In this era of global warming and pollution, it has become a necessity that we develop a knack for gardening. If you are a beginner, start with plants that are easy to grow, like the Pilea Peperomioides.
The plant itself does not require much watering or sunlight. It also emits a pleasant scent when it blooms, making it ideal for any room in the house. Chinese money plants are a great investment for your home and garden.
Chinese money plants benefit your home and garden because they attract good luck, bringing prosperity into your life! Continue reading for the perfect guide to Chinese money plant care.
1. Origins
Pilea Peperomioides, commonly known as the Chinese money plant, pancake plant, missionary plant, friendship plant, Mexican hat plant or UFO plant, is a plant native to Brazil.
However, the origin of this plant can be traced back to Southern China. They grow best in warm conditions with plenty of sunlight and moist soil.
From beginners to professionals, anyone can handle Chinese money plant care as long as they are interested in gardening. These plants grow quickly, so they are a great choice for people who don’t have much time to water plants.
The Chinese money plant care has been seen as a good luck charm in East Asia since ancient times. There is a legend surrounding this plant, about how a poor farmer prayed to the Gods for prosperity only to find this plant growing on his farm.
He found that these beautiful plants had leaves shaped like coins. The story goes that when he discovered this, he grew more of these plants and took them to the local market to sell them for profit.
Soon other farmers learned of this new crop and began planting it as well, but they were not able to get their plants to look like coins—only one farmer’s had this ability. Soon, he became the wealthiest man in the village. Wherever he went, people would find him using magic seeds that produced money.
The Chinese believed the plant would bring wealth and good fortune to those who owned it. They would hang branches from their ceilings as decorations or place them near windows so they could get sunlight throughout the day.
2. How to Grow a Missionary Plant?
When growing Chinese money plants from seed, start by soaking them overnight in warm water until they swell up and become plump. After soaking, place them on top of moist paper towels.
Place these paper towels in an area where they will receive bright but indirect sunlight throughout the day (at least six hours). Once seeds have sprouted and are about 1/4 inch long, move them into pots with potting soil and cover the top with plastic wrap, so they don’t dry out.
Keep them moist until they’re ready for transplanting into their permanent homes outdoors or indoors, where they won’t get too much sunlight (which could cause them to wilt).
3. Chinese Money Plant Care
The Chinese money plant is a beautiful flowering plant native to China and the Philippines. It has glossy green, coin-shaped leaves and star-shaped flowers with a yellow centre. The flowers can be white or pink, but they will always have a yellow centre.
It is an easy-to-grow houseplant that requires very little maintenance. Chinese money plant care can be very easy as it can thrive even if you forget about it for days. This makes these indoor plants perfect for busy people who don’t have much time to spend on their plants.
The Chinese Money Plant is more than just a pretty face—it’s also an excellent air purifier, removing toxins from the air around it so you can breathe easily. It also removes formaldehyde, benzene and carbon monoxide from the air around it, which is great for anyone living in an area with high levels of those chemicals (like near highways or factories).
3.1. Sunlight:
You’ll want to place your plant in bright indirect light (not direct sunlight). If you have no other option than direct sunlight, use a reflector to bounce some of the light off of other surfaces and back onto your plant so that it doesn’t get scorched by direct exposure to the sun’s rays.
3.2. Water:
The Chinese money plant does best when it’s watered often but not too much. Watch the leaves for signs of wilting and then water when necessary but don’t let it sit in water for long periods if you want to keep its leaves from getting mushy and prevent root rot.
3.3. Soil:
The best soil for Chinese money plant care is a pH level of 6.0 to 7.0. , which can be achieved by adding lime to the potting soil mixture if it is too acidic or peat moss if it is too alkaline. The soil should be made up of 40% organic matter, 25% sand or perlite, 30% vermiculite or cedar chips and 10% organic fertilizer.
3.4. Temperature:
The Chinese money plant prefers warm temperatures (around 70 degrees Fahrenheit) but can tolerate cooler temperatures as well (down to 40 degrees Fahrenheit). If you want your plant to grow faster, try putting it in bright light near a window or under an incandescent light bulb (but not too close).
3.5. Fertilizer:
You should fertilize a Chinese money plant once every two months during the growing season (spring through fall) with a balanced fertilizer at half strength. You should also sprinkle some compost on top of the soil every couple of weeks during this time.
Do not fertilize your Chinese money plant during winter if it is kept indoors. If it lives outdoors and is exposed to freezing temperatures at night, then you can fertilize once every three months after the first hard frost has passed in late autumn or early winter (but never in spring).
4. How to Re-pot a Pancake Plant?
The pancake plant, or Chinese money plant, is an indoor plant grown in a pot or planter. The container the plant is in must be at least 6 inches deep. That way, it won’t disturb the roots too much when it grows and fills out. It should also have drainage holes at the bottom to prevent root rot and facilitate air circulation.
Re-potting is essential to Chinese money plant care. You can easily re-pot the plant as it grows when it becomes too large for its pot. Repotting your Chinese money plant is a great way to give it a healthy new home, and it’s also a great way to extend the plant’s life by giving it better soil conditions.
Step 1: You first need to determine whether your plant has grown roots outside the pot. If it hasn’t, you can skip this step. If it has, we recommend using a “potting mixture“ to repot your plant and promote healthy growth.
Potting mix is just regular dirt enriched with compost or fertilizer, ensuring your plant gets all the nutrients it needs to stay healthy.
Step 2: Prepare the new pot by filling it with soil and placing it where you want to re-pot your Chinese money plant.
Step 3: Remove the plant from its current container by gently pulling the soil around its roots until the entire root mass comes up from its container. If any potting mix has adhered to the root ball, gently wash it away from the roots with water from a watering can or hose.
Step 4: If you need to trim any roots that have grown under or around the edge of their previous container, now is a good time to do so before planting into your new one (if you are using a different type of pot).
Trim off any damaged roots as well as those growing above ground level; these could dry out faster than healthy ones if left exposed above ground level.
4.1. How Often Should You Re-Pot Chinese Money Plants?
Your Chinese money plant is a tropical plant that needs to be repotted every once in a while, depending on its size. The more you keep it in one pot, the bigger it gets, but as it grows, it will need to have its roots pruned and divided.
Ideally, your friendship plant should be repotted every two years if it’s growing well. If you want to keep the plant in one pot for longer than two years, you can probably wait three or four years before repotting again.
4.2. Which Pot Is Best for a UFO Plant?
There are lots of different pots you can use for Chinese money plant care—ceramic pot, plastic pot, and clay pot. The choice of pot can also vary based on the potting soil in use. It is preferred that you use fresh, organic and moist soil where your plant can thrive.
If you want to grow your Chinese money plant outdoors, you should use an old clay pot or terracotta pot. They are porous and allow for good drainage, so your plant will not sit in water all day long.
Make sure that whatever container you choose for Chinese money plant care has plenty of room for your plant to grow into; otherwise, it will become root bound and stop growing properly!
5. How To Propagate Your Chinese Money Plant?
Another important part of Chinese money plant care is propagating. It is a great way to share the wealth of your home and garden with others. It allows you to grow baby plants from the mother plant. It is a gorgeous plant and can be a great addition to any home.
Not only is propagating a pilea plant easy, but it is also highly economical. The fact that you can grow baby plants out of the mother plant also makes it a very thoughtful gift for your friends and family.
With enough care and precision, anyone can propagate a UFO plant. All you need is a fully matured mother plant to keep as a parent, a clean knife and a pot to grow the new baby plant.
5.1. Mother Plant
First, pick a healthy leaf from the mother plant – the first plant in the pot. Make sure the leaves you choose for the baby plants are healthy. You will be able to tell just by looking at them closely.
If a leaf is unhealthy, discard it and try again with another leaf until you find one that looks good enough to use. It is prudent that the leaves you pick from the mother plant are mature and healthy, as they will be turning into new plants.
5.2. The Cutting
Next, take your sharp scissors (or knife) and cut off the tip of the leaf where they meet–this should be about halfway up on the stem. Then use your thumb or index finger to press down on both sides of this wound to ensure it stays closed while working with it.
5.3. Replanting
Next, place this cutting (with its “wound”) into some potting soil in a pot that has drainage holes in its bottom so that water can escape when you water it later on down the line (this is important!). The pot should be large enough for both.
That cutting will eventually grow into a new plant that will become the “daughter” plant. However, the daughter plant usually has fewer leaves than its parent but can still grow up to 1 foot in diameter.
6. Interesting Facts to Know
The Chinese money plant is succulent but prefers cool temperatures and can survive in cold weather. Its leaves are edible and have a subtle flavor similar to spinach. They’re also rich in iron and fiber.
The Chinese money plant is incredibly versatile. Its flowers, leaves, and stems can be used in many different ways. Their flowers can be used to make tea or medicine. Just be careful not to eat too many at once—they’re known for being highly toxic.
The leaves of the Chinese money plant can be used as a dye for fabrics or paper. You could also use them as a food flavoring. However, leaves from this plant have been known to cause hallucinations and other unpleasant side effects when consumed in large quantities.
The stems of the Chinese money plant are most commonly used for making paper products like notebooks or journals because they’re so lightweight and soft! They’re also very flexible, making great ropes or strings for crafts projects like macramé bracelets or necklaces.
The root system of the Chinese money plant consists of a fleshy sinewy rhizome, which grows horizontally along the surface of the soil and spreads out as it matures. It helps them to grow quickly and take in water easily.
The Chinese money plant flowers in April or May, but it can take up to two years before they bloom for the first time after being planted indoors (if at all). The plant usually blooms every spring after that for another five years or so before dying off completely.
If you want your Chinese money plant to flower, move it to a cool location for a few months during winter and bring them back around springtime. Their flowers are small, white colored and have pink stems.
It takes about three months for seeds from a mature Chinese money plant flower to germinate into seedlings that can be transplanted into pots if desired; however, these seedlings will take up to three years before they grow big enough for planting outside.
Also Read – 30 Best Types of Houseplants You Should Know About
7. Key Takeaways
It is easy to grow a healthy Pilea Peperomioides if you follow the abovementioned guidelines. Chinese money plant care requires nothing more than vigilance from its owner. Take good care of it, and it will grow into a beautiful adult plant.
It’s important to remember that your plant will need different things as it grows. It might be best to move it at first until you get a feel for what the plant needs at different stages of its life.
If you notice any brown spots on the leaves, cut those off and discard them. They’re dead tissue and can spread disease to other parts of the plant if left unattended.
Also, If new growth appears on top of old growth (it’ll look like little green bumps), don’t worry about it too much—just cut off any flowers as they appear, so they don’t take up energy from other parts of the plant.
Chinese money plant care is a beautiful experience. It is a low-maintenance houseplant that can be grown indoors or out. It’s an excellent choice for people new to gardening and looking for something that won’t require much attention. The plant itself is very forgiving and will thrive in most conditions.
It’s important to remember that when you’re caring for a plant, you are caring for life—and we don’t want to see that life end prematurely! So be careful and vigilant about your plant’s needs, and enjoy the beauty and productivity of your amazing Chinese money plant.
