Keep Your Sessile Joyweed Alive: Light, Water & Care Instructions

Sessile Joyweed

Also known as

Brazilian Spinach, Magloire (Lesser Antilles), Sanguinaria, Sanguinaria (Puerto Rico), Santoma cimarrona (Dominican Republic), bhirangijhar, brede embellage, bredo-d�água, brède chevrette, common roadside weed, dwarf copperleaf, fisi'i'ano, galuti, horng-tyan-wu, joyweed, lian zi cao, lianzi cao and magloire

Taxonomy

Scientific name

Alternanthera sessilis

Genus

Alternanthera

Family

Amaranthaceae

Order

Caryophyllales

How to care for Sessile Joyweed

💦 Water

How often to water your Sessile Joyweed

Sessile Joyweed needs 0.5 cups of water every 9 when it doesn’t get direct sunlight and is potted in a 5" pot.

Use our water calculator to personalize watering recommendations to your environment or download Greg for more advanced recommendations for all of your plants.

Water 0.5 cups every
9

Does your plant get direct sunlight?

No Yes

Select the pot size

☀️ Light

Finding light for Sessile Joyweed in your home

Sessile Joyweed love being close to bright, sunny windows 😎.

Place it less than 1ft from a south-facing window to maximize the potential for growth.

Sessile Joyweed does not tolerate low-light 🚫.

Select your region to see how the current weather in your area affects the placement of Sessile Joyweed in your home 🏡.

🪴 Nutrients

How to fertilize Sessile Joyweed

Nutrient, fertilizer, and repotting needs for Sessile Joyweed: repot after 2X growth

Most potting soils come with ample nutrients which plants use to produce new growth.

By the time your plant has depleted the nutrients in its soil it’s likely grown enough to need a larger pot anyway.

To replenish this plant's nutrients, repot your Sessile Joyweed after it doubles in size or once a year—whichever comes first.

I posted this series of pictures of my party-time plant (before and after watering) on FB last night: Pic 1: 9:58p, before water Pic 2: 10:02p, about 3 minutes after watering Pic 3: 10:28p, update Pic 4 and 5: 10:53p, this is it because I’m going to bed but he was fun to watch! After I posted it, I had a realization. It’s a pretty good visual representation of my mental health. I know I posted a little bit about it a few weeks ago, and I think I’m ready to open up a little more. I apologize in advance if this gets boring or starts to ramble, I don’t like to talk about this a lot. I’ve always struggled with anxiety and depression, even as a child before I knew what it was. When we moved back to my home state just over 2 years ago, I think it was a major trigger. I went into a bad phase of depression that just never went away. I’m not sure how to explain it- I always have depression/anxiety, but there are periods of weeks or months where it’s worse, I call it a “funk” to try and lighten it up but it’s really not just a funk. So anyway I haven’t had any “better” periods in over two years. Then about a year ago, it got even worse. For some reason every few weeks, I started feeling like everyone would be better off without me. I could do nothing right for myself. I felt like driving away and disappearing because everyone would be better off in the long run. It was scaring me because in the past, no matter how bad my depression gets I know my kids and husband loves me and that made it worth it. But this one week out of the month… I just couldn’t get past it. I joined BetterHelp for a few months back in July to try and figure out what’s going on. My therapist said she would diagnose me as having major depressive disorder with recurrence, PMDD (premenstrual dysphoria disorder, which explained the week of feeling absolutely hopeless and worthless every month), as well as ADHD. She recommended I see someone in person who could potentially prescribe medication because talk therapy wasn’t working. I didn’t even make an appointment for almost two months. It seemed too much to look up doctors, set up an appointment, leave the house except for work, have to TALK about childhood trauma, etc. I mean… I could barely even get out of bed or shower, much less anything like this. 😳 My grandmother asked if she could help make the appointment for me and I said yes. My husband had already looked up doctors and was trying to encourage me but for some reason, I just couldn’t do it. My grandmother is more direct than my husband is, so she was like “If you’re not going do it, I will. Is that ok?” 😂 And she did. She got on speakerphone and called them for me while I was there 🥹 I’m sure it seems silly but that meant a lot. I don’t think I would’ve made the appointment on my own. I really don’t. On the 9th of January I went for my first appointment (psych eval). This doctor gave the same diagnosis, and prescribed an antidepressant, as well as recommending cognitive behavioral therapy (I think is what it’s called, I haven’t started that yet). I started Prozac the following day. It helped some almost immediately, but the past 2 or 3 days I’ve actually started to feel almost normal again! I’m not self-medicating with THC as much as I was, my anxiety is way down, and I’m EATING some. I dropped down to 119 on the day of my appointment (healthy me is about 135) because I could only nibble some bread every couple of days. Right now I’m able to a couple snacks throughout the day and have even eaten two full meals, which is huge for me. So here’s the updated captions for Leafonardo DiCaprio as they pertain to my situation 😆💚🪴: Pic 1: me day of appointment/ evaluation Pic 2: first day of taking anti-depressant Pic 3: Week one of taking anti-depressant Pics 4&5: Week 2 going into week 3 of anti-depressant 😂 I still have A LOT of therapy and a long way to go, but it’s a good start. Thank you all here for being supportive, welcoming and friendly. Greg has been sort an escape for me and I’m so grateful to be here 💚 I hope everyone is having a great Saturday so far #GreggersSupportingGreggers #PartyTimeAlternanthera

💡 FAQs

💦 Water Needs

Sessile Joyweed prefers for the soil to dry out between waterings and should be watered regularly. Use our water calculator to personalize watering recommendations to your environment or download Greg for more advanced recommendations for all of your plants.

☀️ Sunlight Needs

Sessile Joyweed requires abundant, bright and direct light. Place it less than one foot from a window to ensure it receives enough light to survive 💪. Select your region to see how the current weather in your area affects the placement in your home 🏡.

🐶 🐈 👶 Toxicity

Greg does not have confirmed data on this plant’s toxicity. If you, a family member, or a pet consumes plant material of unknown toxicity, it’s always best to consult a medical professional.

If you or someone else ingested this plant, call Poison Control at US (800) 222-1222. If a pet consumed this plant, contact your veterinarian or the ASPCA at US (888) 426-4435.

🪴 Soil

Sessile Joyweed does best in well-draining soil. A good soil will contain lots of organic matter such as coco coir as well as perlite or vermiculite to help with drainage. Adding a handful of perlite to regular store-bought potting soil should do the trick!

💩 Fertilizer

Sessile Joyweed should be repotted after it doubles in size or once a year, whichever comes first. Fresh potting soil has all the nutrients your plant needs, so as long as it’s refreshed yearly, you shouldn’t need to use fertilizer. Remember, plants get their energy from sunlight, not fertilizer!

🧐 Troubleshooting

When troubleshooting a sad-looking houseplant, start by checking for signs of distress in its leaves, such as yellowing, browning, or drooping, which can indicate overwatering or nutrient deficiencies.

Inspect the soil moisture; too dry or too wet soil can cause problems.

Ensure the plant is getting the right amount of light, as too much or too little can stress it.

Finally, consider environmental factors like temperature and humidity, and adjust care routines accordingly to revive your plant.