Peperomia Ruby Cascade -A SUPER EASY indoor plant to grow
Peperomia Ruby Cascade-
The small little rounded leaves of Peperomia Ruby Cascade along with its red stem can impress you at your first meeting. Sometimes the variegation on the leaves and the striking appearance of the plant can make you feel like this plant is just a super awesome gift from God.
Peperomia Ruby Cascade is a trailing vine originated from the tropical and subtropical parts of South America and Central America, belongs to the Piperaceae family.
Often, people, consider it a succulent plant. But it is not a succulent plant, rather a semi-succulent plant.
The Peperomia Ruby Cascade is a compact plant. It doesn’t grow too tall, neither too wide and bushy. Therefore, it is an ideal indoor plant to be placed in the compact places of your home.
Since the vine can grow a few centimeters long, it will look striking if these plants are grown in a hanging basket. It will just look too unique and attractive.
Peperomia Ruby Cascade- A piece of beauty
The Peperomia Ruby Cascade has small, rounded, fleshy leaves with deep green color on one side and rose-red (pinkish-red) color on the other side of the leaves.
The vine-like stem is of pinkish-red color.
The Peperomia Ruby Cascade often produces funnel-shaped flowers of reddish color during the springs.
When grown in a hanging basket the stems hang down below the basket and look stunning.
Important information about Peperomia Ruby Cascade
- Botanical name- Peperomia Ruby Cascade
- Common name- Ruby peperomia, Ruby cascade, Ruby peperomia cascade
- Family- Piperaceae Piperaceae
- Origin– Tropical and subtropical parts of Central America and South America
- Special features- Striking foliage having small round leaves, red stem, and reddish color on the back of the leaves make it a beautiful piece of show.
- Light requirement- The plant requires bright indirect sunlight.
- Soil requirement- A well-drained and fertile soil is ideal for this plant.
- Temperature- The plant grows well under the temperature range of 65 degrees Fahrenheit to 80 degrees Fahrenheit (18 to 26 degrees Celcius).
- Watering- The plant will love slightly moist soil, but watering should not be overdone.
- Fertilizer- An all-purpose general fertilizer or liquid fertilizer is sufficient.
- Flowers- Plant will produce red-color funnel-shaped flowers.
- Propagation- It is done by the stem cutting and division method.
- Repotting- This plant does not need repotting very often. You have to repot if it is overgrown, every 1 to 2 years.
- Pruning- Only the old and diseased leaves are to be pruned out.
A complete care guide on Peperomia Ruby Cascade
The Peperomia Ruby Cascade is a super easy plant to grow indoors, only you have to take care of some growth parameters and then your plant will grow with lots of ease.
Here is a complete guide to growing Peperomia Ruby Cascade.
Light requirement
Like all other tropical plants, the Peperomia Ruby Cascade plant also loves to grow in a bright area with filtered sunlight. You can hang it near the north-facing window so that it can get an ample amount of indirect light, it needed.
However, placing this plant near an east-facing window is best. The plant can get some soft direct morning light as well as bright diffused sunlight the whole day long.
Never keep the plant in dark places or places with low light. In the dark places, the potting soil takes a longer time to dry up, which may lead to the rotting of the roots. So avoid dark places and choose some nice bright place to keep your Peperomia Ruby Cascade plant.
Soil requirement
Soil is the most important growth factor for the Peperomia Ruby Cascade plant. People many times end up rotting the roots of the plant because they have not chosen the potting soil wisely.
This plant loves to keep its feet inside a rich well-drained potting soil. If the soil is not draining properly, the plant roots will surely start rotting. The plant is very susceptible to root rot.
An ideal potting mix should contain two parts of the cactus mix/succulent mix along with one part of the pumice. The 1/4″ size pumice is considered ideal for this.
You can make your own potting mix, but make sure that, your potting soil is releasing the extra amount of water easily, not making the soil oversaturated, otherwise you will lose your plant.
Check our article on how to make an ideal potting soil for indoor plants by CLICKING HERE.
Pot selection
It is one of the important aspects when we are discussing about the Peperomia Ruby Cascade plant. The pot selected should have an ample amount of drainage holes to remove excess water easily.
Also, the pot should not be too large. If you are choosing a big pot, it will take a longer time to dry up, and your roots will be at risk of rotting. I advise choosing a pot of size 3 to 4″ to start with, and then go on increasing at the rate of 1″ per each repotting.
Temperature requirement
The Peperomia Ruby Cascade plant is susceptible to cold temperatures. It can not grow well in the winters when the temperatures go below 10 degrees Celcius. The plant will stop growth in these chilling temperatures.
The ideal temperature for the plant is around 65 degrees Fahrenheit to 80 degrees Fahrenheit (18 to 26 degrees Celcius). In this temperature range, your plant will grow without any trouble.
If you are living in a place where winter is severe, consider moving the plant to a relatively warmer place.
Water requirement
As discussed earlier, the Peperomia Ruby Cascade plant is susceptible to root rot, you have to take extra care during watering.
The plant just loves to sit on moist soil, but the soil should not be too wet or soggy. Overwatering may lead to a condition where roots can not breathe properly and started to rot. This condition is very bad for the plant.
Hence you have to check the top two-inch layer of the potting soil and apply water only when the soil is dry.
Never overdo with watering, otherwise, your plant will end up dying.
Fertilizer
The Peperomia Ruby Cascade plant doesn’t demand any unique nutrients or fertilizers. It will do perfectly fine if you are applying a balanced liquid fertilizer available in your local garden store. You can order one Online.
I don’t recommend fertilizing the plant in the winter months. The plant is not growing actively during these months, hence there is no point in applying fertilizer in the winters.
Flower
The plant produces funnel-shaped small flowers during the spring season. These red flowers simply add to the beauty of the plant.
Propagation
The Peperomia Ruby Cascade plant is propagated using stem cutting methods. The ideal time to propagate is the spring because plant is actively growing in this period.
Here is a step by step guide to propagate this plant.
- Uproot the plant from the pot.
- Cut the stems into smaller pieces of length 5 to 6 inches using a sterilized knife.
- Strip off a few leaves from the bottom of the cutting, so that the bare part should be kept in water to induce rooting.
- Take a container filled with water, place the cutting inside water, and keep the container in a warm place that is getting bright indirect light.
- Keep changing the water of the container whenever it is cloudy.
- After a few days, roots will start developing.
- Plant the cuttings with newly developed roots in a new pot filled with freshly prepared potting solution as mentioned above.
- Take proper care of the new plants, and they will start to grow within a few weeks.
Your new Peperomia Ruby Cascade plant is ready to go.
Make sure that you are using a sterilized knife to cut the cuttings, otherwise, there will be a chance of infection of some unwanted disease.
Repotting
This plant doesn’t need frequent repotting. You have to repot the plant when the plant has grown vigorously and shown the symptoms of root-bound. Usually done once in every two to three years.
Here is a step by step guide about how to repot your Peperomia Ruby Cascade plant
- Uproot the plant slowly from the pot.
- Clean the soil from the root, and check if there is any symptom of root rot.
- If you have found some root rotting, then cut it using a sterilized knife, to prevent further infection.
- Then place the plant in a new pot of 1 to 2 inch larger than the previous pot and fill with the recommended potting mix.
- Take proper care of the newly planted Peperomia Ruby Cascade plant.
Pruning
The plant doesn’t require frequent prunning. But the dead leaves are to be pruned out using a sterilized knife.
You can also cut out the overgrown leaves to make an interesting appearance to the plant.
Pest and diseases
The Peperomia Ruby Cascade plant is susceptible to diseases like root rot. The major diseases in this plant occurs due to over watering or under watering. Over watering may cause yellowing of leaves and root rot. Under watering cause drooping of leaves.
Therefore, you have to properly choose the potting soil for the plant, and take care of watering.
Common pests like mealybug, apids, whiteflies often attack these plants. To control these pests, you can spray neem oil.
Conclusion
This plant is not a difficult task to grow. By only ensuring the perfect growing conditions, you can get a beautiful bright, and healthy Peperomia Ruby Cascade plant.
