Moon valley friendship plant is a slightly-variegated plant with very beautiful leaves that will always draw the attention of everyone in the room.
It is a low-maintenance plant with very little nutrient and water needs. Read this comprehensive guide to learn how you can grow and propagate this cute plant.
Contents
What Is the Moon Valley Friendship Plant?
Pilea involucrate, Moon Valley Pilea, Friendship Plant or moon valley friendship plant is a cute plant that originates from the Southern and Central parts of America. It naturally grows in tropical and sub-tropical regions. The name “moon valley” comes from the resemblance of this plant’s leaves with the craters of our moon.
Moon Valley Friendship Plant Care
Even though this friendship plant is cute and fuzzy, it is classified as a low-maintenance plant. Make sure to grow the plant in its preferred environmental conditions, you have nothing to worry about. Here are the friendship plant care requirements:
– Water Requirements
You must not overwater your friendship plant. This plant prefers a substrate with low moisture to one with too much water. Wait until the upper parts of the friendship plant substrate are dry before you water the plant. Do not water your friendship plant when the substrate still looks and feels moist.
The best type of water for friendship plants is rainwater, so if you can, collect and store rainwater for the plants. If you must use tap water, collect the water and let it sit for a day or two before you water your friendship plants with it.
– Soil Requirement
The suitable potting mix or substrate for the friendship plant should be nutrient-rich, above to retain moisture, and well-drained.
This special substrate for friendship plants is common in gardening shops. If you’d love to make it by yourself, you can combine compost with peat moss or coco coir as well as perlite and vermiculite.
The friendship plant pot should permit water flow with its drainage holes. Ensure that the pot has some holes so that excess water can flow off and prevent over-saturation of water in the substrate or medium. Remember to make the potting mix with compost or other safe organic materials.
– Light Requirements
Like other plants, your friendship plants need sunlight to grow healthy. Just make sure that they do not get too much of it so that they do not get burnt. You can grow healthy moo valley plants in bright but indirect sunlight. You can grow them under shade or a few feet from the window.
In winter when you cannot have enough sunlight, your moon valley plant may stop growing or the growth rate will reduce. If you want your plant to continue thriving, you can support the sunlight with grow light and other artificial light. Give your friendship plant eight or more hours of grow light.
– Humidity Requirements
Humidity helps your moon valley plant to absorb nutrients and water from the ground. This plant typically loves an environment with more than 50 percent humidity. Make sure that the room is humid for your friendship plant and you should grow the plant without problems.
You do not need to install a humidifier for your friendship plant. So long as you are giving the plant enough water, it can grow just fine. Just make sure that the environment is not too arid for it.
– Temperature Requirements
Your moon valley friendship plant is a tropical plant, so it prefers a room with a higher temperature. The ideal temperature range for this beautiful plant is 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
The preferred USDA hardiness zones for friendship plants are zones 10b-12. You can grow your friendship plants with ease in these zones.
Do not leave your friendship plant outdoors in the winter. Also, do not keep your plant close to any appliance that emits heat.
– Fertilizer Requirements
Unlike most indoor plants that need a lot of nutrients to grow, the moon valley plant is a light feeder. You only need to plant this cute plant in a nutrient-rich substrate and then fertilize it only once or twice every year. Obviously, it is not a demanding plant at all.
You should use a half or quarter-strength balanced fertilizer for your valley pilea. You can give them granular or liquid fertilizer. If you like, you can also use organic fertilizer for your moon valley friendship plant.
– Pruning
Grooming is important for everyone. Just like you, plants also need to be groomed. You can groom your moon valley friendship plant by pruning and repotting it as when due. To prune your moon valley plant, use a clean scissor to remove excess stems and leaves. Additionally, check the substrate surface and remove any dead moon valley plant leaves.
Propagation
You cannot share your friendship plant with friends and family if you do not know how to propagate your friendship plant. There are two major ways to propagate friendship plants:
– Using Stem Cuttings
This is the easiest way to propagate pilea plants. All you need is at least six inches of the friendship stem to make a new plant. When you get the friendship stem, remove the lower leaves and wait until the wound is dry. Dip the friendship stem or cutting into a rooting hormone and then plant it.
You can still plant it if you do not have a rooting hormone. You should continue to water your friendship plant cutting until it starts to grow. Do not stop watering it. When you notice new leaves are shooting, you can remove the old leaves or you can leave them
– Using Root Division
This is a more technical method and you should only use this one when you want to get two large or matured plants from a single mother plant. There are most likely a lot of stems growing from a single root network. All you need to do is to reveal the plant root network and then use a sterilized knife to divide it so that a part has both stems and roots.
Wait for a few hours for the wound to callus and then plant the two plants in their substrate. It is best that you use a new substrate for the friendship plants so that pests or microbes from the old substrate do not attack them.
Use this method of propagation for matured or old friendship plants only.
Problems to Avoid
Even though the friendship plant is low-maintenance, you can come across a few problems. Watch out for the following:
– Root Rot
Root rot is the attack of microbes, especially fungi on the roots of your friendship plant. While root rot has a lot of causes, the major cause is overwatering.
If you allow the plant’s substrate to be saturated for long, the plants’ roots will start to suffocate and this will make them fragile enough for fungi to attack them. Wait until the top of the substrate is dry before you water your friendship plant.
– Burning Leaves
Burning leaves or yellowing are a sign of overfeeding or too much exposure to sunlight. When you give your friendship plant more nutrients than it requires, you’d notice that the leaves will start turning brown and curl up. Feed your moon valley friendship plant occasionally and not regularly.
– Pest Attack
Some common pests of moon valley plants include fungus gnats, aphids, spider mites, and mealworms. Note that healthy moon valley plants can repel pests, so you just need to grow your plants properly to forget about pests. For example, fungus gnats indicate root rot or overwatering of your friendship plant.
– Sunburn
Sunburn occurs when you expose your plants to a lot of sunlight. Even though the friendship plant requires bright light, it prefers indirect light. Therefore, keep it not so far away from the window but not under direct sun. Don’t worry, your plant will survive the sunburn so long as you reduce its exposure to sunlight.
As you can see, growing your friendship plant properly is all you need to avoid every problem that you can face.
FAQ
– How To Repot the Moon Valley Plant?
when it comes to repotting, to repot your moon valley plant, wait for two or three years after planting it, and then get a slightly larger pot. Your new plant pot should be two to four inches wider than its current pot. You should also consider changing the substrate and examining the roots while repotting your plants.
– How Do I Select the Best Moon Valley Friendship Plant?
If you do not plant a healthy plant, your growing journey might have a lot of challenges. Here are some tips for selecting the best friendship plant:
- Size: The size of the plant that you should but matters. The size can reveal the growth rate. For example, if one plant is smaller than others of the same age and has the same growing condition, it can signify that the plant has a slow growth rate. Select plants that grow quickly.
- Color: Your moon valley plant leaves should either be green or brown. Yellow leaves can signify weakness or lack of nutrients.
- Spots: Do not select plants that have spots on their leaves. Spots on leaves are usually signs of bacterial or pest attacks.
After selecting the best plant, you should search for a suitable substrate for your moon valley.
– How To Identify Moon Valley Friendship Plant?
You can surely identify a friendship plant when you see one. The first thing you’d notice is the cuteness of the leaves with fuzzy hair. Most leaves have light-green edges with dark green or brown centers. The friendship plant can grow up to one foot tall and wide. You will surely be mesmerized by the beauty and cuteness of this plant.
Friendship plants can trail as they grow, but they grow to become bushy plants. You will most likely see some moon valley friendship plants on a pot like a bush as the thick foliage covers the substrate surface. Continue reading to know why people love growing this plant.
– What Are the Uses of Moon Valley Friendship Plant?
Here are the common uses of friendship plants:
- Aesthetics: The leaves and flowers of friendship plants are very beautiful and will surely draw the attention of everyone who walks close to the plant. This is a very common plant in plant gardens.
- Friendship plant: Do you want to gift your friend something and you do not know what you can give? This plant is a great idea as it is very cute and also signifies friendship.
– How To Care for the Leaf of the Friendship Plant?
No matter what you do, make sure that you have enough time to maintain the cuteness of this plant’s leaves because they are the first thing people will see when they enter a room with this plant. A healthy plant will surely have healthy and beautiful leaves, so you want to properly care for your moon valley plant if you want the leaves to stay cute.
You should also mist the moon valley leaves regularly, especially in the morning hours of the day. Misting the leaves can keep them fresh while preventing dust from settling on them. Please do not mist your moon valley plant leaves until they start dripping water.
Conclusion
Moon valley friendship plant is truly easy to grow so long as you can remember its humidity, temperature, light, water, and nutrient needs. Here are the reminders for you:
- Just make sure that the humidity of the room is above average and your friendship plant will grow without problems.
- Remember that you should only grow your friendship plant in USDA hardiness zones 10b-12.
- Ensure that your moon valley friendship plant has up to six hours of indirect sunlight daily.
- Wait until the upper part of your plant substrate is dry before you water it again.
- This friendship plant does not need a lot of feeding. Fertilize it once or twice yearly and it is good to go.
What are you waiting for before you start your friendship plant journey? Remember to check back on this article for exciting growth tips.
- How Long Do Hibiscus Flowers Last: Ways To Elongate - May 24, 2023
- Aeroponics vs. Hydroponics: Comparison of Two Planting Ways - May 24, 2023
- Monstera Deliciosa Light Requirements: The Ideal Conditions - May 21, 2023
