Hi~ I have this lovely money tree that I have had for about 3 or 4 years. It's always been very healthy and happy. I water it sparingly and only after the soil has dried thoroughly and expose it to indirect sunlight. Occasionally I give it a little houseplant fertilizer and it's always done really well under this care. A few weeks ago, I moved it out on my front porch as the weather was getting nice. After about 4 or 5 days, it started to wilt, many of the leaves browned and fell off and all the remaining branches appear to be rather week. I brought it back inside and upon examination, the trunks still appear to be very sturdy, but the tops are still wilting and even the new growth is yellowing and very weak. It doesn't appear to have any type of insects or fungus or mold. What should I do? I haven't repotted it in about 8 months and it doesn't appear to have outgrown the pot, but maybe some fresh soil would help. I don't know though, I don't want to cause more damage. Any ideas on what the problem may be? Your help is very appreciated!
New soil wouldn't help, in fact, it might cause problems.If the temps where cool at night, it might have caused a little cold damage. Maybe dry soil, overly wet soil, or any direct sun/heat might have caused the wilting. If those particular leaves leaves don't perk back up, they will probably wither and fall off like the others. The rest of the tree should be fine if you leave it where it was where it seemed happy indoors.
Probably the change in temperature at night as ^^ suggested, and the humidity. Why bring it outside? I wouldn't change the soil either. It's already stressed out. If you're very curious, you could poke around in the existing soil when it's dry - remove the plant from the pot but be careful not to mess up the root mass too much - replace in old soil again carefully. On average, try not to change soils twice in one year. Pachiras are fine in their soil for years, and definitely ok for 8 months provided there are no diseases or pests.