Peperomia Glabella Plant Care

Last Updated on March 19, 2022 by Admin

The Peperomia Glabella is also known as the Cypress Peperomia.

It features oval shaped leaves on stems that can get long. The plant itself, although small can get fairly bushy if you don’t trim it.

And while it looks its best with a little density, allowing it to grow too thick makes it look messy. So, there’s a bit of balance needed there.

Thanks to its looks, low maintenance and ease of care, the Peperomia Glabella is a very popular indoor plant for homes and offices.

It is amenable to low light, inconsistent watering and average room humidity. Plus, it is not prone to pests or disease.

Table of Contents

Cypress Peperomia Light Requirements

Peperomia Glabella produces its most beautiful leaves when it received medium to bright, indirect light. It is important to keep it away areas where it experiences extremes.

In direct sunlight, the plant’s foliage can burn causing them to bleach or become discolored. And, if it is too dark its growth will slow down or even get stunted. You’ll also get fewer and small leaves as well. in many cases, the plant will become leggy as it will try to reach out towards any light source it finds.

Thus, the best location for your Peperomia Glabella is near an east facing window. Similarly, a north facing window works very well.

Both give it enough light to keep it happy without too much direct or harsh exposure.

On the other hand, in a western or southern exposure, you want to be more careful. The sun is very intense during the afternoons coming from these directions.

Thus, you want to protect the plant in one way or another.

You can do so with sheer curtains or some kind of cloth to filter the light. Or, distance the plant from the window. Usually something between 4 to 6 feet works as long as it stays out of the rays of the sun.

If you don’t have windows that give you enough light, you can likewise keep it under your room’s fluorescent lights.

It will tolerate low light (provided it is not too dim) without any problems.

If you find the plant isn’t growing as well as it should you can supplement it with grow lights.

Cypress Peperomia Temperature

Cypress Peperomia enjoys warm environments. This stems from its native habitat which is tropical in nature.

The plant comes from the West Indies and South America. Both countries have warm to hot weather all year round.

As such, your Cypress Peperomia has evolved to be accustomed to this.

Its ideal temperatures is between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the most common levels found in most homes.

This makes it easy for the plant to adapt to household conditions. And, it reduces the work and adjustments on your part.

One of the most important things about climate care for this plant is avoid the cold.

It cannot tolerate freezing conditions. Thus it won’t survive through snowy winters outside. For this reason most owners keep it as a houseplant.

Humidity

Humidity is likewise another important factor to consider when caring for your Peperomia Glabella. Due to its native habitat, it favors humid environments.

However, it is perfectly happy in average room humidity which is about 40% to 50%.

Again, this makes it easy to care for the plant as you don’t have to worry about doing a lot of things to accommodate it.

But, you do want to check the your home’s humidity levels.

While the average runs between 40% and 50%, many homes have much lower humidity for one reason or another. Often, it is due to where you live.

But, hot summers and cold winters also dry the air. So, seasonal changes also affect it.

If you’re not sure that the humidity in your home or rooms are, consider picking up a digital hygrometer. The device will instantly tell you what the humidity is in any area of your home.

This way you can take action if it is too low.

Drooping leaves a sign that humidity is not enough for the plant’s liking.

If this is the case, you can mist it, set it on a pebble tray or use a humidifier to increase room air moisture.

source: wikimedia commons

Watering Peperomia Glabella

When it comes to watering your Cypress Peperomia, there are a few things to remember about the plant.

It has succulent-like leaves. These allow it to store water. As such, they can tolerate dry periods. But, become more prone to overwatering.
It has a small root system. This makes it easy to overwhelm the roots with too much water. Similarly, lots of soil in relation to the size of the roots also increase the risk of overwatering.
The plant is epiphyti The plant can grow as an epiphyte or terrestrially. However, its epiphytic nature makes its roots like air. That’s because it gets nutrients from the air. And, unlike most terrestrial plants, does not really use its roots to dig for water and nutrients in the soil as much. Thus, the smaller, weaker root system.

Together, this makes the plant susceptible to overwatering. Soggy, wet or waterlogged soil are all bad for it. Thus, you want to allow the soil to dry before watering.

The best way to make sure of this is to test the soil before each time you water. You can do so by:

Sticking your finger into the soil down to about 2 inches deep. It should be dry there. Otherwise allow the soil to dry a bit more before watering.
Use a moisture meter. This will tell you how much moisture there is in the soil.

Both methods will prevent you from watering too soon.

When watering it is a good idea to soak the root ball then allow it to drain completely right after.

The initial soaking allows the moisture to reach the roots. And, the drainage will ensure that the roots don’t end up sitting in pooled water.

Be aware that the draining stage takes a long time. And, I suggest you leave it to drain while you do something else and come back to it later.

Soil for Peperomia Glabella

From above, you probably already have a few hints about what kind of soil your Peperomia Glabella needs.

Due to its being prone to overwatering and love for air, the best soil for the plat is something that is well-draining, loose and airy.

This allows good air circulation to reach the roots and the ability to drain excess moisture quickly so the plant does not sit in water for long periods of time. All the while being able to hold nutrients and water just long enough to provide the plant sufficient sustenance.

While there are tons of ways to achieve this kind of soil, the two easiest ones I’ve found are:

Use regular potting mix and add perlite or sand. Perlite and sand both increase drainage. But, because potting mixes are designed differently, you’ll need to experiment on the percentage between them and the potting soil.
Combine 2 parts peat to 1 part perlite or sand. This makes use of peat instead of potting mix. As such, you’re using a different media.

Cypress Peperomia Fertilizer

Feed your Cypress Peperomia a balanced liquid fertilizer once a month during the spring and summer. Then stop once fall comes along. It does not need to be fertilized during winter as well.

You can use a 15-15-15 or 20-20-20 formulation, just make sure to dilute it to half strength when using and water the soil when you feed the plant. Otherwise, you’ll be using too high a dose because of the concentration.

Pruning Cypress Peperomia

The Peperomia Glabella is a fairly small plant much like the other species in its genus. it will grow to a maximum of 12 inches long but can get fairly bushy and dene if you don’t trim it.

Unfortunately, when this happens, it can look unkempt and messy which is not something you want with a living room plant décor.

Thus, while it is not necessary to prune the plant, most owners will trim it once or twice a year focusing on the areas where it is either getting too thick or untidy.

Similarly, you want to prune any leaves that are discolored, damaged or diseased.

Peperomia Glabella Propagation

If you own a Peperomia Glabella, you’ll want to propagate it at some point. This is a beautiful plant that you can use for decorating. And, it is easy to care for.

The simplest way to propagate it is through stem cuttings. And, the best time to do so is during the spring when the plant is actively growing.

Here’s how to do it.

Start by taking a healthy stem cutting. You want something that is about 4 to 6 inches long and with at least 2 to 3 leaves on it.

If you’re just starting out, I suggest taking a few of them so experiment and learn from since not all will be successful. But, you’ll get better as you do more.

Remove the leaves on the lower part of the stem as they’ll be submerged in water or get planted into the soil. You can leave the top leaves.

Now you can decide if you want to propagate the plant in water or soil. Both work but use different methods. So, choose the one you’re more comfortable with and achieve better success in.

To Propagate in Water:

Place the stem cutting/s in water. You can use a glass jar or glass so you can watch the roots develop on a day to day basis.
Keep the plant under bright, indirect light.
In about 2 to 3 weeks, you should start seeing roots develop.
Allow the roots to keep growing until they get to about an inch long.
When it gets there, you can move the stem cutting/s into a small pot with potting soil.

The process allows the cutting to root faster. But, it also takes extra work since you need to move the cutting into soil later on.

To Propagate in Soil:

Propagating the plant is soil is similar. But, you take away the stem in water.

Start by picking stem cuttings. Use the same steps above.
Allow the stem cuttings to dry.
Prepare a small pot and fill it with fresh potting mix while the cuttings are drying.
When the cuttings dry, dip the cut end into rooting hormone.
Then, plant it into the soil.
Water the soil and place the plant under bright, indirect light.

Some growers like this method because it eliminates the steps of having to start in water and moving the plant again later.

But, it does take longer to root (usually 3 to 4 weeks). And, you can’t be sure that the roots are growing because of the soil.

How to Repot Peperomia Glabella

Its size and small root system means that repotting is not needed often. The plant also prefers smaller containers to bigger ones because of this.

But, there will come a time when its roots will start coming out of the holes at the bottom of the pot. This is a sign that it is time to repot.

When you repot, go up 1 to 2 inches in pot size diameter only. Don’t get tempted to jump sizes so you almost never have to repot.

While that works in concept, it also increases the volume of soil around the plant’s small roots. So when you water the soil, the plant will feel like it is drowning in an ocean.

Also, this means longer soil drying times.

Both increase the risk of root rot.

Toxicity

Peperomia are non-toxic plants. And, the Glabella is no exception. This means it is safe to keep near and around children with not risk of poison in case they get curious enough to chew or eat parts of the plant.

Similarly, the plant is safe for dogs and cats.

Pests and Diseases

Cypress Peperomia is not prone to pests nor diseases. This makes it relatively easy to care for because you don’t have to deal with these headaches.

That said, this only applies when the plant is healthy.

As such, it is very important to give it proper care which includes the right amount of sunlight, water, plant food, temperature and humidity.

On the other hand, a sick plant or one that’s under stress or shock can easily be attacked by pests and get diseases.

Peperomia Glabella Plant Care – How to Grow Cypress Peperomia