Pilea issue?
Hello! My pilea is sad :/ she’s all soft and struggling to put out/grow new leaves. Plus, she’s been turning darker in the underleaf.. any idea? I’ve been growing her since she was a little thing, I’d very much like her to become a big healthy plant 😮💨🪴 #HappyPlants #PlantsMakePeopleHappy #PlantAddict #PileaPeperomioides #Pilea
15
How much light is she getting and what's your watering routine like? The reddish color suggests some sun stress. If she's been getting direct sun, I'd recommend moving her far enough back so the sun doesn't directly hit the leaves. Inconsistent watering and root stress might also be playing a role, but would first need to confirm or exclude sunburn.
@stephongreg she’s placed right under a north-east facing window, which some early mornings lets in some direct sunlight (for max 1h). I water her when leaves are soft and droopy, actually. She’s done great like that! Now she refuses to de-soft 🤧
@EatMoreVeggies since it's in a cache pot, when you water do you dump out the excess left in the bottom of the pot after 30 min or so? The way some leaves are cupping downward like a taco is a sign of underwatering, but not necessarily because you're not watering often enough. If there was previous root stress, it could be affecting whether the roots are able to properly absorb water, so even with regular watering you can end up with a plant showing signs of underwatering.
@stephongreg of course! I bottom water so I let it sit for about 15-20 mins and then drain the excess
@stephongreg I’m asking for help again.. yesterday I thoroughly watered my Pilea and she seems to be (just) a bit more firm, but leaves are still too soft in comparison to average Pilea thickness. Also, I’ve noticed that they aren’t as deep green as once but the color is sort of pale and fading! I’m very much worried 😨 do you know any plant colleagues to help me here?
@EatMoreVeggies hi there! I see you and your pilea 🌱👀 but I’m running off to work at the moment. I’ll take a closer look when I get back, If the other two you tagged don’t get to it first ☺️
Okay, I'm back!
I can assure you she is not sunburned. When they get too much sun the leaves don't get soft. The sunstress actually causes really red leaves. (They actually look really neat when sun-stressed. I know this because I had one I left in the sun just to see how she handled it. I had around a dozen before I thinned my collection a bit. So it allowed me to play with sun and experiment with conditions. ) Once they take off and you find their 'happy place' they give you literally dozens of babies!
In your case I can tell by looking at her it is simply overwatering. These are actually more like succulents (albeit not a succulent they prefer to be treated like one).
This is because they store water in their leaves. See how the leaves are curling down? That's her saying, "hey I'm getting too much water!!!" She is curling 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 plant together to increase humidity.
The soft mushy feeling of the leaves is because as she takes on too much water. She stores it in her leaves (just like a succulent). Too much will be absorbed and then the cells that hold the water get too full and burst. This damage causes soft mushy leaves.
Those leaves will drop, there is no way around it, they are already damaged. At the slightest touch they will drop right off eventually. That's the point that you don't panic. You need to allow her to dry COMPLETELY and leave her dry for a few days before watering again. If you are not sure if she is totally dry wait a few days.
They handle underwatering much better than overwatering.
Once you learn what her leaves are saying it's much easier to care for them. When she starts to curl her leaves upward like cup they are ready for water. That's her way of saying I'm conserving water because I'm thirsty.
If her leaves are flat, she's in her happy place. Don't water at that point wait for the upwards curl.
Don't ever trust a moisture reader (they lie!!)
I always recommend learning the plants you have before adding more. Each one is different and can take some time to master. After time and years you learn what they are saying and need just by glancing at them.
Don't judge what she's saying by one leaf, look at the whole plant.
You got this! 🩷
I can assure you she is not sunburned. When they get too much sun the leaves don't get soft. The sunstress actually causes really red leaves. (They actually look really neat when sun-stressed. I know this because I had one I left in the sun just to see how she handled it. I had around a dozen before I thinned my collection a bit. So it allowed me to play with sun and experiment with conditions. ) Once they take off and you find their 'happy place' they give you literally dozens of babies!
In your case I can tell by looking at her it is simply overwatering. These are actually more like succulents (albeit not a succulent they prefer to be treated like one).
This is because they store water in their leaves. See how the leaves are curling down? That's her saying, "hey I'm getting too much water!!!" She is curling 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 plant together to increase humidity.
The soft mushy feeling of the leaves is because as she takes on too much water. She stores it in her leaves (just like a succulent). Too much will be absorbed and then the cells that hold the water get too full and burst. This damage causes soft mushy leaves.
Those leaves will drop, there is no way around it, they are already damaged. At the slightest touch they will drop right off eventually. That's the point that you don't panic. You need to allow her to dry COMPLETELY and leave her dry for a few days before watering again. If you are not sure if she is totally dry wait a few days.
They handle underwatering much better than overwatering.
Once you learn what her leaves are saying it's much easier to care for them. When she starts to curl her leaves upward like cup they are ready for water. That's her way of saying I'm conserving water because I'm thirsty.
If her leaves are flat, she's in her happy place. Don't water at that point wait for the upwards curl.
Don't ever trust a moisture reader (they lie!!)
I always recommend learning the plants you have before adding more. Each one is different and can take some time to master. After time and years you learn what they are saying and need just by glancing at them.
Don't judge what she's saying by one leaf, look at the whole plant.
You got this! 🩷
I forgot this part. You know how I said she may drop all those leaves. If she does don't panic. As long as her roots are healthy she will be fine.
This is what it looks like if that happens.
They drop every leaf from the damage. At this point it's an empty leafless stem.
Much less water at this point.
Continue care, she will not grow new leaves on the old stem.
Do not panic. In time you will see a pup emerge along the original stem. Leave the bare stem there until your pup is about 6 inches tall, she will draw energy from the stem to produce the pup. When the pup is big enough and can support itself you can cut off the old stem and the pup will be your new plant.
Just don't cut the bare stem off too early. Like I said the new pup will need the energy from the old stem for a while.
This is what it looks like if that happens.
They drop every leaf from the damage. At this point it's an empty leafless stem.
Much less water at this point.
Continue care, she will not grow new leaves on the old stem.
Do not panic. In time you will see a pup emerge along the original stem. Leave the bare stem there until your pup is about 6 inches tall, she will draw energy from the stem to produce the pup. When the pup is big enough and can support itself you can cut off the old stem and the pup will be your new plant.
Just don't cut the bare stem off too early. Like I said the new pup will need the energy from the old stem for a while.
@EatMoreVeggies oh yay! You couldn’t have gotten a better answer from me than Shannon’s @SuperbRaspfern 🥰
Hi 👋 @EatMoreVeggies I’m traveling so didn’t see your post until just now and looks like you’ve got all the info ℹ️ you need to get your pilea back on track! Post updates!