The peace in the home plant, which is also called Soleirolia soleirolii, is a lovely houseplant that can make any room feel more alive and green. This complete guide will teach you all you need to know to grow and take care of this interesting plant.
What is the Peace in the Home Plant?
The peace in the home plant is a perennial evergreen that originates from the Mediterranean region. It’s a member of the nettle family and is also known by common names like baby’s tears, angel’s tears, and mind-your-own-business.
This trailing plant is prized for its ability to form a dense, lush green carpet of foliage. The tiny round or bean-shaped leaves emerge on delicate trailing stems that can reach 10-15 cm in length Given the right conditions, this plant spreads readily to form a dense groundcover
One of the standout features of the peace in the home plant is how well it tolerates being trimmed and shaped. This makes it a great choice for topiaries bonsai, terrariums, and vertical walls. The plant also produces tiny white flowers in summer.
Overall, the fine-textured foliage and trailing habit of this plant make it an excellent choice for adding greenery and interest to shelves, tabletops, and other indoor spots.
Growing Conditions for Peace in the Home
To keep your peace in the home plant healthy and encourage lush growth, provide the following care:
Light: The plant does best with bright indirect light, but it can handle low to moderate light. Avoid direct hot sunlight.
Water: Keep the soil consistently moist but not saturated. Allow it to partly dry out between waterings. The delicate stems are prone to rot if overwatered.
Humidity: Average room humidity is fine, but higher humidity is appreciated. Mist the foliage regularly or group plants to boost local humidity.
Temperature: Average room temperatures between 60-80°F (15-27°C) suit the plant well. Avoid cold drafts.
Soil: Use a general purpose potting mix. Good drainage is important to prevent soggy soil.
Fertilizer: In the spring and summer, use a balanced liquid fertilizer half as strong once a month.
Size of the Pot: Make the pot bigger or smaller as needed to fit the plant’s growth. Avoid pots much larger than the root ball.
Tips for Growing Peace in the Home Successfully
Here are some top tips to get the most out of your peace in the home houseplant:
-
Pinch back leggy stems to encourage bushier, more compact growth. This simple pruning also prevents bare spots from developing.
-
Propagate new plants from stem cuttings. Root them in potting mix or water. Dividing established plants is another easy propagation method.
-
Display in hanging baskets or trailing over the edges of shelves and tables to showcase the cascading stems.
-
Use as a decorative groundcover underneath larger houseplants. The small leaves act as a living mulch.
-
Plant in open or closed terrariums and bottle gardens. Just ensure adequate airflow to prevent fungal issues.
-
Position in bright or low light spots. The plant tolerates a wide range of light levels. Move to brighter light to boost growth.
Troubleshooting Common Peace in the Home Problems
Growing peace in the home is generally problem-free, but watch for these potential issues:
Dry leaves and wilting: This signals underwatering. Increase watering frequency and volume. Feel the soil before watering to gauge moisture levels.
Slimy or rotting stems: Overwatering is the culprit. Allow the soil to partly dry out before watering. Improve drainage if it remains soggy.
Leggy growth: Insufficient light leads to weak, lanky growth. Move the plant to a brighter spot or provide artificial lighting. Prune back overlong stems.
Pale leaves: Can indicate too little fertilizer. Apply a balanced houseplant fertilizer at half strength monthly in the growing season. Don’t over-fertilize.
Spider mites: These tiny pests cause stippling and webs on the leaves. Wipe leaves with insecticidal soap or a neem oil solution. Isolate affected plants.
Fungus gnats: Letting the soil stay too wet can lead to fungus gnat issues. Allow it to dry adequately before watering again. Use yellow sticky traps to catch adult flies.
Displaying Peace in the Home Plant Creatively Around the Home
The petite size and trailing habit of the peace in the home plant lends itself to creative display ideas. Here are some suggestions:
-
Plant in a hanging basket suspended where the long stems can trail freely. Add other small plants like ivy or pilea.
-
Let the stems spill over the edges of bookshelves, cabinets, and tabletops. Keep the cascading stems trimmed to the desired length.
-
Use as a decorative top dressing in dish gardens and mixed plantings. Allow some stems to trail down as a accent.
-
Plant in a shallow bonsai pot or tray to create a miniature green carpet. Keep trimmed to maintain the compact shape.
-
Fill a large glass terrarium with the plant to create a lush indoor garden. Ensure good airflow to prevent issues.
-
Line the base of large houseplant pots with a border of peace in the home. It serves as a living mulch under other plants.
-
Create a moss wall or living wall to decorate blank indoor surfaces. Train established plants on sphagnum panels or mesh.
Key Takeaways for Peace in the Home Care
Growing the peace in the home plant is easy and rewarding when you fulfill a few basic needs:
-
Provide consistent moisture and well-draining soil. Don’t allow pots to dry out or stay waterlogged.
-
Moderate to bright indirect light encourages the best growth. Low light is tolerated but causes sparse, weaker growth.
-
Average room humidity and temperatures suit the plant well. Avoid cold drafts.
-
Monthly fertilizing sustains growth in the active growing season. Go easy on fertilizer to prevent issues.
-
Prune back long stems at any time to shape the plant and encourage fullness. Pinching maintains compact growth.
-
Limit pot size as needed to restrain the naturally spreading, creeping habit of this plant.
With its trailing stems and tiny round leaves, the peace in the home plant is an easy-care option that adds a dash of green and visual interest to indoor spaces. A bit of pruning and proper watering is all it takes to keep this charming little plant looking its best.
Maidenhair vine or wire vine (Muehlenbeckia complexa)
Of all the oddities this one was love at first sight when I saw this vinelike scrambler or mounding groundcover for the very first time in a friend’s shady garden. There it is allowed to grow wild, covering whatever it likes with its long but rigid and twisting chocolate brown stems covered in small, shiny dark green to nearly black leaves.
It has grown so big in this spot—where it gets regular watering and fertilizing and no one ever touches its roots—that it looks like a maidenhair fern on steroids. In a coastal situation in full sun with very little water, my first plant (which I simply tossed still in its nursery pot into a gravelled succulent bed, meaning to play with it later) seemed to show me a middle finger due to my neglect.
It started to escape from its pot, rooting between the gravel chips, and soon grew into a little green but very wiry mound between tough succulents. If it was watered, it produced lush green leaves. If it sat dry, they would turn black and even disappear only to return again after a little wet salvation.
- Garden in full sun or light shade, or indoors in bright light;
- Quick and effective groundcover finally reaching a spread of about 3 x 3 m (Can this be construed as invasive growth?); .
- It’s easy to cut back if necessary, and it grows well under trees where competing tree roots or deep shade won’t hurt it. Foot traffic is also okay, but no one will want to walk over or through it because it would be hard to get out of the mess.
- With its twisted stems, this wine can stand on its own as it wanders;
- You can quickly shape it as a topiary, on a trellis, in a hanging basket, or because it grows quickly from seed. To keep it in check, just prune it or mow it rough.
- It can handle being near the coast (salt and wind don’t hurt it) and it can also handle cold and light frost. If the plant is exposed to very cold weather, all that needs to be done is cut back so that it can grow new shoots in the summer.
- It can grow in a lot of different types of soil, from sandy or loam to clay, as long as it drains well.
- In the summer, the plant will be happy with regular watering. In the winter, it will need much less watering.
Three Plant Oddities and How To Grow Them
These three plant oddities all have strange looks and habits, and even stranger still, nothing gets them down once they have found their happy spots.
14 Vastu Plants for Home for Health, Harmony and Wealth
FAQ
What house plant symbolizes peace?
Positive Energy Plant #1 – Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum) Starting with the plant that symbolizes peace and tranquility! Peace Lily’s have detoxifying capabilities and are known to relieve stress headaches. And they’re really easy to take care of! They do best in bright, indirect light, but they can also grow in places with little light.
Which plant removes negativity from a house?
Snake Plant not only purifies the air but also absorbs negative energy, creating a more positive atmosphere. Peace Lily is another fantastic choice as it helps to cleanse the environment from toxins while fostering feelings of serenity.