Peperomia Ginny
Rainbow Peperomia Ginny, Red Edge Peperomia
The Peperomia Ginny is simply stunning with the ability to brighten up any room.
Related to the Pepper Plant, it has so much to offer, with gorgeous foliage, air-purifying qualities, low maintenance & super easy to look after.
This is a great plant for beginners or for those of us who struggle to keep up with our house plants. What more could you want?
Quick Guide
Position Bright or shaded but always indirect sunlight
Watering Water when soil is almost dry
Size 6 to 12 inches high and wide
Climate Up to 59°- 77°F
Propagate Leaf cuttings
Seasonality Winter dormant
Toxicity Non-Toxic
Peperomia Ginny Plant Care
Peperomia Ginny is a visual stunner, with a bright red-pink stem and leaves that have contrasting deep green and cream-yellow colors throughout each leaf. But the truly eye-catching part is the beautiful rosy pink edges on each leaf. No wonder it has acquired the nicknames Rainbow Peperomia Ginny and Red Edge Peperomia.
This plant has an interesting tropical background, and if you are looking for a subtropical plant to brighten your home, this is an easy one to look after in comparison to other tropical house plants.
It is most commonly found in central and north America’s rainforests. Although Peperomia can often be mistaken for succulents due to the thickness of their leaves and some of the conditions that they enjoy, they are not part of the succulent family.
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Position
The Peperomia is a great plant in any location, I love that because it’s so versatile it can be put anywhere in the home or even moved to different locations, without having to worry if it’s getting enough light. In its natural environment, it sits on the rainforest floor covered by canopies of trees so it does not get very much light at all!
Make sure that it’s not put in any direct bright light and this plant will be just fine! If it is placed in bright light the leaves can start to lose their color or even get sunburnt.
This is great news for anyone living in an apartment or if you want to brighten up your office space when often there can be limited space and availability of bright light. Peperomia Ginny will be more than happy sitting in a corner of a room or placed on a desk or shelf providing it is well away from a window.
If you do choose to put it in an area of your home that does get very low light this just means that the growth of the plant is going to be a bit slower.
Height and spread
The Peperomia ginny isn’t known for the fastest rate of growth, even during the spring and summer months it’s not uncommon for these plants to grow at a very slow rate even if it’s placed in a bright space. Don’t panic if you don’t often see new growth on your plant, this is super normal!
It’s the foliage of this plant that will take up the majority of the space. The roots tend to be small and compact and so I always recommend not placing it in too large a pot. Better that the pot is small to avoid overwatering.
The maximum size for this plant varies from between 8 to 12 inches both in terms of width and height. This plant is never going to take over your space making it the ideal house plant to fill in a gap or liven up a small area.
Watering
Something very unique and interesting about Peperomia is its ability to store water in its stems and leaves. This means that you do not need to excessively water this plant. What I’ve found is that sometimes it is best to neglect to water my Peperomia Ginny as naturally, they have adapted to survive in a drought situation.
I find that waiting until the soil of the plant is almost completely dry in the top 2 -3 inches before then thoroughly watering.
When watering, use a long spouted watering can to help with aim and try to avoid getting water on the leaves too much as they absorb their own water and this can cause the plant to be over-watered. If you over-water, this can lead to a few issues such as root rot, mold, and mildew.
My other top tip when it comes to watering is to make sure that the pot it’s in has good drainage. I prefer to remove my plants from their decorative pots when I water to allow the excess to drain away and to avoid roots sitting in stagnant water if placed back in a decorative pot too soon after watering.
Another way to give this plant the water it needs is to mist the leaves and stems every so often, it will enjoy the added humidity.
Soil
The soil needed for the Peperomia Ginny has to be one with very good drainage. This will ensure that roots are not allowed to become soggy and waterlogged.
You will need to create a soil mixture that has good aeration but also has the ability to retain a small amount of moisture. I suggest a 50/50 mix of coco coir or peat combined with grit, orchid bark, perlite, or even clay balls. To add even more drainage, try adding a little sand.
Using commercial houseplant soil with a bit of extra grit or pumice mixed in is a great option too.
Try Espoma Organics African Violet Potting Mix combined with extra perlite or grit.
The key is making sure that the soil drains well and does not create soggy roots.
Flowers
For me, the foliage on the Peperomia Ginny is the main attraction of this plant, and so this makes the small flowers a little insignificant in my opinion.
Most species of Peperomia, Ginny included, can produce very small flowers with no fragrance during late spring into summer depending on your climate. Blooms will appear – although not guaranteed – from bright green spikes. They are pretty, but for me, not the main feature or highlight of growing this variety of Peperomia.
If flowers do appear, well done to you! Make sure you avoid overwatering at this time otherwise the blooms have a tendency to rot while they are still alive.
Once past their best, trim off the flowers before they start to wilt to preserve the appearance of your Peperomia Ginny.
How to fertilize Peperomia Ginny
These plants do not require much fertilizer to grow and stay happy they do grow pretty quickly without extra feeding.
What I tend to do is only feed them at the beginning of a new growing season, once at the start of spring, and then once again at the start of the summer months. The fertilizer best to use for the peperomia ginny is a liquid fertilizer, take a few drops mixed with water.
Pruning
As I mentioned before, the main attraction to this plant is the foliage, meaning that pruning can be an important way to keep your peperomia looking beautiful and at its best. As this plant is very low maintenance, it is not necessary to prune the plant too often, but like most house plants, it will benefit from annual pruning just to keep it looking neat and tidy.
The best time to prune is at the beginning of spring at the start of the growing season by trimming away any long sparse growth. This will help to encourage new growth and new stems during the spring and summer months.
You can use garden shears or even a pair of scissors. Just make sure they are sharp and clean before you begin trimming.
If you notice any wilting flowers or leaves be sure to trim these away straight away. This will encourage healthy growth and maintain the stunning visual appearance of your Peperomia Ginny.
Repotting
You won’t need to transfer this plant very often. In fact, Peperomia Ginny prefers to be in smaller pots rather than anything that will leave too much space around them.
When the plant does become root bound or you notice roots poking out from beneath drainage holes or you notice that the soil around the plant is starting to appear loose, it is then time to re-pot.
How to Propagate a Peperomia Ginny
This plant is a wonderful and fairly easy plant to propagate, which I love because the more plants the better in my opinion! Propagations also make for great gifts for family or friends if they also enjoy lovely house plants or they are keen to get into indoor growing.
From a peperomia ginny, you just need to take a stem, leaf, or even tip cutting from your original plant and pop it into some fresh soil.
Make sure to use sharp clean scissors or some sheers. Leave the fresh cutting to sit for a little while before placing it into the soil. I like to use some rooting powder or gel on the fresh cutting, just to encourage the growth of the new roots.
Once in the soil, keep it in an upright position and keep it away from any direct sunlight as it is very vulnerable in the first few weeks of propagation.
Optionally, you could place a plastic bag over the cutting for the first week or so, just to protect it from the sunlight and increase humidity. Do make sure to take the bag off for a couple of hours every few days so that the plant can get enough air.
Common Problems with a Peperomia Ginny
Whilst Peperomia Ginny is relatively trouble-free, you will need to look out for a few common problems that will hinder the health and growth of your plant.
Overwatering
When you are watering your Peperomia Ginny, try to avoid watering the leaves directly. If the leaves get too wet it can cause them to rot. Ideally, you want to use a long-spouted watering can so that you can aim the water flow directly toward the soil and avoid water splashing on leaves. If you do get water on the leaves, brush it away with a dry cloth.
Yellow Leaves
If you begin to notice that the leaves of your Peperomia Ginny are starting to yellow in color or go very pale this is a sign of overwatering. The best thing to do for an overwatered Peperomia is to stop watering it until the soil has dried out almost completely before watering again.
In severe cases of overwatering, you may need to remove the plant from its soil to check for any signs of root rot. Happy, healthy roots are cream or white and firm to the touch. Diseased roots are brown or back and very much to the touch.
If your Peperomia does have root rot then you will need to trim away all of the diseased roots immediately with sterile scissors or a pruning knife. Re-sanitize after every snip to avoid the root rot spreading to other parts of the root.
Wilting leaves
Wilting leaves can occur as a result of two things: either over or underwatering. So make sure to check the dryness of the soil and adjust your watering schedule so that you avoid this.
Discoloration and Pale Leaves
This is a sign that the plant is getting too much direct sunlight. The foliage of this plant is so outstanding that you want to make sure that it is not getting too much sunlight as it can take away from the natural beauty of the plant.
