If you are a plant enthusiast, you would know about the money plant.
Money plants are one of the most famous additions to any garden, and rightly so.
Due to their minimal maintenance and attractive appearance, you will find them a central part of several homes.
The heart-shaped, crisp leaves grow well even in low-light conditions.
Despite all these benefits, your money plant may still face some issues and display signs of distress. One common issue with money plants is that they can grow to be “leggy” — long and tall with few leaves.
This can leave you wondering, why is my money plant leggy?
If you have been pondering over this situation, worry no more.
Keep reading to learn the reasons behind it and how you can solve the problem!
Why Is My Money Plant Leggy? | The Reasons!
Why is my money plant leggy? If you have been asking yourself this question, you would know that a tall thin plant with few leaves is not a healthy and attractive sight, so you would want to fix it.
But before you move towards the solution, you must get a grip on the reasons behind it.
So, here are a few points to answer your question.
1. Insufficient Light
Insufficient light is one of the most common reasons for a leggy money plant.
While money plants can do fine in low light conditions, they cannot live without adequate light, especially in the long run, as keeping a plant without light for prolonged periods can be harmful.
Money plants need moderately bright light.
When they don’t receive enough light for extended periods, they stretch and elongate quickly to move upwards toward the light source to get more of it. This makes the stems thin and weak, without enough leaves, leading to a leggy plant.
So, if your money plant is becoming leggy, you should first check the lighting conditions.
It could be that a tall plant nearby or some infrastructure is blocking the direct light source for the plant, causing inadequate light. If this is the case, you must move the plant to someplace where it can fulfill its lighting requirements.
2. Overwatering
Overwatering is another issue that can cause the plant to become leggy.
If you put in more water than necessary, the roots will become clogged with water.
The clogging of roots with water will make it difficult for the oxygen to pass through. Without the right amount of oxygen, the plant will halt growth, and the stems will not grow properly, leading to a leggy look.
3. Pruning the Plant
Pruning refers to cutting off the dead leaves from the stem to encourage growth in the right direction. Pruning the plant is essential to ensure your plant grows full and healthy with lots of leaves and branches.
If you don’t prune the money plant regularly, there will be a diminished production of growth hormones.
As a result, your plant will stay thin and weak with only a few leaves.
4. Fluctuation in Temperature
Money plants thrive in warm temperatures.
The optimal temperature is said to be between 60 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
However, if the temperature varies too much or too suddenly, the money plant may become distressed, leading to a leggy plant.
High-temperature variation can send the plant into shock.
So, you must take precautions while transferring the money plant from one location to another, as the environmental change can lead to stress and leave you with a leggy plant.
5. Nutrition Deficiency
Nutrition is the basis for the proper growth of any plant.
If your money plant is not receiving the right amount and type of nutrition, it will show stunted and leggy growth.
There could be an issue with nutrients in the soil.
If you don’t fulfill the nutrient requirement of the plant through fertilizers, you will notice your money plant becoming leggy with few leaves on the branches.
How to Fix a Leggy Money Plant? | The Solutions!
If your money plant has weak, thin stems with few leaves, it is not the end.
You can take some steps to fix it before it’s too late.
1. Increase the Amount of Light
As lighting is the most common issue, you should first take steps to remedy that.
Change the location of your money plant so it is placed somewhere with ample light but make sure it doesn’t get too much direct sunlight as the direct sun can burn the plant.
Bright indirect sunlight is the best.
Alternatively, you can get a fluorescent or LED light and place it near your Pilea to fulfill the requirement.
Artificial lighting is a helpful solution for weak plants.
2. Prune the Plant as Needed
Pruning a leggy money plant can help to encourage new growth and make the plant look more attractive.
Cut off any long, thin stems, and leave only the healthy ones with leaves.
This will redirect the plant’s energy to the remaining stems, encouraging them to grow thicker and stronger.
3. Repotting the Plant
You may need to repot the plant to save it in certain conditions.
If the soil is in poor condition or if there is an issue of waterlogging, you may have to repot your money plant in fresh soil to ensure the plant starts growing back up.
In some cases of waterlogging, you may be able to save your plant without having to change the soil, but in most cases, you must immediately repot the plant into a fresh and healthy potting mix to preserve what is left of it.
Make sure the new pot has drainage holes to prevent waterlogging.
You should also use a well-draining potting mixture to keep the plant growing well.
4. Proper Fertilization
Most plants are unable to get all their nutrition from the soil.
You need to add fertilizer to the soil to make up for the lack of nutrients in the soil.
If a plant doesn’t receive enough nutrients, it will become leggy and fail to grow properly. This is why you need to add the right amount of fertilizer to the soil.
Make sure to add an adequate amount of fertilizer, especially in the growing season.
Using the NPK fertilizer in equal amounts is the right choice but remember to dilute the fertilizer in water before adding it to the soil, as the pure form can burn the plant.
What to Do If the Situation Seems Out of Hand?
In some extreme cases, the money plant may have become too leggy and unsightly that you might think it is impossible to recover it back.
In such situations, the stem becomes too thin, and almost no leaves are left on it.
If you cut the money plant in half from the top, you might be able to save it from ultimate destruction. This can seem like an extremely scary action to take, but it can be a savior for your plant. Once you have cut the plant in half, it will free up much energy for the plant to use elsewhere.
The money plant will gradually grow more leaves and get bushier as it uses the freed-up energy for growing more foliage.
Not only will you see more growth on the shortened stem, but you can also use the cut half to grow another money plant. You can put the upper half in a new planter and provide the right conditions. It will soon start sprouting fresh leaves.
Cutting down the top half of your money plant is easy.
All you need is a clean and sharp knife.
- Make sure the knife is wiped out.
- Mark a point on the stem of your plant that lies halfway on the stem.
- Take your knife and cut it down.
- Try to cut it sharply so that it is clean without any tissue left behind.
Your money plant will start producing more leaves within a few weeks without you having to wait long months.
Instead of throwing the bottom half of the stem away, you can use it for another plant.
Put the stem in the water in a bottle with the base side from where you cut it soaked in the water. It will start sprouting roots in some time.
Once the roots appear, you can plant them in a pot with soil and let them grow.
That’s all for today.
Let’s head toward the conclusion.
Conclusion!
Why is my money plant leggy, you asked?
There could be several causes of the leggy growth you are observing in your money plant.
It could be due to a lack of nutrition, poor light conditions, overwatering, and more. Money plants may be low-maintenance additions to your green family, but they still need to be looked after.
You must be cautious of providing the right growing conditions to ensure your money plant shows optimal growth with lots of leaves sprouting out of the stems. After all, the leaves of the money plant are the true beauty that makes it stand out from the crowd.
Keep looking after your plants carefully, don’t forget to prune them regularly, and you will have thick, healthy stems of money plants growing right from your garden.
Regards!