Pilea depressa or baby tears is a common plant in the pilea genus with small beautiful leaves. Like other plants in the genus, this plant is super easy to grow.
However, you should read this article so that you can learn the best ways to grow the plant with ease.
What Is Pilea Depressa Plant?
Pilea depressa is a plant with small leaves resemble droplets of water. Another name for this plant which is native to Australia is the depressed clearweed. This is a climbing vine and is a trendy plant amongst indoor plant lovers.
Pilea Depressa Care
The baby tears plant is straightforward to grow and is also a fast-growing plant. In case there is a problem on the way, this plat will quickly show you signs so that you can fix it. Here are the essential care tips to grow this plant as well as others in the genus pilea:
– Soil Requirements
You can grow your pilea baby tears on a pot with a stake or a hanging basket. The container that you use is up to you, just make sure that there are drainage holes through which excess water goes out. As for the potting mix, make sure that it can hold water, yet drain water quickly.
A standard potting mix with the mixture of perlite, vermiculite and other ingredients can achieve this as perlite helps to drain water quickly while vermiculite helps to hold some moisture. You should also include compost or coffee grounds in the mixture so that your baby tears plants can get nutrients from their potting mix.
– Water Requirements
Remember that the baby tears pilea loves a substrate that can hold and drain water. Your watering schedule should also reflect this. This means that you should not wait until the potting mix is dry before you water the plant. Instead, check the upper layer of the substrate and water it when it feels dry.
You can water your pilea plants two or three times weekly when they are actively growing in the spring and summer months. In the fall and winter months, you can water it once per week. Just make sure that the substrate does not go completely dry. For potted plants, keep their pot on a saucer so that excess water does not stain your floor or furniture.
– Light Requirements
Your baby tears plants need light to grow and produce energy. Without light, they can grow etiolated and have stunted growth. However, this does not mean that you should expose them to too much light. You should develop the pilea depressa plants in a room with a lot of bright but indirect light.
Generally, as long as your pilea plants receive six to eight hours of daily sunlight, they will do just fine. If you notice that the plants are growing in one direction alone, you should rotate their pots or hanging baskets often so that their growth can be uniform.
– Humidity Requirements
Humidity is important for plants as it helps them with processes like transpiration and water absorption. As a plant that grows in tropical and subtropical regions, the baby tears plant needs humidity levels that are above the average. Keep in mind how you should grow your plants in 60 percent humidity for optimal growth.
Please do not keep the plants in a very windy place. Furthermore, if you are living in an arid region or season, consider making use of a humidifier to humidify the plant’s surroundings so that the plant can grow well.
– Temperature Requirements
For optimal growth, you should ensure that your plant is growing in a spot with 68 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit. This is a warmth-loving plant and it is not cold-hardy, so you should take it indoors (if it is outside) in winter.
Please do not grow the baby tears close to any heat-produce appliance as they easily fluctuate the temperature and your plants may not adapt to the new temperature quickly enough.
– Fertilizer Requirements
Nutrition is very important for every plant as they cannot grow or produce leaves and other organs without nutrients. For your indoor baby tears, you should use a basic liquid fertilizer for houseplants.
You can also use a soluble fertilizer, just make sure that the fertilizer has a composition of 3:2:1. This means that it should consist of three-part nitrogen, two-part phosphorus, and one-part potassium.
If you amend the potting mix with compost and other types of nutritious ingredients, you do not need to feed your pilea plants regularly. However, if you did not amend it, you should feed the plants with fertilizer every two or three weeks.
– Pruning Requirements
This vine has a lot of leaves and sooner or later, you may find more leaves than you need. While the plant will do just fine without pruning, it will soon grow out of shape or size and this can affect its appearance. Therefore, it is up to you to decide the best measure you want the plant to grow to and then regularly prune the plant after it grows larger than that size.
Make sure that you use sterilized tools when pruning your baby tears so that you do not contaminate them. Also, you should prune the plant in spring or the active growing months so that it can heal before winter comes.
Propagation
Propagating the baby tears is easy. All you need is its cutting, a suitable potting mix, and water. Here are some methods to propagate your plant:
– Propagation Through Cutting in Soil
Using a clean scissor, collect a cutting that is six inches (at least) long. After the cut is calloused, you can plant it in a suitable potting mix or soil. However, you can make use of a rooting hormone before you begin the plant process. Nonetheless, as long as you plant it in the right spot and in the right growing conditions, it should show signs of growth soon.
In the early stage of planting this cutting, you must begin by misting water droplets directly to the root region daily and make sure that the plant has enough light. It should produce roots and new leaves in less than ten days. When the plant starts to grow, you can follow your watering schedule as discussed earlier.
In case your baby tears plants are not growing, check their roots. If you can see decay and no root in the bottom part of the stem, it means that you did not wait for the cutting injury to dry up before planting it. Also, it can signify that the temperature is not suitable for the plant. Note that propagation is best done in spring.
– Propagation Through Cutting in Water
Propagating your baby tears cutting in water can save you some doubts. For example, you will see the roots growing and can tell if there is progress or not. You only need a clear glass cup and clean water for this method. You also need to wait until the cutting callouses before you plant it.
When the cutting bottom is dry, dip it in water. If the cutting has leaves attached, do not dip the leaves in the water as well. You should remove the water every two days and replace it with a clean one. If the atmosphere is just right, you should see roots forming in five days.
When the plant has enough roots and you can see new leaf buds forming or growing, it is time to transfer the young plant to the pot. Carefully cover the roots in the substrate and then water the plant. Keep the plant in an excellent spot until it adapts to its new home before you take it closer to the window.
Problems
Some avoidable and fixable problems that you should watch out for when growing baby tears plants are:
– Rooting of the Root and Leaves
In the cold days of autumn or winter, you may notice brown and wet patches on the leaves of your baby tears. You can also see some leaves withering and falling off. This is a sign of root rot and is mostly caused by giving the plants more water than they need, especially watering them on humid days.
Root rot can kill your plants if you do not prevent or fix it. To prevent it, you only need to water your plants as discussed earlier in the watering tip. Do not overwater, especially in autumn. Also, ensure that you grow your baby tears in a well-drained substrate. To fix it, you need to change the substrate as well as remove the dead roots and leaves of the plant.
– Insufficient Light
This occurs when your baby tears plants do not get enough light as they need. Well, note that your pilea depressa usually tolerates a wide range of light exposure and this problem usually comes when you keep it in a horrible spot. You can tell that the plants need more light when they grow as if they are stretching (etiolation) and they have pale or yellow leaves.
You want to fix this by taking the plants outside and pruning off any leaf or stem that looks very weak. Make sure that the plant gets enough light (but not too much). If you do not have access to five hours of sunlight daily, consider buying grow lights.
– Not Watering Enough
Even though baby tears depressa plants can get sick or die from overwatering and root rot, they can also get hurt from drought which happens when you fail or forget to water your plants. Deficiency mainly occurs on hot summer days and shows signs such as withering dry leaves and weak plants.
To prevent this problem, you only need to monitor the substrate and water the plant when its substrate is getting dry. To fix the drought, you should remove the dead leaves from the plant, shift the pot, container, or hanging basket away from direct sunlight, and water the plant regularly. Next time, do not fail or forget to water your plants.
– Over-Fertilizing Your Plants
You want to make sure that you feed your pilea plants with nutritious fertilizer. However, do not give them too much because aside from wasting the product, you may be hurting your plant. Too many nutrients can cause your plant leaves to go brown or fall off the plant. You will also notice that the plant looks very weak.
If you give your baby tears plants more nutrients than they need, use a hose or your source of water to flood their potting mix with clean water. You should make sure that the water can properly drain off the substrate. This can help remove the excess nutrients.
– Exposing Your Plants to Too Much Sunlight
Over-exposure to sunlight, especially on the hot days of summer can lead to sunburn. In this case, you will notice that the tips of your plant leaves are brown and dry. You should also see that the moisture of the substrate depletes faster than usual. This problem is usually associated with growing your plants under intense temperatures.
To fix sunburn, simply take the plants a few inches away from their source of light. If you are growing your baby tears depressa near a window, you can use a shade cloth to block excess sunlight from reaching them.
– Pests
Pests such as grub worms, aphids, and spider mites can attack your pilea plants, so you want to ensure that you do not let this happen. These pests will eat your plant leaf by leaf and might cause death for those moving with bacteria and other pathogens.
You need to protect your plants by spraying pest repellents on the plants regularly. You can either use homemade or store-bought products, just make sure that pests stay off the plants. If you find any pest on your plant leaves, you can wear gloves to pick it up and take it very far from the plant.
FAQ
Should I mist my Pilea Depressa?
Mist your Pilea Depressa occasionally to provide the humidity it enjoys for optimal growth and foliage health.
Should I rotate Pilea Depressa?
Rotate your Pilea Depressa regularly to ensure even exposure to sunlight, preventing lopsided growth and promoting balanced development.
Does Pilea Depressa like to be root bound?
Pilea Depressa prefers being slightly root bound, so avoid repotting too often to allow the roots to fill the pot and support healthy growth.
Conclusion
Before you start your pilea depressa ‘baby tears’ journey, please remember the following points:
- The suitable temperature and humidity for baby tears plants are 68 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit and 60 percent humidity.
- Feed your plants with any rich fertilizer or you can formulate yours. Just make sure that they get 3:2:1.
- You can use either the soil or water methods to propagate your baby tears plants. Using the water method can help you to monitor the root development.
- To help your pilea plants grow to their full potential in beauty, use a stake or cage to grow them.
- Grow your plants so that they can get at least five hours of light daily. Do not give them too little or much light.
After reading this article with super easy directions, you are ready for your plants. Do check back in case you get stuck on your way.
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