Scientific Name
Pilea peperomioides Diels
Common Name(s)
Chinese Money Plant, Lefse Plant, Mirror Grass, Missionary Plant, Pancake Plant, UFO Plant
Synonym(s)
Podophyllum cavaleriei
Scientific Classification
Family: Urticaceae
Tribe: Elatostemateae
Genus: Pilea
Description
Pilea peperomioides is a popular houseplant with fleshy, dark green leaves attached to the stem by a long petiole. It can grow up to 12 inches (30 cm) tall. The leaves are round and can reach up to 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter. The stem axis is greenish to dark brown, usually simple, often upright straight, and slightly lignified at the base.
The tiny flowers are whitish or pale green, sometimes tinged pink, and appear on pinkish, branched stems in spring.
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones 9b to 11b: from 25 °F (−3.9 °C) to 50 °F (+10 °C).
How to Grow and Care
Chinese Money Plant likes bright indirect light. This plant is a relatively fast grower during the growing season from spring to fall. It should be rotated regularly to keep the main stem upright because the plant will turn all its leaves toward the light.
Use well-draining potting soil and repot it when the roots are coming out of the bottom of the pot.
Water moderately during the warmer months and wait until the soil is mostly dry between waterings. If the lower leaves start to turn yellow and fall, that is a sign of overwatering.
Use half-diluted all-purpose houseplant fertilizer once a month during the growing season.
This plant is very easy to propagate because it puts out baby plants through the soil. Then, when they become well-established plantlets, you can separate them from the mother plant with a clean, sharp knife and put them into moist soil (and keep the soil moist until it starts to grow new leaves) or into the water for root development.
Origin
Pilea peperomioides is native to Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in southern China.
Links
- Back to genus Pilea
- Succupedia: Browse succulents by Scientific Name, Common Name, Genus, Family, USDA Hardiness Zone, Origin, or cacti by Genus
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