The joys and difficulties of caring for peperomia blunt-leaved

Florists often joke about the many-sided peperomias - you will have to try hard to ruin this unpretentious plant. Dull-leaved peperomia is no exception - caring for it is quite rightly considered minimal and one of the simplest.

In natural conditions, the species is common in the regions of Florida, Mexico and the Caribbean islands familiar to it.

What does blunt-leaved peperomia look like?

The appearance of the plant attracts attention with its unusual sculptural foliage, as if not real, carved from a beautiful emerald and smoothly hewn. An evergreen perennial grows to a height of no more than 25 cm. In young plants, the pagons are directed vertically upward, with age they bend in an arc and spread over the soil or fall like ampelous, if the plant is placed on a hill or in a hanging planter.

The leaves are fleshy, rich green, leathery and shiny, semi-neck in shape, with a notched apex. Flowering begins in late spring or early summer. Inflorescences-ears rise vertically above the crown and are very similar to plantains. Their lower part is light gray or whitish, the top is greenish. The flowers are small, inconspicuous and have no decorative value. If there is no need for seeds, the peduncles are often removed by the owners of the peperomia so that they do not waste the juice from the plant in vain.

Forms of peperomia blunt-leaved

Peperomia obtusifolia includes several interesting forms.

• Magnolia-leaved - the leaves are oblong-elliptical or obovate with a triangular, sometimes notched apex.
• Typical - leaf plates are broadly obovate with a rounded notched end.
• Golden motley - foliage with white, creamy and golden-yellow spots of irregular shape.

There are other varieties of blunt-leaved peperomia - Alba with a characteristic light green shade of leaves, Albomarginata with a picturesque pattern on leaf plates - a grayish-green center is bordered by a thin silvery strip, Variegata is distinguished by milky spots with a fuzzy boundary line.

Planting peperomia blunt-leaved

The plant is grown in a specialized soil mixture "For peperomia". In its absence, another substrate with a slightly acidic reaction is used - pH 5.5. Be sure to lay expanded clay or pebble drainage at the bottom.

An independently prepared fertile mixture contains equal parts of 4 components:

• leafy land;
• turf land;
• peat;
• sand.

The frequency of transplants is determined by the need to move to a more spacious flower container. Young specimens are allowed to be transplanted annually, adult plants - once every 2-3 years. This can be done throughout the growing season from February to August.

Plant care

Peperomia dull-leaved is placed in warm western and eastern rooms with diffused lighting. The plant does not like shading too much, especially the variegated forms, which under such conditions lose their decorative pattern on the leaf plates.

Advice

The main feature of home care is to ensure peperomia of blunt-leaved constancy of the environment. Any changes in content should be introduced gradually.

Temperature requirements are high - in the range from 25 to 28 degrees.When the thermometer readings in the room are below 15 degrees Celsius, growth is inhibited by blunt-leaved peperomia, and already at 13 degrees the plant may die.

In irrigation, uniformity and moderation are important. Between the next moistening of the substrate, the earthen lump should dry well, but not completely. Waterlogging of the soil is dangerous, especially at low air temperatures in the apartment.

The plant does not need special measures to increase air humidity, unless the ambient temperature is too high - more than 30 degrees of heat. In this case, the flower is sprayed from a fine spray. Large droplets from the leaves are wiped with a dry napkin - they provoke the appearance of brown spots on the leaf plates. Most often, tanks filled with water are placed near the pot.

Top dressing of blunt-leaved peperomia is carried out carefully. The plant is sensitive to an excess of fertilizers - it stops growing or even sheds leaves. Young flowers transplanted annually require little or no fertilization. Long-term transplanted peperomias are applied once a month, alternately mineral and organic fertilizers in halved doses. Throughout the winter, the plants are fed no more than a couple of times.

Do you need pruning?

For better branching of a growing young flower, pinch the tops of the pagon. Peperomia dull-leaved grows quickly, so spring pruning is allowed, but not too drastic. Many flower growers remove low-decorative inflorescences at the very beginning of their formation.

Common breeding methods

The plant is propagated by seeds, stem and leaf cuttings, dividing the bush.

Planting material is sown in March-April in bowls filled with a substrate of leafy soil and river sand, taken in a 2: 1 ratio. The containers are covered with glass and ventilated twice a day. After the appearance of the second leaf, the seedlings dive into boxes with the same soil mixture as for crops, placing them at a distance of 2 cm from each other. Later, the matured seedlings are transplanted into separate 5–7 cm pots with an earth mixture composed of leafy, soddy soil, peat and sand in a ratio of 2: 2: 2: 1.

Propagation by cuttings is carried out throughout the year, but it is better to do this in spring or early summer. Stem cuttings are cut with 2-3 internodes, the bottom leaf is removed completely. The shoots are buried in wet sand by 2-3 cm, individual leaves - by one third. Roots appear quickly - on the 7-8th day. After rooting, the seedlings are transplanted into seven-centimeter pots in the same substrate as the seedlings.

The division of the bushes is carried out in the spring - in March or April during the transplantation process. Cut in such a way that the cuttings are approximately equal in size, the cuts are sprinkled with crushed charcoal. They are planted in separate containers in a substrate for adult peperomias.

Diseases and pests

Problems with the appearance and well-being of blunt-leaved peperomia are mainly associated with mistakes in care.

Unexpected leaf fall can be caused by any abrupt change in the conditions of plant maintenance - from waterlogging to a significant difference in night and day temperatures in the apartment.

Important!

The tips of the leaves turn brown not at all from dry air in the room, as many believe, but from hypothermia.

Loss of turgor by leaf plates, the appearance of growths on the stems and spots on the leaves is associated with an excess of irrigation moisture. Subsequently, as a rule, fungal diseases begin, rotting of pagons and foliage.

Spider mites and thrips were found among pests on peperomia blunt-leaved. With a slight lesion, they are washed off with soapy water, with an extensive one - they are treated with fungicides.

Why is blunt-leaved peperomia useful?

Feng shui and esoteric fans talk a lot about the benefits and harms of blunt peperomia.

Like many representatives of the Pepper family, the plant emits volatile substances into the air, which are able to actively deal with pathogenic microbes - staphylococci, streptococci and others. That is why it is useful to grow peperomia blunt-leaved in rooms where people with weakened immunity live. It is believed that the plant helps to cope with other unpleasant symptoms in the state of health - for example, it relieves headaches well if you rub its leaves and inhale a subtle spicy smell.

Florists with experience in growing a glossy bush argue that its appearance always cheers up, and they also say that there are no conflicts in the house where this plant lives.

The cheerful appearance of blunt-leaved peperomia is widely used by interior designers for landscaping. Bright emerald foliage brings a positive attitude to the activities of any office and production, requiring quite a bit of attention in return.