Pileaaaaaaaa!
Can't deny it. It's fun to say. But it's also fun to keep in your home! This plant, has adorable leaves that look like they have a tiny belly buttons, and goes by a multitude of common names, including Pancake Plant, Chinese Money Plant, UFO Plant, Lefse plant or Missionary plant.
This guy is actually fairly new to the commercial house plant scene, as it wasn't commonly grown for commercial use until the 2010's. That's also why it's sometimes called the Pass-It-Along Plant, since many people who have these got a cutting from a friend.
Before we were seeing them regularly, Al, the owner of WildFlora, got some cuttings while visiting her childhood state of New York. She then brought them back to Los Angeles and gave some cuttings to one of our houseplant providers so they could cultivate them and get us a larger crop to enjoy. After a bit of time, they did indeed grow the little squirts into healthy houseplants, and we've loved seeing these pop up more and more often.
When caring for Pilea, place them in a bright area of your home that gets indirect sunlight. The darker the room, the darker and sparser the leaves will be. It's also a good idea to spin them a couple times a week as they are pros as turning to the light. The regular rotation schedule will help your plant look full and give it leaves that face lots of directions instead of just one. It's also best to avoid vents, as this can cause leaf drop, which is a lot more noticeable on this plant because of it's structure and leaf count.
When it comes to water, water when the top inch is dry, but don't leave excess water sitting in the saucer, as they don't like having wet feet. they can also be a little fussy about the chemicals and/or salts in some tap water, so if they're acting funky, try using filtered water or water that has set out for a day or two.
Also, as it true with all big-leafed plants, they can benefit from an occasional leaf dusting.
If you find yourself loving your Pancake Plant, there's many more fun type of Pilea to get your hands on and try raising. If you scroll to the bottom, you'll see Eden Rosso Pilea, with the red undersides, as well as Watermelon Pilea, which, to the surprise of none, are the ones with leaves that look like the markings on watermelons.
