Chinese Money Plant
With its pancake-flat leaves and UFO silhouette, the Chinese Money Plant is the rare houseplant that looks like it was designed by an architect.
Chinese Money Plant needs its photo.
Identify a Chinese Money Plant in Rooted and share it, and yours could become the field guide image.
The Coin That Keeps Multiplying
Pilea peperomioides burst onto the Western houseplant scene in the 2010s, but it had been quietly thriving in Scandinavian homes since a Norwegian missionary brought cuttings back from Yunnan, China in 1946. For decades it spread person-to-person, passed along as offsets from friends - long before anyone knew its proper name.
Its signature round, peltate leaves sit on slender stems like a cluster of green coins hovering in mid-air. The plant stays compact and tidy, produces prolific offshoots called pups at its base, and has a cheerful symmetry that makes it an instant focal point on any shelf or windowsill.
Planting & care
Plant in well-draining potting mix - a standard houseplant blend cut with perlite works perfectly. Choose a pot with drainage holes and size it snugly; Pilea dislikes sitting in soggy soil. Place it near a bright window that receives no harsh direct sun, which can scorch and bleach the leaves.
Rotate the pot a quarter turn every week or so - the plant leans eagerly toward its light source and will grow lopsided if left to its own devices. Feed monthly during spring and summer with a balanced liquid fertilizer at half strength. In winter, ease off watering and skip fertilizing entirely.
Free Plants From Every Pot
Pilea peperomioides is famously generous. Once the plant is established, it sends up small pups from the soil around its base. Wait until a pup is about 5-8 cm tall, then ease it out with its roots intact using a clean knife or your fingers. Pot it up in moist, well-draining mix and you have a brand-new plant ready to gift - continuing the sharing tradition that made this species famous.
How much sun does Chinese Money Plant need?
Chinese Money Plant grows best in bright indirect light.
How often should you water Chinese Money Plant?
Give it about allow top inch of soil to dry between waterings; roughly every 7-10 days.