What kind of lighting does your chinese money plant thriv...
I keep mine in bright indirect light and it’s springing put little babies! I want to move it to a area where it gets slightly less light but I want it to keep thriving the way it is now. I will only be moving it four feet from the window it is sitting in right now.
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Chinese money plant (Pilea peperomioides) needs bright, indirect light for about 10 to 12 hours a day. In Albuquerque, New Mexico, the intense desert sun means you must keep the plant away from direct rays, which will burn its round leaves. East-facing windows: Ideal spots that offer gentle morning sun and bright indirect light for the rest of the day. South- or west-facing windows: Dangerous for direct placement due to harsh New Mexican heat; set the plant 2 to 4 feet back from the window or use a sheer curtain to filter the light. North-facing windows: Provide too little light on their own, resulting in stretched stems and small leaves, so they require an artificial boost. I hope this helps 🪴💕
@SillyPlantGirl thank you so much! You have always been helpful when helping people with their plant issues and I’m very grateful for that. Just had to say it lol!
@SillyPlantGirl I have learned so much from this app and amazing community as well and I love helping people and posting! 😊 💕
Hi there ☺️ What direction is the current window facing? Depending on the window, 4 feet could be a drastic drop in light levels. In a very general sense, 3 feet away from a window can be called “low light,” even if it still looks pretty bright to our eyes. If you don’t *have* to move them, I would very much encourage you not to! If you do have to move them, I might consider giving them a grow light 💡
@DreamMachine I don’t have to move it, I was only going to move it to avoid its stems breaking from me opening and closing my curtains. I will probably leave it since I don’t have to. Thx for the feedback! Also I don’t k ow what happened but it’s very “leggy” now.
@Succulent_Soul ohhhhhhh, LOL!! I thought you were talking about a money tree, not a pilea peperomioides 🤪😂 Ok! Now that I know what we’re talking about, I can give you more personalized advice, and perhaps some tips too, if you’d like? (Please disregard if you already know them 😜)
Well , now I would HIGHLY recommend *never* moving them. Once you’ve found their happy place, that’s it 👏 done deal. Imagine them saying “I found the perfect place to live!” Once peperomioides find their happy spot you will get SO many babies, so 🥳🥳 Congrats!
Re: your leggyness question. Good news! They are not leggy at all! Leggyness on a peperomioides is when the main stem, or the stalk if you will, the one growing straight up from the soil, stretches out with substantial space inbetween each leaf’s stem, which are called petioles. Petioles aren’t the main stem, they just grow off of it. As your plant grows, and if they continue getting the great light they have now, they will eventually fill out all the space around them.
Ok, I found an example pic online of a leggy pilea. In this picture the main stem is dark brown and seriously pulling a leaning tower of Pisa move. 😬 You see how there’s a lot of space on the brown stem in between the points where the lighter green petioles/leaf stems grow off from? THAT’S leggy. It happens when they don’t get enough light, like this poor sad baby example picture (not my pic)😭 Yours, on the other hand, looks FABULOUS and well cared for 👏 🥰 🥹 It doesn’t look like you need my care tips, but I will leave them here anyways in another comment, in case there are others who are looking!
Well , now I would HIGHLY recommend *never* moving them. Once you’ve found their happy place, that’s it 👏 done deal. Imagine them saying “I found the perfect place to live!” Once peperomioides find their happy spot you will get SO many babies, so 🥳🥳 Congrats!
Re: your leggyness question. Good news! They are not leggy at all! Leggyness on a peperomioides is when the main stem, or the stalk if you will, the one growing straight up from the soil, stretches out with substantial space inbetween each leaf’s stem, which are called petioles. Petioles aren’t the main stem, they just grow off of it. As your plant grows, and if they continue getting the great light they have now, they will eventually fill out all the space around them.
Ok, I found an example pic online of a leggy pilea. In this picture the main stem is dark brown and seriously pulling a leaning tower of Pisa move. 😬 You see how there’s a lot of space on the brown stem in between the points where the lighter green petioles/leaf stems grow off from? THAT’S leggy. It happens when they don’t get enough light, like this poor sad baby example picture (not my pic)😭 Yours, on the other hand, looks FABULOUS and well cared for 👏 🥰 🥹 It doesn’t look like you need my care tips, but I will leave them here anyways in another comment, in case there are others who are looking!
Some general care tips on reading the leaves of Pilea peperomioides that the wonderful Shannon @SuperbRaspfern put into words ♥️.
Pilea peperomioides store water in their leaves, very much like a succulent, and their care is also much like a succulent’s care. They handle underwatering far better than overwatering. Once you learn what their leaves are saying it's much easier to care for them. Don't judge what they’re saying by one leaf, look at the whole plant.
If their leaves are flat, they are happy. Don't water at that point, wait for the upwards curl.
When they start to curl their leaves upward like cup they are ready for water. That's their way of saying ‘I'm conserving water because I'm thirsty.’
Now, if the leaves are ever curling down? That's them saying,
"hey I'm getting too much water!!!" They will curl downwards to increase the surface area of the leaf for transpiration. This is when they release water vapor into the air. It's also the reason you can cluster plants together to increase humidity.
Don’t ever trust a moisture meter (they lie!)
And to @Succulent_Soul you keep doing what you’re doing!! 🙌 I also wonder if you might be able to put a small end table or something right next to that window ledge? That way you could move them a few inches out of the way of your curtain? 🤔
Pilea peperomioides store water in their leaves, very much like a succulent, and their care is also much like a succulent’s care. They handle underwatering far better than overwatering. Once you learn what their leaves are saying it's much easier to care for them. Don't judge what they’re saying by one leaf, look at the whole plant.
If their leaves are flat, they are happy. Don't water at that point, wait for the upwards curl.
When they start to curl their leaves upward like cup they are ready for water. That's their way of saying ‘I'm conserving water because I'm thirsty.’
Now, if the leaves are ever curling down? That's them saying,
"hey I'm getting too much water!!!" They will curl downwards to increase the surface area of the leaf for transpiration. This is when they release water vapor into the air. It's also the reason you can cluster plants together to increase humidity.
Don’t ever trust a moisture meter (they lie!)
And to @Succulent_Soul you keep doing what you’re doing!! 🙌 I also wonder if you might be able to put a small end table or something right next to that window ledge? That way you could move them a few inches out of the way of your curtain? 🤔