Pilea is an Asiatic perennial herb that and native from southwestern Yunnan province of china. This plant is also called as Chinese Money Plant and known for its large, pancake shaped leaves.
There are more than 600 species of this plant and the most varieties include Moon Valley and P. microphylla which is often called the artillery plant from Central America. The best feature of moon valley plant is their chartreuse leaves with deep texture like craters and valleys on the moon.
Most of the smaller varieties can be grown as houseplants because they are very easy to grow and take care of. These inexpensive plants are excellent to grow indoors and great starter plants for young or inexperienced growers. Their foliage varies considerably ranging from 3 inches strongly textured, tiny heart shaped, lanced shaped leaves and moss like foliage.
How To Care Pilea Plant:
- Pilea plant should be grown in bright, indirect sunlight but should not be placed in direct sunlight.
- It is important to choose the right soil to grow pilea plant. A typical potting mix or Espoma organic mix works best.
- It doesn’t need lots of water, so water them once or twice in a week and make sure let it dry out completely between waterings.
- The waxy sheen on the leaves indicates that it actually holds water well and prevents the water from transpiring too much. To keep this plant well shaped, rotate it at least once in a week to prevent it from getting lopsided.
- This plant is said to be hardy down to freezing, and a period of cool temperatures make them more likely to produce their tiny white flowers on pink stems that looks adorable.
- Fertilize this plant using liquid fertilizer once in a month. But once the autumn arrives, stop using fertilizer and set them up for success for the upcoming months.
- Sometimes, you may also want to keep this plant outdoors as temperatures warm but again take care to keep it out of direct sunlight.
Propagating Tips:
Pilea can be grown easily from root cuttings. As the plants have a tendency towards legginess, so its better to start new cuttings every spring instead of wrestling with an older pilea. Just place pilea in moist peat and keep warm until they root. And you don’t need rooting hormone to grow this cutting.
Strike 2 or 3 cuttings in a 4 inches pot filled with moistened potting mix. Place the pot in a plastic bag to hold its humidity and make sure to maintain temperature around 75 degree Fahrenheit. You can see the root growing within 2 or 3 weeks.
Repotting:
- Repot them in the early spring season from cuttings and discard the old plants.
- New plantlets also grow straight from the stem, all you need to do is place the cuttings in water for two or three weeks to develop roots.
- Then plant them in a new pot and keep the soil moist until the plant is well anchored and begins to produce new leaves.