Sims 3 Swiftgro Gardening Station

Where Can I Find a Money Tree Seed in Sims 3

In The Sims 3, players must plant and grow a money tree from seed to claim its rewards (unlike in The Sims 2 where the tree was the reward itself). But to grow the plant, you need the seed!

So, where can you find a money tree seed in Sims 3? Analyze an unknown special seed (there's a chance it will be a money tree), catch a box containing a money tree seed while fishing, use the conversion ritual (Supernatural), or if all else fails use a cheat.

Let's take a look at all the ways you can get a money tree seed for yourself.

Unknown Special Seeds

There's a one in four chance that an unknown special seed will turn out to be a money tree seed. The only way to know is to get your gardening skill high enough to plant special seeds, and then wait for them to grow.

Sims 3 Special Seed Cemetery — Special seeds are often found near cemeteries.

If you have the University Life expansion and get your Sim's science skill up to level four, then you can analyze special seeds in your inventory. This allows you to know what plant they will grow before actually planting them.

The Swiftgro Gardening Station (a premium object purchased from The Sims 3 Store) also allows you to identify unknown special seeds. Plus, it has a seed spawner that spits out random seeds every day. And if you're lucky, you might get a money tree seed.

My Sim bought a gardening station, and the very next morning, there was a money tree seed on the ground!

Money Tree Seed Swiftgro — My Sim got a money tree seed from the SwiftGro gardening station!

If you have no way to identify seeds, your only option is to start a big garden and plant all your unknown special seeds. Eventually, a money tree is bound to grow.

Fishing Box

There's a small chance your Sim will catch a box containing a money tree seed while fishing. I have never had this happen, but it is possible.

In my opinion, if you really want a money tree, looking for special seeds is a much better use of your time. It's practically guaranteed you'll find one eventually. But with fishing, it might never happen. (Just count it as a nice surprise if you get one!)

Conversion Ritual

If you have the Supernatural expansion, a witch who has learned the conversion ritual can change an item into a money tree seed. But not at will. It's random, so you'll just have to keep casting until you get one.

Cast the spell on other seeds or produce to try your luck. The spell is available to your witch Sims very early on, so this makes it a good strategy if you have a spell caster with a green thumb.

Money Tree Seed Cheat

If you don't mind cheating, there's a super easy way to get a money tree in the buy debug menu. Here's what to do:

Press Ctrl + Shift + C on your keyboard to open the cheat console.
Type in "testingcheatsenabled true" without the quotes, and press enter.
Open the cheat console again. Type in "buydebug on" without the quotes, and press enter.
Go into Buy Mode (F2).
Click on the question mark at the top of the buy mode catalog.
Click on the "Gardening Plants & Seed Spawners" tab.
Scroll through until you find "Autosoil: Plant Money Tree."
Place it down on your lot, and now you have a mature money tree.

Note: The money tree you purchase through the buy debug menu will be mature, but it will not yet be ready to harvest. Take good care of it until it fruits, which is about three days in my experience.

You may want to turn buydegbug off in the cheat console after purchasing the tree. It's been known to cause problems with saving games when left on.

Tips for Finding a Money Tree Seed

Finding a money tree seed takes patience, but its a great project for a gardener Sim since they need to pick up seeds anyway. Here are some tips that might help on your journey:

When you start a new game, it can take up to 24 hours for seeds to start spawning in the world. Don't waste your time looking for them the first day. Use this time to fish or work on building your gardening skill instead.
When you find special seeds in the world, remember where you found them. They will spawn there again. This is the easiest way to get a money tree seed (besides getting lucky with the gardening station or cheating). Just keep going back to where the special seeds spawn until you get one.
If you have enough lifetime happiness points, purchase the collection helper lifetime reward. You can use it to find special seeds on the map without wandering around aimlessly looking for them for hours.
In the base game world of Sunset Valley, rare and special seeds are often found near the cemetery. This is true in other worlds, too.

Growing a Money Tree

You need gardening level 7 to plant a money tree seed. While you're on the search, it's a good time to get your Sim's gardening level up.

After planting, treat your money tree like any other plant. Make sure it's well-watered and kept free of weeds.

Sims 3 Money Tree Sprout — Christopher Steele waters a newly sprouted money tree.

After a few days, the tree will sprout. And in about a week, it will fully mature. Money trees continue to increase in quality as they age (as long as you care for them). Eventually, they will reach perfect quality.

Note: Fully mature money trees with perfect quality spawn a normal money tree seed. Plant the new seed and add to your riches.

If you don't water your money tree, it will die of neglect. When it dies, it explodes and leaves behind stacks of bills that your Sim must pay. Make sure to take good care of it, or your blessing could turn into your curse!

Harvesting a Money Tree

Once your money tree is ready to harvest, you'll see little money bags hanging off its branches.

Sims 3 Money Tree Harvest — A money tree ready to harvest has little money bags as "fruit."

A harvest yields several money bags, which you can find in your Sim's inventory. Sell them to get the money. On my first harvest, I received three bags. Two of them were worth 61 Simoleons, and the last was worth 58 Simoleons.

As your money tree ages and its quality increases, the money bags also increase in value. It's a long-term investment growing money trees, but eventually it pays off. Best of all, money trees have a very long lifespan (5 or more generations).

They can be passed down through the generations to keep your Sim's family rolling in cash for eternity. When they finally die of old age, they turn black and produce no more money bags.