The evergreen peperomy of the pepper family has about 1000 species. It will look decent as a stand-alone plant and in a floral arrangement. This attracts many gardeners. This houseplant is unpretentious, but to obtain year-round abundant flowering it is important to know the main nuances of care, reproduction methods, possible diseases, classification of the best types of peperomia.
Peperomia: home care
The plant is easy to breed. Provide proper care at home even for beginners. Almost all types of peperomia require identical conditions for watering, top dressing, lighting, temperature. In order for them to rapidly climb and multiply, it is important to know the basics of transplantation, as well as which diseases and pests can affect them if they are performed improperly.
Peperomia flower
Flowering peperomia
The plant blooms in the spring and summer. Although with proper maintenance, providing abundant watering can bloom a second time in late autumn.
Flowering is not of particular interest, because it is modest. Small flowers without perianth appear, gather in inflorescences like a cob or spikelet. Peduncles need to be cut, as they lead to the depletion of the plant and do not have decorativeness. Sometimes it is worth trimming them at the stage of nucleation, so that peperomia does not drop leaves after flowering.
How a plant blooms
Peperomia ampelous
Ampel species grows like a grassy creeping tree or ground shrub with tight-fitting leaves on the stems. Peperomia can grow in areas with dense moss litter.
Individual species grow in the natural environment as epiphytes:
- A head. Leaves are green, glossy, on short petioles. The stems are branched long. This is a valuable ornamental bush with rapid development.
- Rotundifolia. It grows like an epiphyte. The leaves are thick, round, juicy. Branched brown or burgundy shoots. Petioles are short.
- Whorled. It differs in thick powerful shoots hanging from pots. When flowering, thin green spikelets and small flowers are formed on their peaks. Rounded sessile leaves collected in whorls. Plates on the underside are contrasting reddish.
- Angulata is a perennial ampel bush, similar to tradescantia. Shoots are thin, juicy light brown. The leaves are dark green, oblong-lanceolate or with arched veins. At the tops of the shoots during flowering flower stalks with greenish spikelets are formed.
Ampelic view of peperomia
Microclimate
Peperomia flower is not pretentious to the microclimate and does not have a special rest period. Although it prefers to grow in sunny areas, it is therefore important in winter to provide bright lighting with fluorescent lamps. The main thing is that the rays of the direct sun do not fall on the bushes.
Temperature and humidity
The plant is tropical, so it is important to observe the temperature regime for comfortable growth in the room. The optimum temperature throughout the year is 25 ° C. The column should not be allowed to lower below 16 ° C in order to avoid the development of diseases.
Important! Peperomia is afraid of drafts and is practically not adapted to growth, development in the Russian climate in the open air. It should not be taken out even in the summer. Although it is necessary to ventilate the room, removing the flower for a while, for example, in a box, covering it with a film.
Humidity for peperomia does not matter. It will grow well both in arid stuffy apartments and in humid tropical forests. There is no need to spray the bushes, because it is unlikely that water will be absorbed and will slide from glossy leaves. It is enough to wipe them with a damp sponge, removing dust particles.
Illumination
For plants with solid color leaves, it is preferable to create a light shadow. Variegated species need more light. It is better to grow peperomia on windows with access to the east, west. But you should not put it on the southern windows, otherwise direct sunlight will harm the leaves, up to wrinkling and burns.
Watering schedule and fertilizer schedule
In the warm season, the plant needs regular watering, especially during the growing season. It is necessary to water with soft settled water at room temperature.
In autumn and winter, at a room temperature of 18 ° C, the frequency of watering should be reduced.
Note! It is unacceptable to water the plant with cold water from the tap, otherwise it can become infected with fungal diseases. It is better to make watering moderate as the soil dries. The main thing is not to overdo it, since the root system will begin to decay when waterlogged. It is better to take soft water, tap water after settling for 2 days.
The houseplant is deciduous, so any complex store preparations are suitable for dressing. You can apply mineral fertilizers, feeding 2 times a month in the spring, summer, autumn. In winter, once every 4 weeks is enough. Feeding a plant at rest is undesirable. Pinching is also recommended for better branching of flower stems.
Peperomia Primer
The ideal soil is light, airy, loose with an impeccable water-transmitting ability. The composition for the soil mixture is 2 parts of leaf soil, humus and sand (1 part each). Soaked hydrogel granules can also be added.
The optimum acidity of the soil is 5.5 to 6.5 pH.
Note! The plant does not take root well and takes root in heavy soil. For normal growth, the soil should be loose, collected from humus, peat, sand. It is better to buy special soil for pepper species or begonias. You can also make the mixture yourself: sheet soil (2 parts), sand, peat, humus (1 part each) or sheet peat land and sand, taken in equal quantities. The main thing is that oxygen is constantly supplied to the root system. To this end, it is advisable to lay a drainage layer on the bottom of the pots, which protects the roots from an excess of moisture, the occurrence of fungal diseases.
Peperomia: reproduction
How does peperomia flower propagate:
- Seeds sown in March-April.
- Cuttings using stem or apical processes. A substrate is taken consisting of humus, sand, peat in equal parts. For rooting, cuttings with 1-3 nodes are selected. After planting in the substrate, the pots are covered with glass, put in a warm place for rooting for 4 weeks.
- By sheet. Solid leaf plates with a small petiole are selected. To speed up the process, the leaf can be placed in the greenhouse to give roots after 20-30 days.
- By the bush. An adult overgrown bush is selected and in the spring is divided into 2-3 parts. Gently, without injuring the root system, take a small pot, lay the drainage layer on the bottom. Transplant using a soil mixture composed of sand, peat or sphagnum with moss.
Important! It is better to select a wide container for transplantation, and each subsequent pot should be 1.5 times larger than the previous one. It is not necessary for the flower to spend energy on the development of the root system and reduce decorativeness.
Reproduction of peperomia leaf
This is a simple and effective method of reproduction. Suitable for bush and erect peperomia. A healthy leaf is selected, not injured and not painful. The sheet plate is carefully cut with a sharp knife, the petiole is left at the base 3-4 cm long. Next, the sheet is placed in standing water, put in a warm place. Water is replaced once every 2-3 days. When the stalk gives roots, it can be transplanted into the ground from peat, perlite and sand.
Propagation of a flower by a leaf
Care consists in regular watering, airing the greenhouse. Children will appear after 1.5-2 months. As two leaves grow, you can transplant into permanent pots up to 5 cm wide.
Propagation of peperomia by cuttings
To get the cuttings, it is worth pinching the top of the shoot with 1-3 nodes. Then stand in water for several days so that it gives roots. Then plant in the soil, providing greenhouse conditions.
When the stalk takes root, it is worth transplanting it into a glass with earth, putting it in a warm place in a well-lit place. The air temperature should be 25 ° C. So stand 1 month, watering periodically, until the seedling grows in size, and the root system becomes ready for transplanting into a pot.
Propagation by cuttings
Diseases and pests of peperomia
If you do not maintain optimal air humidity, then the plants begin to fall off the leaves or turn black when there is an excess of moisture, insufficient drainage in the pots.
Leaves may fade with a lack of light or direct sunlight. So low light often leads to the loss of their bright attractive color.
The main leaf disease is rust. Thrips, scale insects, mealybugs, spider mites can also affect if the plates begin to fade and lose turgor. Golden nematodes often settle in the roots of the plant, laying yellow round eggs. It is unlikely that such bushes can be saved, so it is wise to destroy together with the pot.
With improper care, often with a flower there are problems. So that the leaves do not fall off, it is important to conduct watering in a timely manner, not to allow maintenance in the room at temperature extremes.
The tops of the leaves turn brown due to drafts or hypothermia. Pots should stand in a warm place, and irrigation should be carried out with settled water.
Note! Shoots and leaves rot, which means that moisture has stagnated in the pot, watering should be reduced. If the situation does not change, then it is worth removing the bush from the pot, inspecting the root, and removing rotted areas.
Young leaves grow deformed
Leaves grow deformed and wrinkled due to exposure to direct sunlight. Burns on plates are possible if you hold the flower on the south side of the windowsill.
Why leaves turn yellow
Foliage turns yellow, then falls for two reasons:
- insufficient watering;
- exposure to low temperatures.
Perhaps the land is overdried in a pot, or the room is pretty cool.
Yellowed leaves of a plant
Popular varieties
The following varieties are in great demand in Russia:
Peperomia Rosso
Shrub, the result of the work of scientific breeders. It grows to 20-24 cm in height. Leaves are bundles attached to the main stem. The upper part is saturated bright green, facing the sun's rays, the lower is reddish. Care at home for Peperomia Rosso is not particularly difficult.
Peperomia Caperata (Caperata)
Evergreen perennial plant. The leaves of Peperomia (peperomia) Caperata are heart-shaped up to 4 cm long, the stems are reddish or short green. Corrugated plates, one-piece with deep veins of burgundy color. When flowering, thin spikelets with small flowers appear.
Appearance of caperate peperomia
Peperomia Prostrata (Peperomia Prostrata)
A small mix plant that will look original in pots with a diameter of 5 cm. This is a decorative variety. Prefers moderate moisture, but photophilous enough. Refers to deciduous culture. Reaches a height of 100 cm, but quite squat, climbing ampelous plant.
Peperomia chisel
Perekiselistny succulent plant with densely arranged sessile leaves on short and thick stems. Visually, leaf blades look like doubled up. Sunlight easily reaches the corners of the leaves due to the upper cut with a transparent surface. In summer, short peduncles and inflorescences appear in the form of panicles with greenish flowers on the tops of shoots.
What does a chisel flower look like?
Peperomia monolithic
Ampelic view of creeping peperomia - an indoor flower. It will be a great decoration for the veranda, window opening. Grows with round leaves of light green hue, tightly sitting on short petioles. Thin red shoots up to 2 cm in length. Round-peperomia will look like openwork balls and please the eye. Monolithic peperomia does not have a rest period, therefore, it pleases with its beauty year-round.
Bushy Peperomia
Grows in pieces up to 15 cm high. Formed from leaves in the form of a thick hat. During flowering, inflorescences from spikelets appear.
Peperomia Graveolens (Peperomia graveolens)
Bright outwardly attractive multi-leaf succulent with beautiful leaves. The upper surface is light green, the bottom ruby or burgundy. Leaves grow, curling toward the main shoot. Sometimes flowers at indoor ficus peperomia grow similar to corals.
For your information! If you cover the soil in a pot with pebbles and plant a blunt flower, you can achieve an extraordinary result and great similarity with the marine life.
Variegate Peperomia
This flower in nature is found with reddish, beige, dark green, silver leaves. A kind of cluby peperomia with original variegated foliage with a color in three colors. A popular flower with a dark green color and leaves with a red border to give greater expressiveness. The houseplant is tiny, so it’s suitable for any home interior or for creating different flower arrangements.
Variegate plant species
Room peperomia (bronze, variegate, Ferreira, bushy, monolithic, Happy) can have many colors and leaf shapes. If properly looked after, it will definitely become a favorite, it will take its rightful place in the collection of home flowers. Moreover, the plant is beneficial, releases volatile and disinfects indoor air. This is important in rooms where often sick children live.
