Money Tree (pachira aquatica) 3:1:1 Mix (Help!)

[Alterative]

I've had my money tree for about 3 years now, the tree is my daughter's "life tree".... so as you can imagine, it is very special to me.

I've noticed that the root system is very week (not many defined roots) and after a lot of research, I found Al's 3:1:1 mix and took the plunge yesterday.

The only thing I'm finding is that the mix seems to feel very damp still, is this normal or have I done something wrong?

I mixed the bark mulch, perlite and peat together with a ratio of 3 scoops of mulch for every 1 scoop of perlite and peat. This is the mulch that I used:

The pot has a built in drainage system, so I can't tell when the water reaches the bottom.... but I also have brick stones at the bottom of the pot to provide more drainage, so I think I am okay there.

I placed some decorative rocks on the top of the mix, but I have removed most of them since noticing how damp the mixture still is.

Also, I'm wondering about nutrients with this mix.... to date I've been using this, it's a 12-4-8 "plant food" that I use for all my house plants once every two weeks. Will that still suffice?

Any help would be greatly appreciated, like I said... this tree means the world to me, so I want her to thrive!

 

[DirtMechanic]

Are you sure its not glabra? Do you have a picture of the plant?

Generally I would think you would be better off with a high quality potting mix. The cedar bark is mulch, not compost, nor will it rot, and is not nutritious, and the peat is organic matter but not nutritious in the humic sense, as it is just moss, and the perlite is glass, and not nutritious. I would think that feed is too strong but you might weaken it for all I know. You may want to find a more organic food like this.

Basically it is a tropical swamp plant. It exists where there is a lot of rotting compost.