twice a month during the growing season that is the summer and spring months.
• Avoid fertilizing in the colder months as that is the dormant period for the money tree.
• Don’t overdo it.

Also Read: Does Money Tree Need Fertilizer? (How Much, How Often & Best Pick)

Pest infestation

Pests like mealybugs, aphids, spider mites, scales, etc., tend to attack the money tree, especially if they find it vulnerable.

If your money tree is living in low light with moist soil most of the time, the pests will thrive on the plant. It will feed on the sap and make the plant weak.

The pests multiply and take over the plant very fast as they are hard to notice due to their tiny size.

Pests feed on the sap of the money tree and sometimes the roots and take out all the nutrition from the plant. The plant becomes weak and, therefore, starts losing leaves.

Solution: If your money tree has a pest infestation, you need to take action immediately.

• Separate your money tree from the other houseplants to make sure that the infection doesn’t spread.
• Wash the money tree thoroughly 3-4 times to eliminate as many pests as possible.
• Spray neem oil solution all over the money tree and continue this for at least two weeks.
• You can use chemical pesticides but be careful as they might contain harmful chemicals.

Also Read: Does A Money Tree Attract Bugs? (Common Bugs+How To Get Rid Of Them)

Stress

Stress is common in plants, and there can be many reasons that can cause stress to your money tree.

If you have recently brought your money tree home, it might be stressed due to the changes in the environment or transportation. It might lose few leaves due to this as well.

Sudden rise or fall in temperatures and humidity levels can also shock the money tree.

Exposing your money tree to direct sunlight or keeping it close to the fireplace or furnace can also be stressful for the plant.

Winter can come with many problems and stress if your money tree is exposed to low temperature, low humidity, and cold drafts. Repotting or pruning during winter can shock the plant if you are not careful enough.

Solution: If you understand what can go wrong with your money tree, you will avoid stressing the plant.

• If you have brought a new money plant home, give it time to recover and take care of it.
• Avoid exposing the money tree to direct sunlight.
• Don’t keep the money tree too close to heating sources like the furnace or fireplace. Keep it a few inches away, at least.
• Keep the money tree away from frost, cold drafts, and low temperatures during winter.
• Don’t let the cold air from the Aircon hit your money tree, as that can make the plant dry.

Also Read: How To Take Care Of A Money Tree In The Winter?

How to encourage leaves to grow back on money trees?

Your money tree will grow new leaves even if it has lost some leaves. By now, you must have understood that a lot can go wrong if your care routine is not correct.

So the first thing you need to focus on is finding out what’s wrong and fixing it. After your plant has recovered, you need to reevaluate your care routine and make sure you care for your money tree as per its requirements.

Here are some steps of encouraging new leaves to grow on your money tree.

• Prune your money tree from time to time. Pruning encourages new growth and eliminates the damaged ones.
• Fertilize the money tree during the growing season as fertilizers boost the growth of the plant.
• Repot the money tree once in at least 3-4 years as the soil becomes acidic over time and loses nutrition. A fresh soil mix will provide more nutrients to the plant. Repotting will provide space for the roots to grow.
• Make sure that the money tree is getting the right amount of light and water.
• Spray neem oil solution on the money tree every month to keep the pests away so that they cannot slow down the plant’s growth by absorbing all the nutrition from it.

If you follow these steps and take proper care of your money tree, you will see that your money tree has grown back many new leaves and is looking healthy again.

Final thoughts

Sometimes the money tree loses old leaves. When the old leaves age, they die and fall off, and this is natural. This happens with every plant, and you should not be worried.

When the plant loses old leaves, it gets space for new growth, so you know you will get to see fresh leaves on the money tree soon after.

But if you see that leaves are getting discolored, dry, and then dropping from the plant, you need to look at the plant, figure out what’s wrong and take steps to correct the mistakes you’ve been making. 

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Reference: NYBG, WIKIPEDIA, CABI, Missouri Botanical Garden, Effect of light intensity on plant growth.