The beautiful Pilly

I love houseplants and funky shapes, so when I stumbled upon a funky-shaped houseplant while looking for drab shelf supports at a hardware store, my eyes immediately turned into pulsating cartoon hearts as I beheld the paragon of my aesthetic and botanical ideals–the charming and marvellous Pilea peperomioides.

I was so taken in by Pilly’s whimsical stems and water lily-like leaves that I forgot all about my wobbly shelf and instead occupied myself with thoughts of where this lovely plant would be happiest in my house. It looked like he was having a baby, so I wanted to ensure the best prenatal care for my new friend.

“What do you mean, having a baby?” one may ask.

Technically my dear plant was having a clone, but that sounds infinitely less cute and mildly creepy… but alas–there it was, Pilly Junior–the little sprout, the mini plantlet, springing from the soil and yearning for freedom from the grand Pilly Senior. Sympathetic to the underdog cause (and wanting more Pilea in my life), I decided to propagate my endlessly self-duplicating plant.

“What do you mean, endlessly self-duplicating?” one may wonder.

The Pilea is full of mysteries. Also known as the Chinese money plant–probably due to its ability to self-replenish as the ideal bank account would–the Pilea keeps on sprouting little babies which you can cut out, plant into another pot, and nurture until it grows big and strong like its parent. It’s a cycle of endless joy.

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Propagating Pilly

Happy Pilea plants usually sprout babies out of their own accord, and it doesn’t take much to keep these plants in good shape. All they need is indirect sunlight, weekly watering, and frequent rotation so that their leaves don’t all bend in the same direction.

Once the baby looks like it’s ready to be on its own, you can dig a bit into the soil and cut it about one inch below the surface. It’s fairly easy to make a clean cut since the stem isn’t all that hard. Since this stem will anchor the newly independent baby, it’s a good idea to make the cutting longer rather than shorter, just to ensure that our precious plantlet doesn’t wobble in the soil. Eventually, roots will sprout, and in time, the baby will have its own babies!

Cutting the baby

Newly emancipated Pilly Jr.

Baby Pilly in his new home

Mother and child

I eagerly anticipate the day when Pilly’s extended family overruns my house. The best thing too is that once you have enough babies, you can have a little plant distributing party and spread the joy. What a wonderful plant.