Peperomia is an evergreen perennial of the Pepper family. Most peperomia are ornamental plants and are used for interior design in residential areas and botanical gardens. Growing peperomia at home is a fairly simple task and can be done without any difficulty.
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General information about the plant
Representatives of the Pepper family at home
Growing peperomia in its complexity is not much different from growing succulents. Like any other plant, peperomia has features of agricultural technology, however, in general, caring for it is not too burdensome.
This plant is native to the tropics of Asia and Central America. By its nature, it is an epiphyte, that is, it can grow on almost any basis: from earth and sandstone to rocks and tree trunks. The height of the plant is small - from 10 to 50 cm, so its desire to grow on elevated supports is understandable.
The plant is distinguished by a variety of colors and shapes of stems and foliage. Depending on the habitat and methods of obtaining food, the stems can be either erect or creeping. The leaves, depending on the light and humidity conditions, can have both an elongated and a round shape.; The color of the leaves can be from whitish-green to dark brown.
Peperomia fused with ampelous cultivation during flowering
Stems and foliage may be covered with villi, and sometimes very densely. Villi have different sizes: some are so small that we can only tell about their presence based on feeling the leaves, while some are a few millimeters long and are more than clearly visible.
Peperomia flowers are not of particular interest, since in the bulk they are thin, unattractive spikelets of a very nondescript color. Only a few species have bright and conspicuous inflorescences.
Peperomia wrinkled flowers
The plant in room design is used not because of the flowers, but because of the unique shape and color of the leaves. The decorativeness of peperomia leaves allows them to be used in the design of various compositions.
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Soil and container
Given that the plant is an epiphyte, its roots do not tolerate hard and heavy soil very well. Since the roots of all epiphytes need a lot of air, loose soil is most preferable for them. Thanks to this, the water will quickly reach the roots, and will not stagnate.
The plant does not tolerate excess moisture, so you will need to think about additional drainage of the soil.
If desired, you can also cook it yourself according to the following scheme:
- leaf ground - 3 parts
- river coarse sand - 1 part
- humus or compost - 1 part
- peat - 1 part
With this ratio in the components, a slightly acidic soil will be obtained, which is ideal for peperomia.
Then the soil is left in a well-ventilated room without shelter for 10-15 days to restore the microorganisms inhabiting it.
Wrong pot: too low and wide
Pots for the plant can be made from any material, the main requirement for them is that there is enough space to accommodate the root system of the plant. The height of the drainage layer for peperomia is from 6 to 8 cm. Accordingly, the height of the pot should be sufficient so that the remaining space is enough to accommodate the horse system and the substrate.
Lighting
Since the natural conditions for peperomia are the humid warm climate of the tropics, it is necessary to create precisely these conditions to ensure its normal growth. The plant is located mainly in the lower tiers, so the light reaches it in a diffused form. - it is this kind of lighting that is optimal for him.
Direct sunlight is contraindicated for the plant, so it is best placed near the east or west windows.
There is no need for shading or diffusers. If it becomes necessary to place a pot of peperomia on the south window, you can do so, however, care should be taken that the light does not fall directly on the plant. For these purposes, you can use some kind of curtains or tulle.
If the plants on the south window are in several rows, put the peperomia in the second row and so on. The plant needs about 8-10 hours of sunshine per day. This is fully provided in the summer, but in winter (more precisely, from October to February), additional lighting will be required.
Peperomia can be grown without sunlight at all, however, it needs about 15-16 hours of artificial light. regardless of the time of year.
Content temperature
Since the plant is native to the tropics, it is thermophilic. Many even consider peperomia capricious.
In principle, the conditions in our apartments are quite suitable for peperomia to be comfortable
The temperature in the warm period should lie in the range from +20°С to +22°С, in the cold from +18°С to +22°С. Plant death occurs at temperatures below +16°C. Such insignificant temperature changes in the warm and cold periods are due to the fact that almost all perennial Peppers lack a dormant period as such.
The above temperature limits apply to air, but there are also requirements for the temperature of the substrate. The substrate also has its own range: from +17°С to +20°С. The temperature should be exactly within these limits, no more, no less.
Peperomia in a greenhouse
The metabolism of most tropical plants is such that any changes in the "normal" regimes have a detrimental effect on the life of the plant as a whole and often lead to disease and death.
For this, it is not only impossible to place plants in drafts, but also to place it on cold windowsills. Sometimes wooden or polyurethane stands are used to isolate the plant from the cold base.
Air humidity
It is believed that air humidity is not critical for growing peperomia. However, almost all flower growers are inclined to believe that with more than 50% air humidity, peperomia begins a more active vegetation. Perhaps the reason lies in the fact that moist air is better absorbed by the plant than dry air.
Peperomia will be a great element of your decor
Also, ambiguous judgments exist about spraying peperomia leaves with a spray bottle. The abundance of hairs can lead to stagnation of moisture in them, and as a result, to rotting of the leaves, or sunburn.
It is recommended to use the following method. Plants that do not have hairs, or those whose hairs are quite sparse, can be sprayed continuously at intervals of 1-2 times a week. Excessively pubescent plants must be sprayed at the same frequency only during the active growing season (March to May).
In this case, the pot with the plant must be removed from the area where they can get sunburn.
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plant care
Watering
Since there is no dormant period for peperomia, watering must be done throughout the season.
Excessive watering, prolonged droughts, non-periodic application of moisture - all these factors significantly inhibit the growth of peperomia, which is not fast anyway.
Water requirements should be as follows:
- it is necessary to use settled or boiled water; it has less salts and will not reduce the acidity of the soil
- water temperature for watering peperomia should be in the range from + 20 ° C to + 30 ° C; it is recommended that the temperature is 5°C higher than the temperature of the substrate
- do not use distilled or mineral water
The frequency of watering is determined by the moisture content of the topsoil - it should not be seized with a crust. Usually, it is from 2 to 4 days.
Fertilizer use
Apply any complexes of mineral fertilizers for decorative indoor plants. The plant does not need special feeding, therefore it is recommended to reduce the norms indicated in the instructions by 1.5-2 times.
Fertilizers are applied once every 15-20 days
Transfer
The plant needs regular transplants, the frequency of which depends on the age of the peperomia. The first 3-4 years of life, the plant is transplanted every year, since the growth rate of the root system during this period is maximum. In the future, transplants are carried out once every two or three years.
Various types of peperomia
The fact that the plant needs to be transplanted is indicated by parts of its root system crawling out of the drainage holes in the pot. A few weeks before transplanting, it is necessary to prepare a new substrate, process it thermally and restore the microflora in it, as described earlier.
The transfer is carried out as follows:
- A tall and narrow pot is selected with a diameter 30-50% larger than the previous one. The best material for a pot is ceramics, but this is not critical.
- A drainage layer 6-8 cm thick is laid at the bottom. Perlite or expanded clay is used as such.
- 2-3 cm of the substrate is poured onto the drainage, on top of which the root system of the plant is installed and the remaining space of the pot is carefully covered. At the same time, it is necessary that the roots are hidden by at least 2 cm of the substrate, the distance from the roots to the walls of the pot is at least 3 cm, and the distance from the ground level to the edges of the pot (in height) is also at least 2 cm.
- Watering the plant is done 3-4 days after transplantation.
In the case of block growing, the substrate bag is simply replaced. Its volume may not even change.
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Reproduction of peperomia is carried out in three ways:
- seeds
- cuttings
- leaves
The seed method of reproduction in peperomia cannot be called simple, but it is not as problematic as in many ornamental plants. Seeds are planted in containers in several furrows, the distance between which is taken to be about 8 cm.
The composition of the soil for growing seeds is as follows: one part of leafy earth and coarse sand.
Peperomia cutting
After planting, the seeds are watered with warm water, and they are covered with plastic wrap. The temperature in such a "greenhouse" should be about + 25 ° C. As shoots appear, they swoop down on the second sheet. PAfter most of the seeds have sprouted, the containers are transferred to areas with sunlight.; as a rule, at this time they are transplanted into individual peat or plastic pots.
The composition of the soil is the same as that of the seeds. As soon as the young plants are finally strong, they are transplanted into an "adult" substrate. The first pot is usually chosen small - about 5 cm in diameter.
Peperomia ready for planting in a pot
Propagation by cuttings is the most popular way to propagate peperomia. It can be produced at any time, except during the flowering period. This is done simply: a stalk is cut off, which has one node and is planted in a nutrient mixture.
The mixture can be any: same as mother plant or seed plant. Rooting of cuttings usually occurs after 3.5 weeks. In this case, it is desirable to maintain the temperature 1-2 ° C higher than that required for peperomia.
Deciduous propagation differs little from cuttings; instead of a cutting, in this case a large sheet is used. It is also planted in the substrate in the same way, however, before that, the cut is processed with the help of epin.
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Varieties of peperomia recommended for cultivation
The total number of species of this plant is about one and a half thousand.
Separately, it should be noted a large number of varieties and hybrids, since many species are very closely related. Sometimes there is even confusion in the classification of colors due to taxon synonymy, when the same species have different names. Therefore, one should not be surprised that the plant that someone calls Peperomia St. Andrew will be called Peperomia shriveled somewhere in the literature.
Peperomia home
Despite all this diversity, in home cultivation, preference is given to about a dozen of all these plants, since it was they who were able to perfectly adapt to our apartment conditions. In addition, in general, all plants recommended for growing at home have relatively low growth rates, which will allow you to change pots, blocks and hydroponic systems for them quite rarely.
Consider these plants in more detail:
tupolistnaya
Peperomia obtuse
- It is an upright perennial.
- The stems of the plant are not too stiff, so conditionally it belongs to the herbaceous. Both in nature and at home, it is not particularly demanding on the place of growth.
- It can be grown both in the ground and in the substrate.
- Some growers recommend growing peperomia on tree trunks, or growing in blocks like orchids.
- This species is characterized by a dense texture of leaves that have an ovoid shape.
- Features of this species: on the stem, the leaves are arranged alternately on different sides of the stem.
- They have a length of 9 to 12 cm, and a width of up to 3-5 cm; at the same time, they are narrowed towards the base and expanded at the top of the stem.
- The color of the foliage of peperomia tuliposa can be represented by the following shades: green, cream or white.
- Predominate, of course, green and dark green. If you become the owner of a flower with white leaves, you can say that you are lucky - this color is very rare, about one in a thousand.
round-leaved
Peperomia rotundifolia
- A plant of small stature, however, with a high density of foliage. In fact, its continuous cover is a kind of “pillow”, in which practically no stems are visually detected.
- The leaves are small, about 1.5-2 cm in diameter.Their number on one stem can exceed a hundred. The stems are very strong, branching. The number of branches is also quite large. When observing a flower for a long time, one gets the impression of a huge green ball growing in all possible directions.
- The color of the leaves is green, very bright and memorable. Sometimes the leaves are covered with a fine fluff of hairs, giving it a dazzling sheen in the presence of any light source.
- Like all epiphytes, it can be grown in almost anything, however, given its large amount of foliage, it has several features.
- The most preferred growing method is the pot method.
- On a block or support, the flower will have excessive elongation of the stems, especially in the region of the root system, which will not look aesthetically pleasing.
- It can also be grown in an ampelous way, after taking care of the support for the thick and massive leafy cover of peperomia.
wrinkled
Peperomia wrinkled
- Often this species is also called wrinkled; such names were obtained for a reason - the surface of the sheet is quite embossed, similar to corrugated. If not for the green color of the leaves, they could be mistaken for pieces of wrinkled skin.
- In general, the leaves of this species have a rather interesting structure: they are heart-shaped, and the symmetry of the sheet is almost perfect. Leaves are 5-6 cm.
- The leaves themselves are velvety to the touch, and this feeling appears not only from the structure of the leaf, but from the many hairs of the edge, which are very small and practically indistinguishable visually.
- The leaves of the flower are collected in a kind of "rosette", on average, there is one peduncle per 8-10 leaves.
- The height of the deciduous part rarely exceeds 10 cm, the peduncles are slightly higher - about 15 cm.
- The color of the leaves can vary from white-green to purple-red.
Silvery
Peperomia silver
- Perhaps the most spectacular representative of the entire family.
- The variegated color attracts attention, even if the plant is among other flowers or objects.
- The leaves are grayish in color, with textured veins of dark green color.
- Their coloring from below is one-color; it is white, yellow or green.
- The structure resembles wrinkled; the leaves are also heart-shaped and gather into "rosettes".
- At the same time, the leaves are noticeably larger (from 10 to 12 cm in diameter) and more densely arranged.
- Young leaves are almost flat, as they grow, there is a noticeable release of texture and their bending along the edges; a fully developed leaf has the appearance of a concave bowl.
- Colors may vary: often the surface of the leaves is white, and the veins are bright green (the so-called "watermelon" coloring); sometimes the gray color due to the edge becomes almost indistinguishable from silver.
- Due to its extravagant appearance, the flower is used in design as a central element of a composition or as a means to draw attention to an object.
Pleasant
Peperomia pleasant
- It has strong stems directed vertically upwards and practically does not bend.
- The height of the shoots can exceed 30 cm.
- The stems are located next to each other, the flower itself looks extremely dense.
- Leaves may have hairline.
- Leaves 4-5 cm long have an oval shape and slightly pointed ends.
- The color is almost always light green or light green, but the lower part can be from white to purplish red. Sometimes a plant, due to external similarities, can be mistaken for representatives of euphorbia.
- Flowers develop at the top of the stems.
- They themselves are small in size (cobs about 3-5 cm), white or yellow.
- On average, a peduncle appears on every second stem.
spotted
Peperomia spotted
- A species that has become very popular in recent years.
- From a distance, this species bears some resemblance to hostas, whose leaves are stacked on top of each other like tiles, however, less dense.
- The leaves are deep and rich green.
- One of the features of this species is the glossy surface of its foliage.
- The length of the leaves can reach up to 15 cm, width - up to 6 cm.
- The edge of the leaves is always pointed.
- This species has very thick stems (up to 10 mm in diameter) that grow vertically upwards, almost without bending.
- However, when the age of the shoot is already quite solid and the number of leaves on one stem is more than 6 pieces, the support may sag slightly.
- The veins on the leaves are contrasting, white.
- Long inflorescences have a reddish-brown hue. They rise 12-15 cm above the deciduous mass.
- On average, there is one peduncle per 5-6 leaves.
Marble
Peperomia marble
- It is a flower of low growth with densely spaced deciduous mass.
- The leaves are slightly pointed, up to 8 cm long and 5-6 wide.
- The leaves have a weak relief; they are covered with fairly stiff hairs; the color of the leaves due to the hairs is slightly whitish, the edges are often purple.
- The stems are relatively thin, practically not branching.
- Young shoots are bright green, adults are purple.
- Each stem has a peduncle.
- Inflorescences are small, red or brown.
- With a lack of lighting, the leaves also turn purple, which flower growers often use to create the desired shades.
- At the same time, flowering is inhibited, but this practically does not affect the condition of the leaves (except for changing their color).
creeping
Peperomia snake
- Another name for this species is snake.
- The stems of the flower are very long and branched. They have many small leaves. Their shape resembles birch, but the edges of the leaves are smooth.
- The size of the leaves is from 3 to 5 cm; their center is bright green, and the edges are lettuce.
- The shoots of this flower can either hang down, or, clinging to a support, grow up.
- With proper care, they can completely hide the support under the cover of foliage.
- Several peduncles appear on each stem, they are white in color, and their length sometimes reaches 10 cm.
- In terms of plant mass, this plant is practically not inferior to round-leaved species.
- In terms of the number of peduncles, it is an absolute record holder.
- This species responds especially well to pruning of stem growth cones.
- Due to this, they begin to branch even more and during the season the plant is able to increase the volume of deciduous mass by 3-5 times.
- Naturally, at the same time, you should take care of its additional feeding.
velvety
Peperomia velvety
- These perennials have straight stems of dark red color with a fairly dense edge.
- The leaves, located on relatively short petioles, have an elongated shape and a pointed end.
- Most often, the leaves are also densely pubescent, however, completely “bald” specimens also come across.
- Leaves can be all shades of green or purple.
- Each leaf has an odd number of light veins.
- Peduncles are formed not only on the tops of the stems, but also in the axils of the foliage.
- Spikelets of peduncles can have a height of up to 8 cm; usually, they are yellow or red.
clousifolia
Peperomia clousieleaf
- A perennial plant with a large number of variegated foliage.
- Its main feature is that not only flower stalks are formed in the axils of the leaves, but also additional roots that can be fixed on supports or the ground.
- Rooting of the plant occurs very quickly, since the roots appear almost simultaneously with new leaves.
- The shoots and leaves are very strong, one might say, tough, which helps the plant in its natural nature to occupy higher tiers.
- The leaves have a tricolor color (from the center - green, white, purple), attracting attention no matter where the plant is placed.
- The leaves themselves are large, up to 15 cm long and 6 wide, concave, without a pointed end.
- The veins on the leaves may be gray or yellowish-green.
reddish
Peperomia reddish
- Outwardly, it is somewhat reminiscent of classic succulents, better known as the "money tree", but differs from the latter in more elegant shapes and colors.
- The stems are strongly branched, covered with hairs relatively rare for these plants.
- A distinctive feature of the pubescence of this species is the large length of the hairs.
- The stems and undersides of the leaves of this plant are purplish, while the tops of the leaves are dark green.
- The leaves are small (up to 3 cm), oval in shape, arranged oppositely, 2 or 4 pieces per node.
- Despite the relatively small height of the plant (up to 15 cm), due to its branching, it can give the impression of a carpet, like a round-leaved variety, but this "carpet" will be raised a few centimeters above the surface.
gray-haired
Peperomia gray
- It is a semi-shrub plant, reaching a height of about half a meter.
- Stems are thick, slightly branched.
- The leaves are small, up to 5-6 cm in diameter, have an olive color and a uniform edge.
- A distinctive feature of this species is either the complete absence of visible veins, or one thick vein passing through the middle of the leaf.
- If the tops of the stems are cut off, the plant transforms from an upright shrub into something resembling a creeping species, only with thicker stems and a slower growth rate.
- Over time, it covers all the areas it can; braiding is possible with the growth of the plant upwards. The rooting of such a creeping modification occurs relatively quickly, which can slightly accelerate its growth rate.
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