Pilea cadierei
The aluminum plant, Pilea cadierei, is an evergreen herbaceous perennial that grows outside partly shade in USDA Hardiness Zones 11 and 12, and indoors in brilliant oblique daylight in all places.
It has a shrub-like, clumping development behavior and is appreciated for having texturally wealthy foliage that’s inexperienced with silver markings.
P. cadierei is one in every of roughly 600 kinds of non-stinging Pilea species within the Urticaceae, or nettle household that comprises stinging nettle and clearweed.
We hyperlink to distributors that can assist you discover related merchandise. In the event you purchase from one in every of our hyperlinks, we might earn a fee.
On this article, we talk about all it’s worthwhile to know to domesticate a showy aluminum houseplant of your personal.
Right here’s what’s in retailer:
Also referred to as watermelon pilea, the silver-streaked foliage of P. cadierei resembles the striping on the rind of the traditional summer season melon.
It’s an intriguing sample. Between the leaf veins there are raised areas, and the truth that they’re highlighted with silver makes them stand out strikingly.
Fast Look
Widespread identify(s): Aluminum plant, watermelon pilea
Plant kind: Herbaceous evergreen perennial
Hardiness (USDA Zone): 11-12 (outside)
Native to: China, vietnam
Bloom time / season: Summer season
Publicity: Brilliant, oblique daylight, can tolerate low gentle
Soil kind: Organically wealthy loam, well-draining
Soil pH: 5.0-6.0, barely acidic
Progress Fee: Quick
Mature measurement: 6-9 inches broad by 9-12 inches tall
Greatest makes use of: Houseplant, floor cowl outside
Taxonomy
Order: Rosales
Household: Urticaceae
Genus: Pilea
Species: Cadierei
The leaves have serrated margins, and are a cross between elliptical and ovate in form, as some are pointed, and others are extra rounded.
The leaves really feel waxy, and the stems are fleshy, like these of a begonia or succulent species.
The flowers are nondescript with a greenish-white coloration. They develop in cymes, that are flat-topped inflorescences, or clusters.
Of their pure habitat, blooms seem in spring and summer season, however they’re not often seen on houseplants.
With a manageable mature peak of 9 to 12 inches and a diffusion of six to 9 inches, this little cutie is nicely suited to indoor gardening, particularly in small areas the place it will possibly shine as a standalone showpiece.
P. cadierei is native to China and Vietnam, the place it grows as a floor cowl over the jungle ground, thriving in shade and dappled daylight with an abundance of warmth and humidity.
P. cadierei seemingly made its manner west as one in every of a number of tropical specimens destined for examine, cultivation, and introduction to the burgeoning decorative plant market of the early twentieth century, when imported palms graced Victorian parlors.
And though it’s a comparatively short-lived species that’s unlikely to final greater than 5 years, it’s really easy to propagate from stem cuttings you can take pleasure in it nicely into the longer term.
How you can Develop
Preserve your plant in a room with temperatures between 60 and 75°F, and supply brilliant oblique gentle.
Direct daylight, particularly by a windowpane, can scorch foliage and needs to be prevented.
Use an organically wealthy, loamy potting medium that’s gentle and ethereal, moisture retentive, and well-draining. A pH of between 5.0 and 6.0 is good.
Aluminum crops thrive in soil that’s saved evenly moist, however not waterlogged.
Water the plant earlier than the soil within the pot dries out. Take care to water the soil, not the leaves, as moist leaves are liable to illnesses and rotting.
If your own home is very dry, you might wish to enhance the relative humidity in your aluminum plant.
You are able to do this by setting the plant on a tray of pebbles with water or by clustering a gaggle of houseplants collectively.
At planting time and every spring, feed with a well-balanced liquid fertilizer per bundle directions.
Proceed to feed month-to-month in the course of the rising season to stimulate the manufacturing of wholesome foliage.
In autumn, development slows down, and a interval of dormancy begins. Cut back watering and droop fertilizing till the next spring.
Be aware that if brilliant oblique gentle is unavailable, an excellent develop gentle is a viable choice. Please see our article on develop lights to decide on the most effective mannequin for you.
The place to Purchase
It’s straightforward to fall in love with a watermelon pilea while you begin with a high quality product that has been well-cared for throughout its nursery days.
Aluminum Plant
Discover aluminum crops now from BubbleBlooms through Amazon in four-inch pots.
Along with full-size crops, there’s a dwarf selection. P. cadierei ‘Minima’, with an particularly petite peak of solely eight to 10 inches. It has the identical wealthy inexperienced and silver leaf markings, and cultural necessities.
Upkeep
This can be a average quantity of upkeep concerned in caring in your aluminum plant in the course of the rising season.
As well as, this can be a fast-growing species that requires common pruning in the course of the rising season to take care of a compact type.
The elimination of lifeless and broken leaves in addition to leggy stems optimizes visible attraction.
At all times sanitize pruners in a ten p.c bleach resolution (one half bleach to 9 components water) earlier than and after use.
Make cuts simply above a pair of leaves to stimulate upward foliar development.
If you’re going to use the pruned stems as cuttings to propagate new crops, recut them just under a pair of leaves to stimulate root development beneath the leaf node.
To encourage bushier development, you may wash your arms and use your thumb and index fingernails to periodically pinch off the highest inch or two of contemporary spring and summer season development.
Propagation
To begin your personal watermelon pilea, you’ll must take a stem reducing from an present plant or buy a brand new one from a nursery you can transplant to your personal pot as desired.
First, let’s discuss taking cuttings and rooting them in both water or soil. Then we’ll transfer on to nursery pots.
From Stem Cuttings
The most effective time to take cuttings is in the course of the rising season in spring or summer season.
To take a reducing from a stem, begin on the rising tip and measure down about three inches.
Use clear scissors to chop cleanly throughout the stem about an eighth of an inch beneath a pair of leaves.
Snip off the bottom leaves so that you’re left with a size of naked stem at the least two inches lengthy, with the highest leaves intact.
Select a four- to six-ounce container and sanitize it with a ten p.c bleach resolution (one half bleach to 9 components water), then completely rinse and dry it.
Place the stem within the container and fill it with two inches of water.
Set the container in a location with brilliant oblique daylight and a temperature between 60 and 75°F.
Change the water each few days to maintain it contemporary.
You’ll see fragile white roots sprouting from the underside of the stem in a number of weeks.
In one other week or so, it’s time to transplant the reducing to potting soil.
Select a sexy, well-draining container that may accommodate bushy dimensions of 9 to 12 inches tall and 6 to 9 inches broad.
Fill the pot three quarters full along with your selection of potting medium and make a one-inch-deep gap.
Gently insert the rooted stem into the opening and tamp the soil round it securely, then water nicely.
In the event you want to begin your reducing in soil, you may dip the reduce finish in rooting hormone powder, then set the reducing one inch deep in a starter pot stuffed three quarters filled with potting medium.
Preserve even moisture. New development is proof of profitable root formation. At this level you may pot it up into a bigger container.
From a Nursery Pot
Once you buy a potted specimen, you might want to repot it in a container of your selection.
Select a container that can accommodate the mature dimensions of the plant, and make sure that it has drainage holes within the backside.
Gently unpot the plant and loosen the soil and roots.
If they’re tightly coiled, or root sure, you may snip the bottom roots to loosen them and flay them outward to encourage them to unfold out.
Place the complete contents of the unique pot within the new container. Set it so the plant is on the identical depth within the new pot because it was within the previous.
Fill in with organically wealthy potting soil as wanted. Ideally, it’s best to go away one inch of house from the rim of the pot to the soil floor to permit for watering with out overflowing.
Tamp the soil all the way down to safe the plant within the new pot, and water nicely.
Pests and Illness
With brilliant, oblique gentle, average watering, rejuvenating pruning, and month-to-month fertilization, your watermelon pilea will take pleasure in good well being and be capable of fend off many illnesses.
Nevertheless, houseplants in rooms which might be too sizzling and dry might succumb to pests like aphids, mealybugs, or spider mites.
Caught early, a agency dousing with the kitchen sprayer adopted by a therapy with natural insecticidal neem oil ought to do the trick.
Eliminating these pests is a should, as they’re carriers of plant illnesses, and their sap-sucking could cause in depth foliar injury.
When a pest infestation can’t be managed, as a final resort, you may reduce all of the stems to the crown and discard them within the trash.
With a nourishing dose of liquid houseplant fertilizer and common watering, the stems might regrow.
The next illnesses are frequent to P. cadierei:
Anthracnose (Colletotrichum spp.)
Myrothecium Leaf Spot (Myrothecium roridum)
Pythium Root Rot (Pythium spp.)
Rhizoctonia Aerial Blight (Rhizoctonia solani)
Xanthomonas Leaf Spot (Xanthomonas campestris)
Southern blight (Sclerotium rolfsii)
Most of those are brought on by fungal pathogens or water molds (oomycetes). Signs may be exhausting to tell apart, and most spell catastrophe.
Solely Pythium root rot and Rhizoctonia aerial blight might reply to fungicidal therapy.
The underside line is that this: When crops are too sizzling and dry, they could succumb to sap-sucking pests.
And when the foliage stays moist, it turns into a breeding floor for pathogens, most of which trigger illnesses which might be are incurable.
It’s vital to be proactive!
Keep away from each under- and overwatering, and at all times water the soil, not the leaves, to stop moisture buildup.
A Nice Little Companion
You’re going to like not solely the enticing type of watermelon pilea, however the versatility as nicely.
It makes a sublime addition to your houseplant assortment, and an incredible residence workplace companion as nicely.
With organically wealthy, well-draining potting medium, a heat room, brilliant oblique gentle, month-to-month feedings, and constant moisture, you’re nicely in your option to success.
Don’t you assume it’s time so as to add P. cadierei to the to-do listing in your useful backyard planner?
Do you develop your personal watermelon pilea at residence or work? Inform us about your little plant buddy within the feedback part beneath.
In the event you loved studying about rising this tropical species indoors, we advocate the next houseplant guides subsequent:
© Ask the Specialists, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for extra particulars. Initially revealed December 1, 2021. Final up to date December 1st, 2025. Product photograph through BubbleBlooms. Uncredited photographs: Shutterstock.
