Question
QUESTION: Hello, I have 2 braided money tree plants purchased from the same place the same date , about 6 months ago, they were both fine but now one of them seems to be dying, the leaves just keep browning and falling off, there are very few left, and it has fruit flies! I care for them the same way so i dont understand why its dying. by the way they are both indoor plants. any help you can give me with this i would really appreciate.

ANSWER: Hi Ruthy...What you have are Parchira trees.  Indoor plants are harder to keep alive as they should be outdoors.  I have a feeling the reason the leaves are falling off is because they are deciduous, which means they loose their leaves in the winter.  The fruit flies you speak of are probably knats.  Spray with Neem from Florikan or an insectacidal  spray.  They are a tough plant and should make it fine till you can put it outside again.  Happy Gardening  kathy

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hi, i dont think its because of winter i've been looking at it closer it has lots of small chunks of white mold in the soil, it also has black spots on the bottom of the stems, and now i've noticed the other plant has the white mold and is starting to get the gnats.

ANSWER: Hi Ruthy..Have you washed off the plant and sprayed it with an insecticidal spray, the Neem spray will take care of any fungal problem.  You can also change the soil.  Are you watering too much?  Also another thing to consider is it is deciduous and will loose its leaves in the winter.  Do you have a water tray under your plant?  You should not have any water in it after 15 minutes, it should be emptied as the plant took enough water by then, else your plant could rot.  The do not need alot of water.  kathy

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION:  Hi Kathy, thank you so much I just bought the spray, but here抯 another issue my plants do not have a water tray they are in ceramic pots, what I did when I first put them in is put a layer of rocks at the bottom of the pot so that the plants wouldn抰 constantly be in water. Could this be causing all the mold and if so what can I do about the ceramic pot?

Answer
Hi Ruthy..Great the Neem will be a great start for all your plants.  Now you do not mention if the ceramic pot has a hole in it?  If it does can the water drain out?  I water my money trees, in pots, in 90 degree weather maybe once a week in the hot sun.  So if you are watering more than that in the winter it is still too much.  The pot can dry out in-between waterings.  Hope that helps...kathy