Peperomia incana Care: What to Know

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Today, we have a plant care video for Peperomia Incana. Peperomias are some of the easiest plants to grow indoors, and they reward you with really good growth when you grow them properly. That’s true of this beauty, botanically known as Peperomia Incana. Common names for this beautiful houseplant include felted peperomia, Amazon fuzz, and felted pepper face. The last one’s kind of funny! The plant has velvety foliage, which makes it eye-catching as well as really nice to touch. It’s very soft and velvety, even more so than it looks.

The plant is native to Brazil, where it grows on the forest floor. Peperomia Incana has semi-succulent properties, meaning it stores moisture in its fleshy, thick leaves. As you can see, the leaves are pretty thick. Peperomia Incana can grow between 6 to 12 inches tall and 12 to 15 inches wide if grown in bright light. Mature plants will produce tiny white flowers during the summer months. Although you will hear and read that the plant is a slow grower, I find that it is a medium grower when given good care. It will put on an inch or two, or even three, for you every growing season. So it’s not just going to sit there unless you’re not providing the plant with what it needs.

I did repot this beautiful plant four months ago, in the spring months where I am, and it put on a good three or maybe even four inches for me since then. It’s very happy. It put on some extra branching, longer branching, and even extra branching here too. So if you know how to grow it, it will grow relatively well, with medium growth for you.

So, how to keep this plant healthy and happy in your indoor garden? The first thing to consider is lighting. For best growth, give Peperomia Incana bright to medium light, such as two to three feet from a southern window or in front of an eastern window. Avoid northern windows, as they tend not to give the plant enough light, and western windows are way too hot and will burn the foliage. The plant also does well under full-spectrum lighting, which should be used if the light levels in your home are low and during lower light times of the year, such as the winter months. If you don’t give this plant enough light, it’s not going to grow as quickly for you. For one thing, the leaves will also not be as big and as vibrant, and the plant will be more susceptible to pests and diseases. So, do what you can to give the plant proper lighting. I do have videos on full-spectrum lighting, and I will put a link below for those as well as any other videos I mention in this video.

Okay, so watering. With its thick, succulent-like leaves, Peperomia Incana should be allowed to dry out in between waterings. So, you’re treating it kind of like a succulent. Too much water will quickly lead to root rot for this plant. Water when the top inch to two inches reads four on the moisture meter, so almost three on the moisture meter, but not quite. How far you insert the moisture meter into your pot will depend on the age of the plant and the size of the pot. If you have a small pot, you’ll go down about an inch. If you have a medium-sized pot, about two inches; three inches for a bigger pot, and so forth. You’re better off under-watering rather than over-watering this houseplant, and you always want to pull back on watering in the winter months because the plant will be cycling water much more slowly. So always check this plant for watering readiness before watering it, and like I said, if you’re not sure, wait another day or two.

Fertilizing this beauty: Fertilize Peperomia Incana monthly, spring through fall, with an organic fertilizer. Chemical fertilizers are way too harsh for this plant and many houseplants; I generally don’t recommend them. Don’t fertilize in the winter months when the plant slows down growth.

Humidity: Peperomia Incana does well in fairly low humidity. Most average humidity levels in homes between 40 to 50 percent are fine, and the plant usually doesn’t need any additional humidity. So, that’s a big plus because many houseplants do need that extra humidity.

Temperature: Given that the plant is native to a warm climate, Peperomia Incana does not do well with cold weather. Grow the plant in areas of the home that range from 60 to 85 degrees; ideally, the warmer, the better. When these plants get too cold, they will drop leaves, and that makes the plant look very unsightly because this beautiful stem here will look barren of leaves. So do what you can to avoid that from happening. Move it to a warmer area as best you can to keep it warm. Smaller rooms tend to be warmer, so that’s another thing to keep in mind as well.

Repotting: Peperomia Incana should be repotted when it has surpassed my rule of thumb of two-thirds plant to one-third pot. So, once that plant surpasses that and you get three-quarters plant and one-quarter pot, it’s time to repot this plant. Do keep in mind that it is a good thing to do once it surpasses the two-thirds one-third because this plant will get stressed if it isn’t in a big enough pot. Now, that doesn’t mean you want to go and get a ginormous pot and go pot it up because it will quickly get root rot from doing that. But it does mean that once it’s surpassed the two-thirds one-third and gotten more into three-quarters plant and one-quarter pot, you do want to get it potted up into one pot size up maximum. This plant was put into one pot size up when I repotted it earlier in the year, as mentioned. You want to repot spring through mid-summer with this plant, and wait until the following year if necessary, especially in the cold months of the year. You could go to late summer, especially if you’re in an area that doesn’t get too cold too quickly. Use a high-quality organic potting soil with added drainage, such as pumice or perlite, when you repot. I will put a link below for a really good potting soil and pumice as well.

Pruning: Peperomia Incana doesn’t need much pruning, just an occasional removal of a spent leaf here and there. That’s about it. That’s a really nice thing about this plant.

Pests and diseases: Root rot, as I’ve already mentioned, can occur if you overwater. Overwatering can also cause leaf spotting diseases, which will show as raised yellow or brown bumps, often with a yellow ring around them. Sometimes they will even ooze a little bit. This can be caused by overwatering combined with poor air circulation. So, if you have a room that’s just really stuffy and you’re overwatering, that’s a good combination for setting this plant up for leaf spotting problems. When you see this problem, immediately remove all damaged leaves and dispose of them. Then clean the pruning shears you used with a one-part bleach to nine-parts water solution. Correct watering and poor circulation right away to prevent the plant from getting more spotting, and that should solve the problem. I do have a video on how you can use fans to increase air circulation if you just don’t have a lot of air circulation in certain rooms of your home or your home in general. I will link that as well.

This plant may occasionally get mealybugs, although the mealybugs don’t do too much or penetrate these leaves, which actually happen to be fairly thick. So, it’s not too much of a problem, but if you do see some, treat with 91% isopropyl alcohol right away to get them under control.

So, there you go with how to keep Peperomia Incana happy and healthy in your indoor garden. Thank you for stopping by today. Please leave any comments about any indoor gardening tutorials you’d like to see. Remember to like, comment, subscribe, and share this video. And please check the bell if you’d like to be notified when new videos are released.

What light conditions does Peperomia Incana need?

How often should I water Peperomia Incana?

What type of soil is best for Peperomia Incana?

How do I fertilize Peperomia Incana? Fertilize monthly from spring through fall with an organic fertilizer. Avoid chemical fertilizers as they can be too harsh for the plant.

Does Peperomia Incana need high humidity?

When should I repot Peperomia Incana?

What are common pests for Peperomia Incana?

How do I prune Peperomia Incana?

What temperatures are ideal for Peperomia Incana?

How do I improve air circulation for Peperomia Incana?

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