How to Care for Peperomia Obtusifolia

Peperomia Obtusifolia

Peperomia Obtusifolia, also known as the baby rubber plant, is native to tropical regions in North America, like Mexico, Florida. The baby rubber plant is known for its thick, waxy leaves, and compact growth pattern. Its small size and unique appearance makes it a great addition to any plant collection, especially those with limited space!

Although this plant may look like a succulent, I don’t recommend treating it like one. I made this mistake with my first Peperomia Obtusifolia, and it resulted in a slow decline in plant health, and ultimately it died. Thankfully I have learned from my mistakes, and want to help you avoid the same mistakes as well! In this Peperomia Obtusifolia care guide, I will go over the basics and some common problems you may run into.

Peperomia Obstusifolia Care: Light Requirements

When it comes to lighting, this plant is fairly forgiving. It does best in moderate lighting conditions, and can live comfortably in low light as well. The Peperomia Obtusifolia is used to growing under tropical canopies, so I wouldn’t recommend growing it in direct sunlight. The internodal spacing should be less than an inch for this plant. If you notice yours has long spacing between leaves, it needs more light. You can either move it to a space that gets more light, or try supplementing with a grow light.

Peperomia Obtusifolia will do best in an east facing window. There it will get a small amount of direct sunlight in the morning when the rays aren’t as harsh, and indirect light the rest of the day. It can also do great in a north facing window where it will get moderate indirect light all day. South facing windows get direct sun all day, so I wouldn’t recommend putting yours on the window sill. However, I am currently growing mine about six feet away from a southern window, and it is growing happily.

Peperomia Obtusifolia Care: Water

This is where I made mistakes with my first Peperomia. Due to its thick fleshy leaves, I assumed it should be treated like a succulent. I let it experience long periods of drought between waterings, and it seemed fine at first, but eventually died of dry rot. Peperomia Obtusifolia’s thick leaves do store water, so it can go for a while without watering from time to time and be okay, but its root system is much more fragile. Its roots are fine, and will dry out quickly, leading to dry rot.

In order to determine when to water Peperomia Obstusifolia, I look at there leaves rather than the soil. About once a week, take a leaf, and lightly squeeze it, trying to fold it in half. A hydrated leaf will feel firm, and have a slight give to it. If the leaf feels thinner, and has a moderate amount of give to it, the plant needs water. If the leaf feels limp, and folds in half easily, it has gone too long without water. When the plant gets to that point, water it and keep an eye on it. If the leaves plump back up, the plant is likely fine, but if it stays limp it may have dry rotted.

If you suspect some form of rot has occurred, unpot the plant, and inspect the root system. Remove any damaged, and dead roots, and repot it. If the root system is completely rotted, or if it has a very small root system left, consider propagating the plant. I’ll cover propagation methods later in the guide, so refer to that if you are unfamiliar with propagation.

Peperomia Obtusifolia Care: Soil & Potting

Soil

Peperomia Obtusifolia grows best in a well draining soil mix. Try to avoid using soil mixes by Miracle-Gro without any amendments. They are very dense, and can cause the soil to stay damp for too long which can lead to rot root, just as fast as underwatering will lead to dry rot. Their soil does however, act as a very good base for a DIY soil. For more information on soil, and my DIY soil recipes, check out my article on DIY Soil Mixes.

Potting

I prefer to grow this plant in a plastic nursery pot, but it will do fine in any pot so long as it has a drainage hole. Terracotta will be better for people who tend to overwater, and plastic or ceramic will be better for people who tend to underwater. Baby rubber plants should be repotted about once every year. When repotting try to size up about two inches in pot size. If you go smaller, you may need to repot sooner, and if you go too large, your plant might experience root rot because the soil will stay wet for longer.

Peperomia Obtusifolia Propagation Guide

If you have never propagated a plant before, I am excited to introduce you to the process! Propagation is the practice of growing a new plant from a cutting of another plant. If you know what you’re doing, you can propagate most plants in your house plant collection.

Peperomia Obtusifolia can be propagated easily through stem cuttings. Select a healthy stem with several leaves and make a clean cut just below a node using sharp scissors or pruners. Remove any lower leaves that would be submerged in water. These leaves will likely rot off anyway, and can impact the health of your cutting.

Let the cutting dry for at least a few hours, and place in water. You want to see the stem calloused over where you made your cut, or it will likely take up too much water, and die. I recommend cutting your Peperomia in the evening, and putting the cutting in water the next morning. Mason jars, or other clear vessels are great for propagation so that you can easily keep track of the progress your plant is making. Place your cutting in a bright spot, and wait a few weeks for roots to develop.

When your peperomia has roots that are about 2 inches long, and a decent amount of secondary roots coming off, it is ready to be potted up. Once you pot it up, give it a good watering, and you have a new plant!

Thank you so much for reading this far! If you have any additional questions about Peperomia Obtusifolia care, feel free to leave a comment. I wish you the best of luck with your plant care, happy growing!

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