Cupid Peperomia Care Infographic
Cupid Peperomia Care Infographic

Cupid peperomia is a beautiful, fast-growing plant with leaves that look like hearts. Growing this plant of love is not demanding when you provide it with the right conditions.

As an epiphyte, you can find cupid peperomia trailing from huge trees in its natural habitat, and a remarkable feature of cupid peperomia plants is that they have a sturdy trailer and thick glossy leaves. Read this expert care guide for the requirements of cupid peperomia plants.

What Is Cupid Peperomia?

Cupid peperomia is a beautiful epiphytic plant with round and almost heart-shaped leaves that is native to rainforests in the tropical regions of Mexico and South America. There are two varieties of cupid peperomia — one variety is known for its green leaves while the other one is known for its variegated leaves.

Cupid Peperomia Care

Take note that cupid peperomia is a slightly demanding plant because it needs more attention than other plants. However, you can grow this plant with ease when you grow it at its optimal temperature, humidity and light levels.

Cupid peperomia is a popular houseplant as you can easily display it trailing from hanging baskets just like how it trails from trees in its natural habitat. You can also grow it in regular pots and then direct its growth with a trellis or other types of growth support.

This is truly a cool plant to grow, so continue reading to learn the secrets to growing and propagating cupid peperomia. Here is everything your cupid peperomia needs for a successful journey: 

– Soil Requirements

Another thing that you must consider to grow cupid peperomia with ease is the potting mix or substrate. You cannot grow cupid peperomia plants with garden soil in pots as the soil is too compacted and heavy for the plant. The suitable potting mix for this plant is airy.

The Cupid PeperomiaBuy a potting mix that is free-draining and has good quality compost to serve as a source of nutrients for the plants.

A peat-based potting mix is preferred for cupid peperomia plants, so you can mix one part peat moss and one part compost with a one-part combination of perlite and vermiculite.

Note that cupid peperomia plants prefer substrates with a pH level of 5 to 7.5, so you have nothing to worry about as long as you stick to an almost-neutral substrate. There is no need to amend the substrate with an acidic or alkaline product as long as the substrate is almost neutral.

– Water Requirements

Cupid peperomia does not require excessive watering. You should water your plants moderately in the spring and summer months and just sparingly in the winter and autumn seasons. In spring and summer, you should water your cupid peperomia plants every seven to ten days or whenever the potting mix feels dry.

Water your cupid peperomia plants by flooding their substrate occasionally. To keep their leaves fresh, you should also mist them with water droplets. Just be careful when misting water droplets on your cupid peperomia leaves so that the leaves do not drip water. Stand a bit farther away from the plant when misting it.

– Light Requirements

The light available in a room or location should determine whether you can grow your cupid peperomia plants there or not. Just like every other plant, cupid peperomia needs light for energy and growth. Make sure that your cupid peperomia plants get dappled sunlight.

If you want to grow your plants outside, choose a shady location where the plants can get indirect but bright light. For indoor plants, keep them on a windowsill or any place where they can get more than four hours of sunlight daily. If you want to use a grow light, make sure that the cupid peperomia plants get 12 to 16 hours of light daily.

– Humidity Requirements

After the lighting condition of a room, a very important factor that should determine the location where you can grow some cupid peperomia plants is the humidity. Humidity helps plants in water absorption and regulation.

Cupid peperomia plants need above average humidity. Never grow your cupid peperomia plants in humidity levels below 35 percent.

A stress-free method to help your houseplants grow in the right humidity is to buy a humidifier and install it in the room or close to the plants. You can either buy one or manually increase the humidity. You can also buy a spray bottle, fill it with water, and spray tiny droplets of water around your cupid peperomia plants to help with humidity.

– Temperature Requirements

An atmospheric condition that can either kill your plants or enhance their growth is temperature. The temperature should be a major factor to determine if you should grow heart peperomia plants or not. These plants prefer warm places, so you should consider growing other types of plants if your room is not warm enough.

The optimal USDA hardiness zones for cupid peperomia plants are zones 10 and 11 as they have just the right amount of temperature and humidity for cupid plants. Even if you do not live in those zones and you want to grow cupid peperomia plants, make sure that the summer temperature in your home is somewhere between 68 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Winter temperatures can go down to 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The good news is that cupid peperomia plants tolerate a wide temperature range so you can still try growing them.

– Fertilizing Requirements

After considering the required conditions to grow cupid peperomia plants, the next thing you must consider is how to water and feed your plants. You already know the water requirements of your cupid peperomia plants, so it is time to pay attention to their nutrient requirements. These plants can grow pretty well in 10-10-10 liquid fertilizers.

Feed your cupid peperomia plants once a month from mid-spring to late summer. Your plants do not need extra nutrients from autumn to winter as they may be dormant in these periods. Remember that the fertilizer should be liquid, and it can also be water-soluble.

– Pruning Your Cupid Peperomia

Something pretty cool about cupid peperomia plants is that they grow quickly, and the little plant with less than ten leaves that you bought a few months ago can sprout more than 30 leaves in no time, leaving you to wonder what you should do with this new size.

To help you keep your cupid peperomia plants in good size and shape, you should prune them regularly.

If you are growing your cupid peperomia plants in a hanging basket, all you need to do is to prune off the leaves to your desired height and allow the remaining part to fall off the basket gracefully. Make sure that your pruning tools (shears, scissors or knives) are disinfected or sterilized so that bacteria and other microbes cannot attack your plants.

– Repotting Your Plants

In three to four years, a cupid peperomia plant is due for repotting. These plants may be comfortable when they are root-bound but will start to have stunted growth when the roots start popping from the substrate or when the substrate is no longer as airy as it was.

To help retain the quick growth rate and beauty of your cupid peperomia plants, you need to repot them. Grow them in slightly larger hanging baskets or pots. Remember that the new containers should be well-drained.

The new container should not be more than four inches wider than the previous one because these cupid plants may not quickly absorb the water in containers that are a lot wider than their root width.

– Suitable Mulch for Cupid Peperomia

Only use mulch for cupid peperomia plants when you do not want them to grow large and fill their pots. These plants are fast growers and will mostly likely cover the pot surface, so there won’t be any use for the mulch anymore.

If you want to maintain the little size of your small cupid peperomia plants, you can mulch them with beautiful and colorful rocks.

– Leaves

It does not matter the color of the peperomia heart shaped leaves, they are all round and almost heart-shaped. The striking resemblance of leaves in this genus with a heart or the symbol of love gives them their name “cupid.”

The leaves of this plant are flat and have whitish or yellowish borders. Each little whitish-green flower is borne out of a slender panicle or spike.

– Getting Healthy Cupid Peperomia Plants

To help you grow your cupid peperomia plants successfully, you need to be very intentional about selecting the best plant. You should not bring home any sick plants as they can easily transmit diseases to others. Make sure that the cupid peperomia leaves look fresh and are without spots.

Take a close look at the plant petioles and stem. If the plant looks stretched and weak (i.e. etiolated), you should not take it home because it may have suffered from insufficient light. You should buy only healthy cupid peperomia plants. Also, take note of the store’s humidity, temperature and lighting conditions as the plants are already used to them.

– How to Plant Your Cupid Peperomia Plants

When you purchase your cupid peperomia, they may come in nursery bags or pots. If the plants come with a pot and you like it, you can leave them in it for a year or two or until the plants show signs that they need repotting.

However, if they came with a nursery bag, you should plant them in a new hanging basket or pot.

You should get a very beautiful pot or hanging basket for your cupid peperomia plant. Assuming that you want to grow some cupid plants in a hanging basket, follow the steps below:

  1. Ensure that the hanging basket does not retain excess water. It should be well-drained.
  2. Pour some cupid peperomia substrate to fill the hanging basket below a quarter of its volume.
  3. Try to remove the cupid peperomia plant from its current nursery bag and dust off the old substrate from its roots.
  4. Carefully keep the cupid on the substrate inside the hanging basket.
  5. Collect more substrate and cover your plant roots with it.
  6. Keep the hanging basket in a cool place and wait for around 30 minutes before you water your cupid peperomia plant.
  7. Wait an extra hour or two and then hang the basket in your preferred place.

Make sure that the cupid peperomia plant beautifies the location. It may not look like much at first, but when the plant starts growing and trailing down, you will surely appreciate its beauty.

 

Propagation

Would you like to propagate your heart shaped peperomia plant? That is definitely a great idea. Cupid peperomia propagation is very easy and you can do it by yourself as long as you have everything that you need — a mature cupid peperomia plant, a sterilized pruning knife and a suitable substrate.

– How to Propagate

You should use the knife to prune off six to ten inches of stem from your cupid peperomia plant. Make sure that you are collecting the cutting from a mature and healthy cupid peperomia plant. Wait for 36 to 48 hours until the wound of the cutting is dry.

The two major ways of propagating cupid peperomia cutting are by starting it in soil/potting mix or water. Starting it in the soil is the direct method, but you may not easily monitor your cupid peperomia growth.

All you need to do is to plant the cupid peperomia cutting in suitable soil and water it regularly. In a few weeks, you should notice leaf growth.

To start your cupid peperomia stem cutting in water, keep the lower parts of the cutting submerged in a clean glass of water. Always monitor the water clarity and replace it with clean water when it gets dirty. You should see roots growing below the cupid peperomia cutting in around ten days.

You should transfer your cupid peperomia plant to a suitable potting mix or soil a week after the roots start to grow. After transplanting it, do not fail to water it just like you have been watering your other plants.

Problems

Even though cupid peperomia may be a slightly-demanding plant, you can grow it with ease as long as you are in the right USDA hardiness zone. Also, do not fail to provide your plant with the right amount of nutrients, sunlight and water. Not growing your cupid peperomia in the right conditions can lead to the following problems:

– Overwatering

If you water your variegated cupid peperomia plants more frequently than they need, you will begin to notice rotting stalks and yellow or wilting leaves in the plants. Overwatering cupid peperomia plants can lead to root rot and it can kill your plants if you do not control it immediately.

The first thing to do if you notice that your cupid peperomia has root rot is to remove it from its substrate and then rinse the roots with clean water. You should use sterilized pruning scissors to remove decaying or dead roots from the plant.

Wait for six to twelve hours and then replant your cupid peperomia in a new substrate and pot. Remember to reduce your watering rate.

– Sunburn

Too much sunlight can burn your cupid peperomia leaves. To prevent sunburn, make sure that your cupid plant is receiving just the right amount of sunlight. It would help if you filter the afternoon summer sun so that your plants can be safe from the high temperatures.

If your cupid peperomia plants have sunburn, you should shift them a few feet away from the window. Also, try to grow your plants in the east-facing parts of your home or office as plants usually do not get burnt in those areas.

You can also help your plants by misting water droplets on their leaves in the morning.

– Over-Fertilizing

You must pay close attention to what you feed your plant with and also how much food you give them. Too many nutrients in your cupid peperomia substrate can burn your plant leaves because the nutrients will drain water off the leaves quickly.

If you overfed your cupid peperomia plant, flood its substrate with clean water and let excess water (and nutrients) drain off the pot. Remember to feed your cupid peperomia plants with liquid or water-soluble products. Be careful when using organic fertilizer for your indoor plants.

FAQ

Why is my Cupid Peperomia dying?

Cupid Peperomia may be dying due to overwatering, underwatering, or lack of humidity. Check the soil moisture level, adjust watering frequency, and increase humidity.

Can I propagate Cupid Peperomia from leaves?

Yes, Cupid Peperomia can be propagated from leaves. Take a healthy leaf with stem and place it in moist soil or water until roots develop.

What are the unique features of Cupid Peperomia?

Cupid Peperomia has heart-shaped, glossy green leaves with red stems, compact size, and low maintenance requirements. It is an ideal indoor plant.

Conclusion

Growing cupid peperomia plants is easy but you need to remember the plants’ requirements as well as their optimal growing conditions. Before you start your cupid peperomia journey, remember the following:

  • The optimum temperature for cupid peperomia plants is 55 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • Your plant potting mix should drain moisture quickly as well as provide nutrients to the plant.
  • You can easily grow cupid peperomia plants as long as you grow them in above-average humidity.
  • Prune your plants regularly so that they can stay beautiful. Keep them in good shape and remove weak or dead leaves.
  • Some problems that you should avoid when growing cupid peperomia plants are overfeeding or overwatering the plants as well as exposing them to too much sunlight.

Congratulations! You are now an expert in growing cupid peperomia plants.

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