Hi, I have inherited this plant from a family member. We have no idea what it is or how to look after it properly. Can anyone help me.........Thanks in advance

On 8 Sep, 23:36, Stewart Robert Hinsley
wrote:

Any advance on Ficus benjamina?

Nowhere near Ficus benjamina or any member of the Moraceae. Aren't
you a fan of the Malvaceae Stewart? If so, you should have spotted
that it is Pachira aquatica, a South American member of the family and
normally a resident of swamps and river banks.

It's an easy plant to grow provided it receives bright light and is
not allowed to become dry at the root otherwise the leaves will brown
at the edges. Or fall off altogether. Feed using a general
fertiliser every 2 weeks in summer and 4 weeks at other times. Potting-
on should be carried out in spring or early summer, but bigger pots
means bigger growth so you have to weigh up the needs of the plant
against the amount of room you can provide. If it gets too big, you
can prune quite hard, but this is best carried out earlier in the
year. This has become a reasonably popular 'pot plant' in recent
years and as such is fairly tolerant of home conditions ### provided
there is ample light ###.

In its native habitat Pachira develops into a medium to large tree
eventually attaining 15 -18m. so it is only suitable as a house plant
for a few years - maybe 10 at the most. It can tolerate the very
lightest of frosts only occasionally and will shed its leaves in
response so it is best maintained at no lower than 8C if you want it
leafy all year round. However, it can be treated as a 'patio plant',
being placed out in late May and brought into frost-free cover for the
winter. Given this treatment it will do quite well, losing most of
its leaves in winter and resuming growth in late spring. If kept at
low temperatures for the winter, water requirements are low so you can
allow the plant to become nearly dry between waterings.

HTH