Caring for the Chinese Money Plant (Pilea peperomioides)

By Erin Marissa Russell

Want to learn about how to care for a Chinese money plant ? We ’ve got all the detail , from implant to long - full term care . Just keep reading to find out more .

The Chinese Money Plant bewilder its name from the plant life ’s rotund , coin - shaped leaves . In fact , other epithet for Pilea peperomioides include coin industrial plant , pancake plant , or UFO plant . This plant come from China and is grow indoors as a houseplant in the United States .

growing Chinese Money Plant

How to Plant the Chinese Money Plant (Pilea peperomioides)

Formosan money plant require rich soil that drains well so as to thrive . They do best in soil with a pH equilibrium of 6.0 to 7.0 . ( Not sure of your ground ’s pH balance ? translate our articleHow to Test pH in Your Soil . Start with refreshful , clean potting territory mix that is either peat - ground or coir - free-base . tot perlite to the grime to better its drainage and foreclose the grunge from becoming oversaturated .

The temperature and humidity inside your house will be a fine environment for this houseplant . The only thing you need to be wary of are overly dry area , like near heating vents or baseboards . Avoid these pip .

Although Pilea peperomioides is intrepid down to freezing temperature , as an indoor plant you should keep it above 50 degrees Fahrenheit ( 10 degrees Anders Celsius ) . If you desire your Chinese money plant life to bloom , a abbreviated window of cold exposure during the winter can be utilitarian .

Propagate the Chinese Money Plant

Choose a container for your Chinese money plant life that is large enough to lodge the root lump of this tight - growing flora . Your container will also need to have drain holes . Plastic , terra cotta , or ceramic container are appropriate , though terra cotta will absorb some wet , which means you ’ll need to water your flora more frequently if you choose to pot it in terra cotta .

Find your Taiwanese money plant a spot where it will get intermediate tobright collateral light . verbatim light can scorch the flora , so make certain the light is average to bright indirect sparkle . Your plant will naturally stretch toward the luminosity a bit as it grow , so rotate it every once in a while to keep it looking symmetric . It is possible to acquire Chinese money plant life in lower illumination , but the plant will struggle , produce little leaves , become long-legged , and originate few offshoots .

How to Care for the Chinese Money Plant (Pilea peperomioides)

Chinese money plant do best with moderate lachrymation . That means to water the plant well , but lease it dry out almost completely between waterings . you’re able to ascertain the moisture horizontal surface by stick your fingerbreadth into the land near where your Chinese money plant is growing . If the earth feels moist or clings to your cutis , it is still wet . Dry soil will feel wry to the touch modality and will also not stick to your cutis .

The Chinese money works will show you when it need water supply by drooping a mo . The plant wo n’t stay wilt after being water , though . You ’ll be able to repair them by giving them the wet they need .

Fertilize your Taiwanese money plant monthly during its growth period with a balanced , worldwide use fertilizer . During the fall and winter when the works is dormant , you should not practice fertilizer .

pilea peperomioides with text overlay Caring for the Chinese Money Plant

Because Pilea peperomioides is so tight - growing , plan to repot it yearly . Repot your Formosan money plant life in early natural spring or summer into a orotund container , as it will necessitate the excess space . You should refreshen the soil with a new mess of pot filth meld with perlite when you change the container .

This is also the prison term to remove any offshoots you wish to preserve the shape of your industrial plant . you may learn about how to spread these offshoots into new plants in the next section . Alternatively , you’re able to leave them attached if you desire your plant to develop a denser , bushier appearing .

How to Propagate the Chinese Money Plant (Pilea peperomioides)

It ’s so soft to pass around new plant from Pilea peperomioides that it ’s earned the soubriquet “ exit it on plant ” and “ the share-out plant life . ” As long as your works is growing healthy and potent , it will produce offshoots that either come up from the beginning or from client on the shank ( normally in places where leaves have dangle ) . Once these offshoots have grown to a few inches tall , you’re able to branch them from the original industrial plant and propagate them into new plant .

you could separate an offshoot from the original plant by carefully digging up the root . Use a clean , sterilized gardening knife or brace of shears to cut down the root one or two inch under the soil air . you’re able to sterilize your gardening tools by drench them in a admixture of one-half inebriant and half weewee for five minutes . Then rinse them under clear track piddle , and let them air dry .

Once you have taken your cutting , put it into a container filled with fresh , new , moist potting grime . Until your cut has developed its own root system , keep the dirt moist but do not get it get oversaturated . Once roots have developed , change to the watering and fertilization educational activity hand earlier in this article .

Pests and Diseases of the Chinese Money Plant (Pilea peperomioides)

Mealybugs : Mealybugs are small insects that resemble tufts of white cotton . They feed on plant by inserting their sharp oral fissure part and sucking out the liquid inside the plant . Plants may respond to a mealybug infestation by deform yellow-bellied or curling . You may also notice sticky area where mealybug have been feed that can lead to jet mold .

Overwatering or overfertilization can contribute to a mealybug infestation . depart by separating the infested plant from others so the worm wo n’t travel to neighboring plant . Then you’re able to employ a high - press jet of piss from the hosiery to rap the mealybugs off . This will take several round of intervention to be effective . you’re able to also remove mealybugs from the plant with a Q - Tip dip in rubbing alcohol .

For more info , see our articleHow to Fight Mealybugs .

graduated table : When adult exfoliation insects get quick to feed , it ’s a longsighted - terminal figure decision . These worm attach themselves to the plant with their phonograph needle - alike mouths , then cover themselves with a waxy substance that hides them . Sometimes musical scale insects go undetected because they look like bumps on root word or arm . Where scale insect have been feeding , you may obtain a vindicated , viscid substance called honeydew .

you’re able to make a homemade nebulizer to struggle scale insects out of a gallon of fond water , a few drop of dish soap , and a tablespoonful of neem oil . Repeated applications may be necessary .

For more info , see our articleHow to Control Scale Insects .

Spider Mites : Spider mites are itsy bitsy spider , not mite , and they ’re about the size of the period at the conclusion of this sentence . Where wanderer mites have been feed , foliage is discolored to yellow or may drop from the industrial plant entirely . Check the undersides of leaves for the colony of tiny cerise or white spider mite . You may also see net on the undersurface of leave-taking that the spider mites leave alone behind .

A small problem can become a major infestation quickly , so it ’s important to take quick action if you have spider mites . One simple treatment is knocking the wanderer speck off the industrial plant with a green of high - pressure level piss from the garden hose . This handling needs to be repeated several times in gild to be effective . Be careful not to pink the spider pinch onto neighboring works . It ’s right to move your Chinese money plant to an empty spot in the one thousand before strain this process .

For more information , see our articleHow to Fight Spider Mites .

These plants have become a rarity in recent years , so if you ’ve got one in your collection , you ’ll want to take good care of it , as it can be gruelling to replace . Whether you ’re adding a new Chinese money plant to your collection or you just want to ensure you ’re giving your Pilea peperomioides the best possible forethought , this article has arm you with the knowledge you need to be a winner .