Plant library / Safe for cats & dogs
Money Tree
Pachira aquatica
Non-toxic to cats and dogs
The braided-trunk money tree (Pachira — not the jade plant sometimes given the same name). Let the top few centimetres dry between waterings; bright indirect light. Safe for cats and dogs.
Toxicity
Safe
Not known to be toxic to cats.
Safe
Not known to be toxic to dogs.
Source — ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center, toxic and non-toxic plant list; read from this species' own page
Pet-safety information is a general guide from the ASPCA's toxic-plant database and covers cats and dogs only. "If eaten" summarises the symptoms ASPCA lists for that plant; how an animal actually reacts depends on how much it ate and on the animal. It isn't exhaustive, isn't veterinary advice, and individual animals vary — never rely on it as the sole basis for a decision about your pet. If you think your pet has eaten a harmful plant, contact a vet immediately.
Care
- WaterEvery 7–10 days
- LightBright, indirect
- HumidityAverage humidity
- Temperature16–27 °C
The same interval the Sabz app schedules reminders from. In autumn and winter the app stretches it; see houseplants in autumn.
Common problems
Money tree yellow leaves
Yellow leaves are overwatering: despite the name and the braided trunk, it stores water and wants a drink every seven to ten days in summer, when the top few centimetres are dry, and less in winter. Let the compost dry a good way down and check the pot drains.
Money tree dropping leaves
Leaves dropping in a rush is a reaction to change — a move, a cold draught, the heating coming on. Give it bright, indirect light in a stable spot away from doors and windows, and leave it there; it regrows within a few weeks. Moving it again restarts the drop.
Money tree trunk wrinkled
A wrinkled, softening trunk is the plant using its stored water — it has been dry for too long. One thorough soak, drained fully, and it firms up over a week or two. Then back to watering when the top of the compost is dry, not before.
Similar plants
- Air Plant safeTillandsia
- Bird of Paradise toxicStrelitzia reginae
- Fiddle Leaf Fig toxicFicus lyrata
- Norfolk Island Pine safeAraucaria heterophylla
In the app
Add a money tree to Sabz and the watering interval above becomes a reminder, the toxicity verdict sits on the plant's own page, and when a leaf turns, the Check-up reads what you have actually logged to say why.
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