What kind of plant is this? I would like to know what this plant is and how to take care of it. I bought it at the grocery store a little while ago. Apparently, they were selling it around St. Patrick's Day, and calling it a "Blarney Plant". This leaves me with no idea of how to take care of it. The leaves are pretty small; ranging from about a quarter to a half inch in width. They seem to be a bit thick considering their size, which makes me wonder if it is considered a succulent... Anyway, whatever you can tell me about this plant would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much. -elliej-
Looks like Pilea depressa to me. This is an extremely easy plant to grow in bright, indirect light. It can tolerate ocassional drying between waterings, but is best suited to evenly moist conditions and moderately high atmospheric humidity. Plants can tolerate less water and slightly cooler conditions (keep above 10C/50F) in winter when they aren't growing as actively.
Alright: More on care for this plant. It has become quite bushy, and the vines are all becoming very long and tall, and branching out all over the place. Should this plant be pinched back, and is there any special way to do it?
Pileas are very forgiving houseplants. If you want to reduce the size of the plant, you can easily do so with a pair of sharp scissors. You may even be able to pinch the stems off using your thumb and index finger. Try to make clean cuts, immediately above a node (pair of leaves or leaf scars). This way, you will minimize the amount of damaged and vulnerable tissue left on the plant. These tissues (i.e., stem tissue left above the node) will generally die back to the node, and may be an entry point for plant disease-causing organisms. In general, the more of the plant that you remove, the more vigorously the plant will grow to try to replace what is lost. The plant will "try" to achieve a size balance between the roots and shoots. However, if you cut too great a proportion of either the shoots or roots, the plant may die from the shock. If you want to keep the plant permanently small, you will either have to regularly prune the top, or restrict root growth so that the roots cannot supply energy to so much stem tissue.
