Pilea Peperomioides Care - Expert Tips

Welcome to our pilea peperomioides care guide. In general pilea like indirect sunlight, and to be allowed to dry out between waterings, they can get root rot easily if overwatered…

Pilea Peperomioides Care Summary

Light needs:	Bright indirect sunlight
Watering needs:	Water once a week if dry. It must dry out fully between watering.
Fertilizer:	Balanced feed, diluted with twice as much water, once a month in spring summer.
Soil:	Rich, well draining
Humidity:	Normal household humidity. You can mist them once or twice a week if you like.
Temperature:	Keep away from cold drafts. 15-30°C (59-86°F) in day, 5°C (41°F) at night.
Where to buy:	Try our list of Rare Plant Shops.
Other names:	Pilea Peperomioides, UFO plant, Chinese money plant, pancake plant.
Common issues:	Over watering is a big issue for pileas, make sure you let them dry out completely.

Intro

Welcome to our Pilea Peperomioides Care guide. I absolutely love the Pilea the way it grows at all ages. And how the mature plants produce loads of pups. It looks great every step of the way. It propagates very quickly too, making a great gifting plant. This article is going to cover how to care for a Pilea…

Tip: we recommend Etsy for buying plants. Look for the best rated seller you can, and try to buy as close to your home as possible so the plant does not travel too far.

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Pilea Light Needs

How Much Sun Does A Pilea Need?

Pilea plants love indirect sunlight. They will love being close to a window. Make sure it does not get much direct sunlight as this can burn it and causes the leaves to brown.

How Often to Water Pilea

A Pilea Peperomioides should be watered regularly, about every 1 or 2 weeks, but make sure that it dries out before you water it again. This is really important as Pileas do not like to be waterlogged at all and it is a very common cause of death in the plant. Remember the Pilea is technically a succulent.

Pilea Fertilizer

Pilea like a balanced fertilizer (10-10-10 or 20-20-20), but always dilute it more than it is supposed to be I often put twice as much water than recommend per amount of plant feed so that the pilea does not burn from over fertilizing as they are very sensitive in this regard.

Pilea Soil

Pileas need a well draining peat based potting compost. They do not like to sit in wet soil, as they are highly prone to root rot.

Pilea Humidity

Should I Mist My Pilea?

Pileas enjoy normal household humidity levels, but if you have very low humidity you can spray the pilea when watering but it is much better to give them more constant humidity by keeping them in humid place.

Pilea Temperature

Pilea Peperomioides are great household plants and will do well in most homes as long as you keep them away from really cold drafts and direct sunlight for too long. Aim for 15-30°C (59-86°F) in the day, 5°C (41°F) at night.

Pilea Peperomioides Propagation

You can propagate pileas by taking cuttings of the smaller pups that grow around the base of the plant. You want to reach down in to the soil and get as much of the roots that are already established. Then you can pluck the smaller plant out with your fingers. If there are plenty of roots you can pot it up in soil. If it doesn’t have many roots I would wash the soil off it then put it in a jar of water too encourage rooting. After a month or two you can move the water propagation to soil.

For more on pilea propagation see our guide: Pilea Propagation.

Pilea Vs Pennywort

Although sometimes confused, they are different plants, a pennywort (hydrocotyle vulgaris) has much more irregular shaped leaf edges and prominent veins, unlike the pilea peperomioides which has rounded edges to its leaves.

For more on pileas see our pilea category page with all our pilea care and propagation guides.

Is It Toxic To Cats?

They are not toxic.

Pilea Peperomioides USDA Zone

They can survive outside all year if you live in zones 10-12.

Where To Buy a Pilea

Pileas can be bought almost anywhere. There are probably some on your local second hand app / site. Ebay, Amazon and Etsy too.

Other Names for Pilea

Pilea, Pilea Peperomioides, UFO plant, Chinese money plant, pancake plant.

Pilea Design/Display Tips

Pileas look beautiful in terracotta, I also keep some of mine concrete planters.

Mojito Pilea

There is a recently-popular new variegated pilea known as a mojito pilea. It looks absolutely stunning. It needs similar care to the normal pilea, just be careful about burning from too much direct sunlight as they are slightly more sensitive.

Here is a photo of one of ours…

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A post shared by teakandterracotta (@teakandterracotta)

Pilea Peperomioides FAQs and Common Issues

The most common issues with Pilea Peperomioides care are root rot and sunburn – make sure you have a well draining compost and let it dry out between watering. Keep the pilea in a bright spot but not direct sunlight and it should do well.

Why Are The Leaves On My Pilea Falling Off?

If your leaves are falling off rapidly you could well have over watered the plant, they get root rot very easily. Is the soil wet? Let it dry out thoroughly between waterings.

How Can I Make My Pilea Grow Faster?

Pilea Peperomioides grow best in a lot of light, but not direct sunlight, you can feed it with standard balanced plant food, diluted down to 50%.

Pilea Root Rot

Root rot is a common issue with pileas and can kill them really quickly so be careful not to over water your Chinese money plant. If it gets root rot, take it out of its soil and dry the roots for a day then plant it back into dry soil.

Pilea Peperomioides Leaves Falling Off?

Pilea drop leaves when their care needs are not met. normally this is due to overwatering, but it can be underwatering . Be careful to check your plant each week by putting your finger in the soil, but only water it if the soil is dry.

Pilea Peperomioides Vs Peperomia Polybotrya

You can easily tell the difference between these plants as the pilea has round leave and the peperomia polybotrya (aka Peperomia Raindrop) has tear or raindrop shaped leaves.

Can Pilea Peperomioides Grow In Water?

Pilea can grow in water alone, if you start them as a cutting in water from the start.