Pancake plant: how to care for it

The pancake plant, also known as the ufo plant, is an easy-care houseplant for beginners. Here you can find out how to keep the plant happy

Pancake plant: how to care for it properly

The pancake plant, botanically known as Pilea Peperomioides, but also called ufo plant, Chinese money tree or lucky thaler, is an unusual houseplant that is also perfect for beginners.

• Location: The Pilea should be placed in a light to partially shaded position, it does not tolerate direct sunlight or a place that is too dark. It turns its leaves very strongly towards the light and should therefore be turned regularly so that it grows evenly.

• Temperature: Between 15 and 20 degrees are ideal for the houseplant. If it is too warm for the Pilea, you will recognize this by the fact that its leaves shrivel

• Watering:Depending on how bright it is, you should water the pancake plant about once a week. You can tell that the plant is thirsty when it lets its leaves droop. Even if you can pinch the leaves, it is time to water the plant again. The leaves must not get wet and the plant does not tolerate waterlogging either.

• Substrate: The Pilea has no special requirements for its substrate. Conventional green plant soil is best suited

• Fertilizer:Here too, the plant does not have high requirements. Between March and September, it is sufficient to feed it once a month with houseplant fertilizer.

• Repotting: You should repot the plant when its roots emerge from the bottom of the pot. As a rule, repotting is necessary every year while the plant is still young. Older plants should be repotted every three or four years. When repotting, use a pot that is no more than two sizes larger than the old one and handle the sensitive roots with care.

More care tips for the Pilea

The Pilea is very easy to propagate. Its cuttings are perfect as a lasting gift for friends and relatives.

• Propagation: The plant forms new, small cuttings around itself. Before you cut them off, they should have about five leaves. If you stick the cuttings directly into fresh soil, they will form roots within a few weeks.

• Alternatively, place the cutting in a glass of water for rooting. It will root after just a few weeks in a bright, warm place and can then be placed in potting compost. Place it in as small a pot as possible, which the roots can fill quickly so that the plant can put its energy into new, large leaves.

• Diseases and pests: The pancake plant is extremely resistant to diseases. Fungus gnats and root rot can occur if you have watered it too much.

• It is quite normal for the lower, older leaves of the plant to turn yellow and fall off. As long as the plant produces new leaves at the top, you don’t need to worry. If all the leaves are yellow, this indicates too little light. Black leaves, on the other hand, indicate root rot