Cold draft or temperature stress
Coins curling and looking unhappy right beside a chilly window or an AC vent are reacting to temperature stress.
Diagnosis
Cold draft or temperature stress
What's happening
The Chinese Money Plant is comfortable in normal room temperatures but dislikes sudden cold, drafts, and the dry blast of heating or air-conditioning vents. A leaf pressed against cold winter glass or sitting in a draft will curl, stiffen, and sometimes spot or brown at the edges as the chill damages the tissue.
How to fix it
Move the plant a foot or two away from the cold window, exterior door, or vent and into a more stable, draft-free spot, keeping it in the comfortable 60–75°F range it prefers. Pull it back from the glass overnight in winter especially. New growth that emerges in the steadier conditions will come in flat and healthy; trim any leaves that were badly damaged by the chill.
What fixes it
- Frost cloth for cold snaps — If the only bright window gets very cold at night, a light frost cloth over the glass buffers the chill off nearby plants.
If that doesn't fix it
This is general guidance based on common symptoms; individual plants vary.
Read the full Chinese Money Plant care guide →
Reviewed June 2026 · how we check this