La pachira It is a tree that in temperate regions is sold as an indoor plant, since it is very sensitive to frost, especially intense frost, as it is native to the tropical jungles of South America.
Normally, when autumn comes and the temperatures start to drop, the leaves start to get ugly: first the tips turn yellow, and in a matter of a few more days the leaf loses all the chlorophyll and finally falls off. How to get it to survive?
The secret is in the subscriber
I know a teacher (he is a biologist who has dedicated his whole life to producing plants and then selling them in local markets) who always says the same thing: a potted plant needs food to grow. And it is often thought that plants need water and that's it, that the land they have is enough for them to develop well. And this is true ... until the nutrients in that substrate are depleted.
Thus, if we want the Pachira to come to spring alive, we have to feed it. With what? With FertilizersMinerals are highly recommended, like the one you can see in the image above, since the roots of this plant will be able to absorb them faster. We will pour a small spoonful (of coffee) on the surface of the earth, and we will water. We will give it again every 15 days, except in winter, which will be once a month.
Substrate drainage: important to avoid rotting
The substrate, when we are going to grow a Pachira at home, it must have very good drainageOtherwise the roots will rot and the trunk may become soft. To avoid this, we have to use a substrate composed of equal parts black peat and perlite, or mix 60% river sand with 40% black peat. Also, watering has to be occasional, so that the soil dries out almost completely between waterings.
If we have a plate underneath, We will remove the excess water after 30 minutes after each watering.
With these tips, your plant is sure to withstand winter temperatures well 🙂.