With over a thousand known species, you might expect it to be difficult to recognize a Peperomia when you’ve seen it. Fortunately, only about 50 Peperomia cultivars are common as houseplants. Most are cared for and propagated in similar ways.
The first time I saw one of my Peperomias flower, I wasn’t sure what was wrong with my plant! The flowers are not exactly showy. They are thin, spiky stalks, and tend to be messy, spilling pollen everywhere. The flowers on my Watermelon Peperomia were just 2 to 3 inch long off-white scentless mess-makers.
Without taking every variety of Peperomia into consideration, it is a little difficult to recommend a specific light requirement. Some can handle sun and others can’t. Those that like sun don’t like direct sun during the strongest light of the day and those that require shade usually prefer bright shade. What I usually do is set them in a northern or northeastern window to begin with. (This is in the northern hemisphere.) If the leaves scorch, I move it back from the window so that the sun doesn’t shine directly on it.
When watering your Peperomias, consider that most varieties would prefer to go a little dry. There are a couple of cultivars that need consistently moist soil, but most can handle drier medium. I usually let my Peperomia ‘Jayde’ go dry until the soil separates from the sides of the pot! I wouldn’t recommend going quite so long between waterings, but I lost one to rot last year.
Peperomias are most often succulent and have fleshy leaves and stems. This makes them highly susceptible to rotting out. You can avoid this by watering from the bottom (sub-irrigation) or by watering lightly and somewhat more often from the top, taking care to avoid getting water in the crown.
Propagation of Peperomias is a simple. Herbaceous stem cuttings or leaf cuttings are the preferred method, but sometimes it is necessary to do semi-hardwood cuttings. Peperomias tend to get a little woody as they age, but this doesn’t need to prevent you from propagation. If you are unsure whether the cuttings will take, apply a rooting hormone before sticking.
Re-pot Peperomias in the spring, or when you have observed active growth. You should try to do this with most plants, but it is especially important with plants like Peperomia that rot easily. Take care to select a pot and media that provides plenty of drainage.
