Chinese money plants, also known as UFO plants, pancake plants, or missionary plants, is a plant native to the Yunnan and Sichuan provinces in Southern China. It is a species of flowering plant in the nettle family Urticaceae that has remarkable shiny, circular, and dark green leaves. It is grown in the wild but also makes for an excellent ornamental houseplant in the right growing conditions. Here’s how you can grow and care for a Chinese money plant:
Sunlight and Temperature:
While looking for a place to keep your Chinese money plant whether indoors or outdoors, choose a place that receives medium to bright indirect sunlight. Avoid keeping this plant in places with direct sunlight as it can burn the leaves. However, lower light conditions can also make this plant grow fewer offshoots, grow smaller leaves, and even become leggy.
The Chinese money plant tends to thrive at normal room temperature and prefers humidity over dry conditions. If you notice that the edges of the leaves are burning, then you can raise the humidity levels. This plant usually adapts to cold weather conditions, however, it doesn’t like temperatures lower than 10 degrees Celsius.
Soil:
This plant prefers rich well-draining soil with an optimal pH level somewhere between 6 to 7.
Fertilizer:
Usually, this plant enters an active growth period during summer, therefore, the best time to fertilize the soil is right before the summer and then once every month until the growth becomes inactive. Any balanced all-purpose fertilizer or organic compost can be used to fertilize this plant.
Water:
Like most succulents, the Chinese money plant is tough and adaptable. And while it can adapt to underwatering, overwatering can cause some issues like curling leaves and bumpy leaves. Therefore, rather than sticking to a schedule that can cause water to stand in the pot, only water when the top layer of the soil seems a little dry. Always check the soil before watering this plant to avoid overwatering. Also, during winter, keep the soil barely moist.
Pest and Disease Management:
Chinese money plant is prone to pest infestation by insects such as spider mites, scale, fungus gnats, and mealybugs. Both of these pest infestations can be treated by spraying generic chemical insecticides on the affected leaves or by spraying neem oil. You might need to spray more than once depending on the severity of the infestation.
Propagation:
The Chinese money plant is relatively easy to propagate as it grows offshoots which are usually grown from the root system or from the nodes that are along the stem of the mother plant. Once the offshoots are a couple of inches tall, they can safely be removed from the mother plant.
To remove an offshoot that is growing from the root system, simply dig a hole in the soil and cut the main root from which it is growing. Place the cutting immediately in a separate container filled with moist soil. Make sure that the soil is constantly moist until the cutting establishes a healthy root system in the new pot. Continue to water and fertilize regularly.
Repotting:
The Chinese money plant grows rapidly and the best time to repot this plant into a bigger container is during spring. However, the plant might need to be repotted before spring if it is infested by pests or has a disease. In that case, while repotting, make sure to remove as much soil as you can without damaging the roots and then put it in a pot with fresh soil.
Pruning:
Pruning or removing dead or dry leaves is an extremely important step as it promotes healthy growth. Remember to wash and clean the shears you’ll use to prune the Chinese money plant as it can carry diseases and pests if it were used on an infected plant before.
