I bought this tree at a grocery store and I'm not sure how to care for it. It's about 1 1/2 feet tall and it has dark lance-shaped matte dark green leaves about three inches long with light yellow/white center veins. There are four sets of leaves opposite each other along the branches with one leaf at the end of each branch. The sets are about 1 inch from eachother. There is a section of fleshier green at each branch base. The "trunk" is dark green with tiny spots of the same color as the center vein of each leaf. The base of the trunk has a green bulb-like growth shaped somewhat like an elephant's toenail, I'd say. I know nothing about where this plant grows in the wild. It's looking kind of sickly and is deteriorating fast. I've started to use a general fertilizer and it's producing new shoots at a rapid pace, but the older leaves are drooping a lot (I don't think I'm overwatering it) and are kind of wrinkly compared to the new leaves which are shiny, supple, and lighter green. Any help identifying this little tree of mine would be greatly appreciated. I've pretty much lost all hope using Google. :) thanks!
Thanks for trying but it's not Pachira aquatica. The leaf alignment is different. I saw a picture of the bumps on the bottom of the the trunk of Pachira aquatica, which may have led you to believe it was that. The green growths on my tree come up from the ground right next to the trunk. Any other ideas? Thanks again!
You are fabulous!! Thanks so much. I've been wondering for weeks now. Next step is to figure out how to get Chiquita (that's what I named him...I know I'm strange) back to health. Maybe some sand in the soil for better drainage? Okay...time to get my hands dirty--yay!!! Thanks again!
