Chinese Money Plant
4.6 out of 5 (658 experiences)
Fast grower
Survivor
About Chinese Money Plant
The Chinese money plant was shared through cuttings and grown as a houseplant for 20 years before it was known or studied by British botanists! Pilea peperomioides was first collected in 1906 in the Tsangshan mountain range, which rises to almost 14,000 feet altitude just west of the ancient city of Dali in western Yunnan, China. ⛰
Later, while hardly known to Western scientific communities, the species was grown in thousands of private European homes as off-shoots passed from one person to another. 🤝
Taxonomy
Pilea peperomioides
Pilea
Urticaceae
Rosales
Also known as
Pancake Plant, UFO plant, Lefse Plant, Missionary Plant, Bender Plant and Mirror Grass
How to care for Chinese Money Plant
How often to water your Chinese Money Plant
every 9
Chinese Money Plant needs 0.5 cups of water every 9 when it doesn’t get direct sunlight and is potted in a 5" pot.
Use our water calculator to personalize watering recommendations to your environment or download Greg for more advanced recommendations for all of your plants.
Water 0.5 cups every
9
Finding light for Chinese Money Plant in your home
a window
Chinese Money Plant may have difficulty thriving, and will drop leaves 🍃, without ample sunlight.
Place it less than 3 feet from a south-facing window to maximize the potential for growth.
Select your region to see how the current weather in your area affects the placement of Chinese Money Plant in your home 🏡.
How to fertilize Chinese Money Plant
Most potting soils come with ample nutrients which plants use to produce new growth.
By the time your plant has depleted the nutrients in its soil it’s likely grown enough to need a larger pot anyway.
To replenish this plant's nutrients, repot your Chinese Money Plant after it doubles in size or once a year—whichever comes first.
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My pilea had an accident and snapped in the middle. 😭 Can I cut the top off and pot it, or is it better to cut it up into smaller chunks? Is the bottom half going to be fine in the pot as is? #Pilea
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Help with leggy ChineseMoneyPlant Ummm. Help. Aretha here has multiple babies in her pot and has thrived since day one. She’s in a mini jungle with other plants and multiple grow lights. But the main mother plant has a wacky stem. I’m not sure if propping her up is the best- should I remove the babies, chop off the top? I have no idea. She’s not dying at all but she, uh, looks ridiculous and I’m at a loss. #help #ChineseMoneyPlant
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I need help!! My Chinese money plant is getting a little leggy, it lost all of its bottom leafs except the one on the picture, it is still green and the roots look good, it has been under a grow it does have new growth though so I feel like I should chop it? Put it in some water and then see what the bottom half does? #PileaPeperomioides #ChineseMoneyPlant #valscasoasis
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What is this? Are they bugs, seeds?
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Soil won’t dry Baby Pilea here, I watered it like more than a week ago, but the soil is still soaking wet. Anyone knows why please? I added a product anti-gnats as I am currently taking care of an infestation. Thanks
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Very proud of my Money Plant who has been babying like crazy 🥰😍 new babies on sight!!!
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Please help me! I can’t not figure out what I am doing wrong. The leaves won’t uncurl the way they should. What am I doing wrong 😭🌱 #ChineseMoneyPlant #help
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Plant is dropping leaves I recently brought home a small Chinese money plant. I put it in my windowsill to get strong light, and instantly it started dropping leaves. In 3 weeks it has dropped probably half its leaves. I have watered it on schedule. Anything I can do?
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my pilea is dropping perfectly healthy leaves, they just fall right off with the lightest touch. watering is fine so what could be causing this? #Pilea
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Any ideas why my Chinese money leaves keep turning yellow? #Pilea
Chinese Money Plant is generally easy to care for, though some plant parents report facing challenges with growing it. Check out the reviews down below to read more about their experiences!
💦 Water Needs
Chinese Money Plant prefers for the soil to dry out between waterings and should be watered regularly. Use our water calculator to personalize watering recommendations to your environment or download Greg for more advanced recommendations for all of your plants.
☀️ Sunlight Needs
Chinese Money Plant may have difficulty thriving and will drop leaves 🍃 without ample sunlight. Place it less than 3 feet from a window to maximize the potential for growth. Select your region to see how the current weather in your area affects the placement in your home 🏡.
🐶 🐈 👶 Toxicity
Chinese Money Plant is not known to cause harm to humans or pets. Regardless, if you, a family member, a cat, or dog has ingested any plant material, please consult a doctor or a veterinarian.
💨 Humidity
Chinese Money Plant doesn’t require additional humidity. Plants absorb most water through their root system rather than their leaves, so the best way to provide humidity for your plants is through watering the soil.
🪴 Soil
Chinese Money Plant does best in well-draining soil. A good soil will contain lots of organic matter such as coco coir as well as perlite or vermiculite to help with drainage. Adding a handful of perlite to regular store-bought potting soil should do the trick!
💩 Fertilizer
Chinese Money Plant should be repotted after it doubles in size or once a year, whichever comes first. Fresh potting soil has all the nutrients your plant needs, so as long as it’s refreshed yearly, you shouldn’t need to use fertilizer. Remember, plants get their energy from sunlight, not fertilizer!
❄️ Dormancy
It’s common for Chinese Money Plant to go dormant in the wintertime and you may notice their growth slow down. Waterings should be spaced out more during this time.
🌎 Native Region
Chinese Money Plant is native to Worldwide.
🌸 Flowers
Yes, you may see your Chinese Money Plant bloom with the right amount of sunlight and water.
⬆️ ⬇️ Growth Pattern
Chinese Money Plant grows vertically and new growth will emerge from the top of the plant.
🌦️ Growing Outdoors
USDA Hardiness Zone
Chinese Money Plant can be grown outdoors in USDA Hardiness Zones 10a-12a. Find your local hardiness zone here.
🌱 Propagation
Chinese Money Plant can be propagated by division into new individual plants.
- Check to see if there is more than one plant. In some cases they may still be beneath the soil surface. If you feel confident, you may remove the soil to check for baby plantlets below!
- If there are multiple plants growing, unpot the plant and gently tug the plants apart, being careful not to disturb too many of the roots. They may be connected by large root segments which you may need to break to free the plantlet.
- Pot up the new plant in well-draining soil
- Repot the parent plant back into its original pot
🍂 Yellow Leaves
Yellow leaves aren’t always a reason to panic, and can be a normal part of a plant’s life cycle. Unless brand new leaves are turning yellow or all the leaves change color at once, it’s likely just your plant shedding old leaves.
Overwatering and root rot are the most likely cause of problems in Chinese Money Plant, since they are sensitive to wet soil. The leaves may also appear to be curling or drooping. Less often, yellow leaves are caused by underwatering, nutrient deficiencies, or pests.
Replace soggy soil with fresh, dry soil and download Greg to make sure your plant never gets overwatered again!
🧐 Troubleshooting
When troubleshooting a sad-looking houseplant, start by checking for signs of distress in its leaves, such as yellowing, browning, or drooping, which can indicate overwatering or nutrient deficiencies.
Inspect the soil moisture; too dry or too wet soil can cause problems.
Ensure the plant is getting the right amount of light, as too much or too little can stress it.
Finally, consider environmental factors like temperature and humidity, and adjust care routines accordingly to revive your plant.
- Common Bugs Affecting Chinese Money Plant →
- Drooping Chinese Money Plant Leaves →
- Chinese Money Plant Dropping Leaves →
- Chinese Money Plant Mushy Leaves →
- Black Spots on Chinese Money Plant →
- Chinese Money Plant Leaves Falling Over →
- Chinese Money Plant Leaves Curling →
- Chinese Money Plant Root Rot →
Care Summary for Chinese Money Plant
Chinese Money Plant
Greg recommends:
Water
0.5 cups every 9 days
Placement
< 3ft from a window
Nutrients
Repot after 2x growth
Based on the 4” pot your plant is in, and that it doesn’t get direct sunlight.
What other plant parents say
Fast grower 389
Survivor 264
Easy to propagate 263
Large, lush leaves 152
Browns easily 74
Blooms easily 38
Pest magnet 10
04/10/2022
Love this plant, when I bought it it had a few pups that weren’t ready to be separated. I recently separated them from the mom plant and wow they propagate so easy. Got six viable propagations and all of them have new root growth! It grows very fast and has almost doubled in size from when I bought it 3 months ago.
It’s pet friendly so if my cat decides to take a test chomp (and subsequently realize it doesn’t taste good) it’ll be fine.
I did an experiment where I potted it in straight LECA for super drainage and even longer periods between watering and so far so good! It tends to be a little dramatic after being repotted but after a week it perks back up. It doesn’t like sharp temperature changes, that tends to be what makes the leaves curl (that and letting me know it needs to be watered).
Fast grower
Easy to propagate
Survivor
04/06/2022
he grows new leaves every week lol, sometimes i’ll find pups too!! doesn’t like the cold and getting leaves wet but otherwise super easy :) i just water whenever the soil is mostly dry, maybe like 75%. repot shock is a bit more obvious with this one but he recovers quickly.
Fast grower
Large, lush leaves
Easy to propagate
04/03/2022
So easy. So cool looking
Fast grower
Large, lush leaves
Easy to propagate
Survivor
03/26/2022
So cute! So beautiful! It’s called a friendship plant for a reason!!! 😍😘
Fast grower
Easy to propagate
Survivor
03/08/2022
Very easy to care for and grows fast!
02/28/2022
Can survive overwatering! That’s my frequent problem: watering too much. This plant will withstand watering when the soil is still moist and turn out beautiful.
Fast grower
Large, lush leaves
Easy to propagate
Survivor
02/20/2022
Such a cutie love how fast it grows
Fast grower
Easy to propagate
Survivor
02/18/2022
Little UFO leaves are the cutest!
Fast grower
Blooms easily
Survivor
01/27/2022
Hands down my most favorite plant! I bought this when it was tiny in a 3 inch pot and the growth has been SO satisfying.
Fast grower
Large, lush leaves
Survivor
01/19/2022
Just an all-around easy plant
Survivor
Easy to propagate
01/18/2022
Hell of a guitarist
Survivor
01/14/2022
Grows quickly and shoots off baby plants frequently making it easy to propagate. But it’s also kind of boring. They like to be dry and have a lot of light but too much direct light with burn the leaves.
Fast grower
Easy to propagate
Survivor
01/11/2022
Easiest plant to prop ever. This was one of 5 props from a mother plant. Basically impossible to kill. Biggest key is don’t overwater.
Fast grower
Easy to propagate
01/11/2022
Easiest plant ever. Give it light, don’t overwater, and it’ll pop out babies.
Fast grower
Survivor
Easy to propagate
01/11/2022
Tons of babies at first, went more dormant during colder months and has yet to bounce back. However babies are growing strong and healthy in new pots, lots of gifts for friends. Having some issues with dropping/drooping leaves as it can get a bit picky
Easy to propagate
01/10/2022
The leaves on this plant are just like coins, they are amazing and surprisingly heavier than they look. The Chinese money plant can be prone to burning so keep out of direct sunlight. And rotate every few days to ensure it grows evenly, it’s also best to use filtered water!
Fast grower
Easy to propagate
Browns easily
Large, lush leaves
01/08/2022
No matter what I did mine just kept dropping leaves and then it was bare
Browns easily
01/04/2022
Very easy starter plant. Water from the bottom and give bright, indirect light. Wait to water until the leaves start to droop - but not too far.
Rewarding & easy to prop.
Fast grower
Easy to propagate
01/02/2022
She’s thriving under a grow light, had 4 puppies in less than a month… I bottom water it when the soil is completely dry. She’s a ⭐️!
Fast grower
Large, lush leaves
Easy to propagate
12/24/2021
Keeps dropping downwards and getting see-through leaves… cannot figure out what is going on but it is still sending out babies from its roots.
Browns easily
Fast grower
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