Hi there, We recently bought a new Pachira aquatica a month or two ago and so far it's been doing well. It's about 4 feet tall and seemingly healthy (sitting in indirect sunlight in our solarium, facing north-east). Over the past few weeks I noticed a few leaves have turned brown and have dropped off - nothing I was too concerned about as all the other leaves are healthy. However, upon a closer inspection I've noticed that on the underside of practically every "healthy" leaf, on the main vein, closer to the tip of the leaf, are little beads of sap. There's no apparent infestation of insects or fungus. In fact, I don't know if this is normal or if I should be alarmed. So far it doesn't seem to be hindering the growth of our plant, but upon some basic Google research, it appears as if sap on the underneath of the leaf suggests some sort of infestation, but so far I don't see it. And this is coming from somebody who has successfully battled aphids, whiteflies, moths and spider mites in the past! So I'm wondering if the sap I'm seeing is representative of something else. Any tips or info would be greatly appreciated.
Hi there, I was having the same problem a couple months ago and did a bit of searching. My tree is pretty healthy. Even with the changing colder fall weather here in Toronto, I still notice new growth. The sap didn't cause a problem in the long run. I hope your tree is doing well! I found this link helpful: http://en.allexperts.com/q/House-Plants-721/Sticky-droplets-money-tree.htm Here is the response: "Given the health of your Pachira, I believe that those are simply sap droplets that it is oozing. If it is NOT on the top sides of any leaves or on the floor underneath the tree, then that is what it is and don't worry about it. If you are finding the stickiness in these other locations, then you may have a scale infestation."
