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Peperomia perciliata, sometimes called Peperomia fagerlindii, is a rare jewel for any houseplant collection if you can get your hands on it! The small heart shaped leaves, reddish stems and dainty white flowers are a feast for the eyes.
This Ecuadorian native is now considered to be endangered in nature. Unlike many other Peperomia plants, this is a trailer.
If you are looking for an unusual and uncommon Peperomia, this is it! I planted mine in a terrarium and it is absolutely thriving!
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HOW TO GROW PEPEROMIA PERCILIATA
Since it is considered endangered in its natural habitat and hard to find, I’m keeping a close eye on mine!
This is definitely a daintier Peperomia that works beautifully in a terrarium, and is also great in a hanging pot since it is a trailer.
It will start to grow upright, but once it gets longer than about 2-3 inches or so, it will start to trail.
Below is some basic care information and then I will discuss a little bit about how I’m growing mine in a terrarium.
LIGHT
Indoors, Peperomias in general do best directly in front of a window. Most Northern exposure windows would work, but a couple hours of direct sun indoors would be beneficial for them!
This means Eastern exposure windows (morning sun) or Western exposure (afternoon sun) would be great.
Southern windows may be too much direct sun unless your particular window has obstructions outside, so experiment with the location that your plant likes best.
Light can be tricky to understand, but by all means, these plants should be within a foot of any window for best growth.
WATER
Peperomia perciliata leaves are slightly succulent, so it is a good idea to let the soil surface dry out before watering again to avoid rotting.
The succulent nature of the leaves and stems will offer some drought resistance if you neglect your plant occasionally.
PEPEROMIA PERCILIATA IN TERRARIUMS
I’ve been thrilled with this plant in my terrarium! Although these are labeled by some as fairly slow growers, I found that they’re not so slow in a terrarium!
Of course with warm temperatures, great light, and the increased humidity of a terrarium, the growth rate will be faster.
They make great foreground plants since they’ll creep, stay low close to the soil and will form a dense living carpet. As you can see in the photo above, they also will bloom with white flowers.
It is quite vigorous under good growing conditions, so you can also take cuttings and propagate it.
If you include this plant in a vivarium, be sure to let it establish for a while before introducing any frogs or animals.
SOIL AND WATER
I’ll document how I created my terrarium in another post, but as far as soil layer goes, I used Espoma Organic Potting Mix to which I added a good amount of Espoma Organic Perlite.
I didn’t measure it out exactly, but a good rule of thumb is about 3 parts potting mix to 1 part perlite. I use this blend successfully for many potted houseplants and it has worked well in my terrarium.
This blend provides great drainage which is important for Peperomias. I do keep the terrarium top mostly covered, and I created it out of a 29 gallon fish tank. It has a glass lid, but it doesn’t cover the entire top.
The top is covered enough to keep the humidity high, but the 1 1/2 inch or so open gap allows for enough control of the microclimate so that I don’t get condensation on the glass.
I keep an eye on the soil moisture carefully, and will only water when the top inch or so of the soil has dried out within the terrarium.
LIGHT
I came across an amazing grow light that I couldn’t be happier with. Everything is growing tremendously well and is super healthy!
I installed a Horticulture Lighting Group HGL 65 4000K LED grow light above my terrarium. In just the first month that I had it, I noticed considerable growth in all my plants!
This grow light has worked so well that I will use more of these for my houseplant collection. I really couldn’t be happier!
BUY PEPEROMIA PERCILIATA ONLINE
I bought my plant at Josh’s Frogs. They have a great selection of terrarium plants, animals for vivariums, and much more! I was very pleased with the quality of all the plants that I purchased there.
Are you obsessed with Peperomias? There are so many great species! Have you tried growing Watermelon Peperomia or Peperomia Ruby Cascade? It’s such a varied and fascinating genus so why don’t you try a few!