How to grow a sensitive plant

The sensitive plant is a great, fun to grow houseplant, that can give you and the kids hours of fun watching it move! The sensitive plant is also known as the shy plant, tickle me not, touch me not, shame plant and lots of other fitting names!

The sensitive plant's sciency name is Mimosa Pudica and it grows approximately 12-24" tall, perfect for growing indoors as a houseplant.

What makes the sensitive plant so special is the fact that, when it's leaves are touched, it almost instantly curls up and collapses as if going to sleep, then springs back to life within 10-15 minutes again! The leaves also go to "sleep" at night and "wake up" in the morning in the same way.

No one really knows why is does this - maybe it's a defensive mechanism, but one thing is for sure, it's a lot of fun having a plant that moves in the house - a great talking point and great fun for the kids to grow whilst being educational at the same time. What better way to get them to learn about plants than to grow a moving one!

Sensitive plant growing instructions

1) Soak your sensitive plant seeds in water for about 1 to 2 days to soften their hard shells. 

2) Have a small pot ready, fill with good quality compost and sprinkle your soaked mimosa pudica seeds lightly on the surface of the soil. Gently cover with about 2-4cm of loose soil, but don't compress it.

3) Water the soil - but not too much. Sensitive plants can move but they can't swim!

4) Keep your seeds in a warm place until they sprout in about 1 week.
Once they have sprouted, they like to be watered well for the first week or so while their roots develop.

5) Make sure that your new sensitive plants are getting lots of sunlight - they love to sunbathe. And guess what, as they grow, you'll also notice that they are sensitive to heat too!

6) Once you're plant gets bigger, you'll notice it's leaves change shape to look like a fern with lots of little sets of brushes. This is because the first leaves your plant gets are just to help it grow. After that, the plant begins to grow it's sensitive leaves.

7) Have fun tickling your new sensitive plant and watch it curl up and pretend to sleep! Try different ways of making it curl up. Tickle it, touch is, blow on it, the sensitive plant responds in different ways to all of these stimuli, so have fun!

Tips to get the best from your sensitive plant

You can use a dilute fertiliser that is high in Potassium to get the best growth from your sensitive plant. Follow the instructions on the label and feed twice a week when watering.

Make sure that your sensitive plants receive lots of sunlight (and if you live in a cooler climate, make sure your plants are indoors, and are kept on a warm sunny windowsill).

Mimosa pudica is originally from hot and humid climates, so if the temperature falls below about 50 degrees F (10 degrees C) then you'll notice that your plant's stem will turn reddish in colour. This is normal and another quirky little thing your sensitive plant does. The stem will return to normal colour once the temperature increases. Ooh, sensitive!

Because Mimosas are used to high humidity, and you're growing this plant indoors with a much lower humidity than it likes, you can use a plant spray bottle to gently mist the leaves a couple of times a day. Your plant will reward you with plenty of new sensitive leaves if you do this!

It is important to note that Mimosa plants are in fact posionous and classed as a noxious weed in many countries. This is not a cause for alarm if you are growing them indoors on a windowsill - just keep the plant away from pets and let your children know of this. The plant is only poisonous when ingested and is not poisonous to touch. Do not grow this plant outside, because it could become a danger to animals and it spreads like a weed.