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Peperomia caperata is one of the most popular varieties of Peperomia. It originally comes from the rain forest of Brazil. This small plant (not more than 8 inches tall) has thick, wrinkled dark green leaves.
Blooming Time: Flower stalks resemble mouse tails and are covered with tiny yellow-white flowers.
Culture: Peperomia caperata does best in at least 50% shade with temperatures of 68 to 75 degrees, and in winter, the temperature should not be less than 50 degrees. It is usually enough to water the plant every 8 to 10 days, but that depends on temperature and time of the year. Plants should be fertilized twice a month in summer with a balanced fertilizer diluted to ½ the strength recommended on the label. The plant does not need repotting unless it becomes too large for the pot. The roots are better off in a pot that is a little on the small side. The plant needs a porous soil, as it needs plenty of air around the roots. A suitable compost consists of 3 parts peat moss to 1 part loam to 1 part sharp sand.
Propagation: Peperomia caperata are propagated by division or by leaf cuttings. Take leaf cuttings with a little bit of stem, dip in rooting hormone, place the leaf and stem in compost, water well and cover with a plastic bag. Remove the plastic bag once in a while to prevent the leaves from rotting. New plants will start from the base of the leaves.
Peperomia caperata was featured as Plant of the Week October 15-21, 1999.
Guide to Past Plants-of-the-Week:
Cal's Plant of the Week is provided as a service by the University of Oklahoma Department of Botany & Microbiology and specifically Cal Lemke, who is OU's botany greenhouse grower and an avid gardener at home as well. If the above links don't work, then try the overview site. You may also like to look at the thumbnail index. To receive Plant-of-the-Week by e-mail, go to the Plant-of-the-Week listserv subscription page. To contact us, please use this online form. ©1998-2009 All rights reserved.