I'm not even sure if that name is even Greek but I think it could be. I have apparently been saying it wrong this entire time too, so I suck. I've been pronouncing it puh-lay-yuh but it's pie-lee-ya. Whatever, I like it my way better. So these are beautiful plants and they're somewhat easy to care for. If you search these plants, they can grow very tall and full. I just think they look like tiny little space ships!
They like well draining soil. So, I mixed my garden soil with sand (literal sand that you buy at Home Depot), and some perlite. According to Gina of Style Curator, who interviewed two plant lovers, Natalie of @the_interior_passion and Sara of @the.green.room_, my non researched plant mixture was correct. I usually assume a plant wants a well draining soil. The two interviewees say that you should ensure that your pot has drainage holes, as roots sitting in water will lead to root rot. Also! One thing I should note, is that I usually add pebbles to the bottom of the pots and then add the three ingredient soil mix. I sometimes add pretty rocks on top of the soil for decoration but Natalie and Sara say not to add rocks because Pilea Pups grow from the roots. Pilea Pups are babies that the mother plant will product. If propagated correctly, you can have multiple Pileas growing beautifully! I received mine as a birthday gift from my cousin, J! Thanks girl. I love them so much. They're very interesting to look at and they look awesome in terracotta pots! These are my babies...
So I've been having trouble with my Pileas' lately, and that's why I wanted to write this post. To educate myself, and those of you who may be interested in purchasing one. If you look at the middle leaves, it looks like they're forced out. Like an umbrella that's overextended from the wind. I had them placed on my window sill, and they receive plenty of bright morning sun! I water once a week and make sure there isn't any water sitting in the plate. According to Natalie, Pilea's enjoy bright light but not direct, and she even mentions that morning light is fine. BUT, if there's curling at the top of the leaves, it may mean too much sun. (While curling at the bottom may mean over watering. It’s so funny how plants are so dramatic. Their reaction tells us so much!) So I'm going to pull these babies away for a little bit. Chicago has been getting some weird a** weather lately. It wouldn't stop raining for weeks, and now it's so sunny that my outdoor plants are dying.
Like with all plants, you should take care of their leaves. Plants live off of what we exhale aka carbon dioxide plus sun and water. Meanwhile, we inhale what they produce aka oxygen. If I remember science class correctly, plants go through a photosynthesis process. And so, when a leaf gets dirty, it would make the process more difficult. You can use a sponge to lightly clean off any dirt. I try to do this with the big leafy plants in my home! There are also some mixtures that I read somewhere online like using baking soda and water. I’m sure there’s many different things you can do. Let me know in the comments if you have a special mix to clean your plant babies!
I also read somewhere that diluted coffee is good for plants. It works as a natural fertilizer. So, I watered some of my plants with coffee today! I'll let ya'll know how that goes! Oh, and apparently baking soda on the soil helps as natural pest removers? I’ll have to do some more research on this and let you guys know! In the meantime, let me know what you all think and how you take care of your plants at home!
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