Fertilising guide
How to fertilise Artillery Plant (Pilea microphylla)— schedule & NPK
Also called Artillery Plant, Artillery Fern, Rockweed, Gunpowder Plant, Angeloweed.
More about artillery plant
About Artillery Plant
Pilea microphylla · also called Artillery Plant, Artillery Fern · houseplant
The artillery plant (Pilea microphylla) is a fine-textured, fern-like trailing houseplant in the nettle family, named for the way it puffs out pollen. It wants bright indirect light, consistently moist soil, and humidity above 50 percent. ASPCA lists it as non-toxic to cats, dogs, and horses, making it a genuinely pet-safe choice.
Growth habit: Fast-growing, dense, mat-forming creeper with a fine, fern-like texture and succulent, easily snapped stems. Trails or mounds, making it well suited to hanging baskets, terrariums, and groundcover-style pots. Pinch regularly to keep it compact and bushy; it tends to grow leggy and woody at the base with age.
What fertiliser artillery plant actually wants — and why
Artillery Plant is a genuinely hungry tropical — in bright warmth it pushes growth fast and rewards a regular half-strength balanced feed all season.
A balanced liquid feed (even N-P-K) or a slightly nitrogen-leaning foliage feed — this is a big-leaved foliage plant putting on real size, so it wants steady nitrogen for lush leaves, not a bloom formula.
For the language behind the three numbers on the bottle — what nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium each do — see the NPK ratio explained entry. The short version for artillery plant: match the feed to the job the plant is doing right now, not to a generic “plant food” on the shelf.
How often to feed artillery plant, and which months
Feeding only earns its keep while the plant is in active growth and can use the nutrients — pour feed into a dormant or low-light plant and it simply builds up as root-burning salt. For artillery plant:
Feed lightly with a balanced, water-soluble houseplant fertiliser diluted to half strength roughly every 4-6 weeks during spring and summer. Stop feeding in autumn and winter when growth slows. This is not a heavy feeder, and over-fertilising can burn the fine roots and tender foliage. For a fast grower like this that means feeding regularly — about every 4-6 weeks — right through spring through early autumn (roughly March to September), tapering off only as light drops in autumn.
The dormant-season rule matters more than the exact interval: skip feeding entirely when artillery plant is resting. For the wider context on indoor feeding rhythms across the seasons, the houseplant fertiliser schedule walks through the year month by month.
What strength to mix for artillery plant
Half strength every feed is the sweet spot for artillery plant: frequent enough to fuel fast growth, dilute enough that it never scorches even when you feed often.
Feeding always goes onto already-damp soil, never dry roots — water artillery plant first if the soil is dry, then apply the diluted feed. The companion question is when to water at all, covered in the artillery plant watering schedule.
Signs you are over-feeding artillery plant
Over-feeding is far more common — and more damaging — than under-feeding for most plants. The classic tells for artillery plant:
- Brown, scorched leaf tips and margins despite correct watering.
- A white salt crust on the soil or around the pot edge.
- Sudden leaf yellowing and drop shortly after a strong feed.
- Soft, weak, over-stretched growth that cannot support itself.
Signs you are under-feeding artillery plant
- New leaves coming in noticeably smaller than older ones.
- Pale, yellow-green older leaves and slow growth through peak summer.
- A general loss of vigour and gloss in a plant that should be racing away.
If the symptoms point at watering, light or roots rather than nutrition, the full artillery plant care brief covers soil, humidity and the common problems for this species.
Flushing and leaching the salts
Because you feed often, salts accumulate faster — flush the pot of artillery plant with plain water until it drains freely roughly every month through the feeding season to keep the root zone clean.
Organic vs synthetic feeds for artillery plant
Organic options
A diluted seaweed or fish-and-seaweed feed plus a yearly top-dress of worm castings supports fast growth without burn risk. UK: Westland seaweed or Baby Bio Organic; US: Neptune's Harvest or Espoma Indoor!.
Synthetic / liquid feeds
A balanced houseplant liquid at half strength applied frequently — UK: Baby Bio, Phostrogen or Westland Houseplant Feed; US: Miracle-Gro Indoor Plant Food or Dyna-Gro Foliage-Pro for steady leafy growth.
Brand names are examples, not endorsements, and UK and US ranges differ — check the label’s own NPK and dilution rate, since formulations change.
Fertilising artillery plant — frequently asked questions
What fertiliser does artillery plant need?
A balanced liquid feed (even N-P-K) or a slightly nitrogen-leaning foliage feed — this is a big-leaved foliage plant putting on real size, so it wants steady nitrogen for lush leaves, not a bloom formula. Artillery Plant is a genuinely hungry tropical — in bright warmth it pushes growth fast and rewards a regular half-strength balanced feed all season.
How often should I feed artillery plant?
Feed lightly with a balanced, water-soluble houseplant fertiliser diluted to half strength roughly every 4-6 weeks during spring and summer. Stop feeding in autumn and winter when growth slows. This is not a heavy feeder, and over-fertilising can burn the fine roots and tender foliage. Feed lightly with a balanced, water-soluble houseplant fertiliser diluted to half strength roughly every 4-6 weeks during spring and summer. Stop feeding in autumn and winter when growth slows. This is not a heavy feeder, and over-fertilising can burn the fine roots and tender foliage. For a fast grower like this that means feeding regularly — about every 4-6 weeks — right through spring through early autumn (roughly March to September), tapering off only as light drops in autumn.
What strength of feed for artillery plant?
Half strength every feed is the sweet spot for artillery plant: frequent enough to fuel fast growth, dilute enough that it never scorches even when you feed often.
What does over-feeding artillery plant look like?
Brown, scorched leaf tips and margins despite correct watering. A white salt crust on the soil or around the pot edge. Sudden leaf yellowing and drop shortly after a strong feed. Soft, weak, over-stretched growth that cannot support itself. The mistake here is the opposite of most houseplants: under-feeding a fast tropical in peak season starves it, leaving small, pale new leaves and slow growth — but full-strength doses still burn it, so feed often and weak, not occasionally and strong.
Should I flush the soil of artillery plant?
Because you feed often, salts accumulate faster — flush the pot of artillery plant with plain water until it drains freely roughly every month through the feeding season to keep the root zone clean.
Keep reading
- Artillery Plant care — the full brief (light, soil, humidity, problems, pet safety)
- How often to water artillery plant — the watering schedule
- The houseplant fertiliser schedule — feeding through the year
- NPK ratio explained — what the three numbers on the bottle mean
- How to fertilise snake plant
- How to fertilise dracaena
- How to fertilise peperomia
- All 609 fertilising guides in the Growli library