Aluminum plant
Sources last read 14 September 2026.
Not yet rated How forgiving it is has not been judged here yet.
Also called Aluminium Plant, watermelon pilea and Watermelon Plant.
Toxicity is partly unassessed
- Not assessed for cats. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
- Not assessed for dogs. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
- Not assessed for people. RHS publishes no harm statement for this plant. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
What the sources say about its care
- Light
- Medium light 100 fcClemson Extension · read 13 September 2026Full shade, Partial shadeRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Water
- Moist but well-drainedRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Humidity
No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.
ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026- Temperature
How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.
H1C — 5–10°C 5–10 °CRHS · read 13 September 2026- Soil
- Loam; pH Acid or Alkaline or NeutralRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to cats
- Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to dogs
- Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Harmful to people
- No statement of harm to people is published for this plant; that absence is not evidence it is safe.RHS · read 13 September 2026
Routine care
- Watering
- Water moderately while it grows, and less from fall to late winter. Its leaves earn it another common name, watermelon pilea.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Propagation
- Stem cuttingsNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Increase from stem-tip cuttings.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pruning
- Pruning is not needed.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pests and diseases
- Can be troubled by mealybugs.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Usually free of pests and diseases.RHS · read 13 September 2026
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Photographs
About the plant
Pilea cadierei is a species of flowering plant in the nettle family, Urticaceae. The species is endemic to the southern Chinese provinces of Guizhou and Yunnan, as well as Vietnam. The specific epithet cadierei refers to the 20th-century botanist R.P. Cadière. P. cadierei has earned the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit for its hardiness and reliability as a houseplant. In warmer countries, usually within USDA zones 8–12, the plant may be grown outside year-round as a perennial, either in-ground or contained, and pruned about 50% during the autumn.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026
- Native range
- China (Guizhou, Yunnan) to VietnamWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026China and VietnamNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026China, VietnamRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Climate
- subtropicalWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- Growth form
- subshrubWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026Herbaceous Perennial, Perennial; habit dense, erect, spreadingNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Bushy (evergreen)RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Size
- Height 9–12 in; width 6–9 inNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Height 0.1-0.5 metres; spread 0.1-0.5 metres after 2–5 yearsRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Flowering
- Flowers gray/silver, green, insignificant, pink, white; blooms in summerNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Flowers green in summer; pink in summerRHS · read 13 September 2026
Other Pilea
More of the Urticaceae family
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Sources
- ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Clemson Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Wikipedia · read 13 September 2026
What this does not cover
The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.
Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.
If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.