Why Plants Die
Theme
Theme

Sensitive Plant

Mimosa pudica, Fabaceae

Sources last read 14 September 2026.

Not yet rated How forgiving it is has not been judged here yet.

Also called action plant, humble plant, live and die, sensible plant, shame plant and touch-me-not.

Sensitive Plant (Mimosa pudica), the whole plant.
Ayuwadala, CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

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
Full sun, Partial shade
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Water
Moist but well-drained
RHS · 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.

H1B — 10–15°C 10–15 °C
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Soil
Loam; pH Acid or Alkaline or Neutral
RHS · 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
Through the growing season, give moderate water and a monthly balanced liquid fertiliser. Less water is needed in winter.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Feeding
Through the growing season, give moderate water and a monthly balanced liquid fertiliser.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Propagation
Seed is the preferred method: soak it overnight, then sow in spring at 64-75°F (18-24°C). Softwood cuttings taken in early summer and given bottom heat also root.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pruning
Pruning is not needed.
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Pests and diseases
Glasshouse red spider mite may cause trouble. Disease is uncommon.
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Move something and watch

Loading the simulator. It needs JavaScript; the care table above does not.

About the plant

Mimosa pudica is a creeping annual or perennial flowering plant of the pea/legume family Fabaceae. It is often grown for its curiosity value: the sensitive compound leaves quickly fold inward and droop when touched or shaken and re-open a few minutes later. For this reason, this species is commonly cited as an example of rapid plant movement. Like a number of other plant species, it undergoes changes in leaf orientation termed "sleep" or nyctinastic movement. The foliage closes during darkness and reopens in light. This was first studied by French scientist Jean-Jacques d'Ortous. In the UK it has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026

Native range
Mexico to Trop. America
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Brazil
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Climate
wet tropical
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Growth form
annual, perennial or subshrub
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Bushy (evergreen)
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Size
Height 0.1-0.5 metres; spread 0.5-1 metres after 1–2 years
RHS · read 13 September 2026
Flowering
Flowers pink in summer; purple in summer
RHS · read 13 September 2026

Plants with similar care

Sources

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.