Hi all, this is more of a curiosity than an advice question. Have you known money trees to be held together with a rubber band deep under the soil? Is that good for it? I get they use them to hold the braid together and also had one or 2 at the higher parts of my plant.

My kids knocked the little guy I've had for about 3 years over today (again!) and all the soil fell out and I was able to see for the first time way at the bottom of its trunk it was held together with a rubber band.

Interesting! That would eventually cause girdling. I would cut that off. I wonder how many asked-about trees over the years on here might have been suffering because of this, but we didn't know to suggest checking for it.

Anything that is wound around a woody part of a plant is not good. Secundary growth (increase in diameter) will be inhibited, or worse, cut off. Worst case scenario the plant dies because it's being 'choked'.

Remove it asap.

Right? Yea, that's what I was thinking. I did remove it as soon as I saw it. I keep reading about how fast-growing this plant is, but feel like mine has barely grown at all in 3 years, so I wondered if the band could have been stunting it.

@purpleinopp it's amazing the things you discover when your kids are on a mission to constantly destroy every plant you own. This isn't the first beneficial discovery I've made after a kid completely pulverized a plant. I can't have nice things.

LOL!! I know that feeling.

Wouldn't a thin rubber band as pictured disintegrate after 3 years in soil?

I would have thought so, but apparently not. It still had quite a bit of bounce to it when I snipped it off.

When I purge old paper files from cold storage, there are rubber bands in there that are 20+ years old and still just fine. Most become brittle, but not all.