Clearweed

Clearweed Care

Pilea Pumila

What is the plant

Pilea pumila is an erect annual, growing 0.7 to 70 cm tall. The foliage is opposite, simple with dentate margins, wrinkly (with depressed veins), ovate, and with long petioles. Both the leaves and stems are translucent and bright green, turning bright yellow in autumn. The flowers are small, borne in axillary cymes, unisexual with both genders occurring on the same plant, greenish yellow, and pollinated by wind. Flowers bloom from midsummer through early autumn. Fruits (achenes) are green with purple markings. Roots are fibrous, shallow, and adventitious off the stem in moist areas or when in contact with the soil. The plant is often mistaken for stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), but can be distinguished by the lack of trichomes, or stinging hairs, and the lower amount of branching of the inflorescences.

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Humidity

Dry

Lighting

Full Sun

Temperature

16°C - 24°C

Hardiness zone

min 6

Difficulty

Easy

How to Care for the Plant

Water
Baby's tears plants are thirsty and they never like to dry out. If your plants do dry out, you'll notice a dramatic wilting take place. Water them quickly, and within a day they should recover.
Fertilizer
A balanced plant fertilizer will keep the foliage of baby's tears plants bright green and dense. Liquid fertilizers are easier to apply than spike inserts or granular fertilizer when no bare soil is visible.
Sunlight
Baby's tears plants will take brief periods of intense sunlight, but look their best in bright, filtered light. Plants growing in full sun may develop brown, scorched leaves.

Disease diagnosis

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Soil
A rich soil amended with humus, compost, or manure will increase the nutrients available to baby's tears plants, and will also help to regulate the moisture level for plants.
Temperature
As an outdoor specimen, baby's tears plant grows best in temperatures of 50 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. The higher the ambient temperature, the more attention the gardener must pay to light and humidity.
Container
Growing baby's tears plant in containers is the best strategy for those living in cold climates, as well as those who live in areas where the plants are invasive outdoors. A commercial potting soil lightened with additional peat moss or perlite provides a healthy growing medium for plants.