How to Care for Peperomia Quadrangularis: The Easy Guide

Peperomia quadrangularis is famous among plant enthusiasts for its variegated leaves.

On top of that, it doesn’t demand a lot of affection.

Like many other plants in the Piperaceae family, Peperomia quadrangularis can be a great collection to add to your household.

Read below for the complete care guide.

Plant Overview

Not every leaf of Peperomia quadrangularis is thick and succulent-like. It also bears some thinner tropical leaves.

Furthermore, you may consider it semi-succulent.

Let’s look at the basic overview of this plant.

Where to Buy Peperomia Quadrangularis?

If you aren’t lucky enough to find Peperomia quadrangularis in your local nursery, don’t worry, you can order it online.

How to Care for Peperomia Quadrangularis: The Easy Guide

There are some requisites of this plant mentioned in the table below.

1. Sunlight & Temperature

Bright, filtered, and indirect sunshine is ideal for Peperomia quadrangularis.

Place the plant in an east-facing window for a few hours of morning light.

If the temperature drops below 50°F, it loses its leaves, leaving behind the naked stem.

You can grow this plant outside but put drapes, veils, or shade over it to protect it from direct rays of sunlight.

If the leaves are dull and losing their green color, the stem is green, and the foliage is pale, they are light deficiency symptoms.

• Place your plant under the grow lights for 12 hours a day if no light enters your house.
• The variegated version of this plant requires more sunlight as the chlorophyll content is less in those types of leaves.
• Provide the plant with frost blankets and heating pads during winter.
• Protect your plants from drafty windows, radiators, or air conditioning vents to prevent temperature fluctuations.

2. Watering & Humidity

You should water Peperomia quadrangularis whenever the top one inch of the soil is dry.

Or, you can water it once a week during summer. Cut back on your watering schedule during winter. 

Symptoms of low humidity include shrivelling, browning, curling, and wilting of leaves.

Remember, quadrangularis likes moist soil, not soggy soil, as these plants are susceptible to root rot. 

Moreover, when disturbed with improper watering, plants show wilting, yellowing, and browning symptoms.

Practical Solutions

• You should mist your plant with soft water once a week during drier conditions to regulate the humidity properly.
• Place a pebble tray around the plant to maintain humidity, or use a humidifier.
• Use a soil moisture meter to assess the water content in the soil.
• Water plants twice a week in summer and twice a month during winter.

3. Soil & Fertilization

Generally, Peperomia quadrangularis needs well-draining, moist, and well-aerated soil with a pH between 5.5 and 6.5.

One part houseplant soil and one part cactus/succulent soil can be used to make the soil well-draining.

However, the best potting mix you can prepare is:

• 25% coco coir
• 10% worm castings
• 25% perlite
• 25% orchid bark
• 5% activated charcoal

You need to fertilize the plant when it exhibits signs like chlorosis, stunted growth, necrosis, etc.

You can go for a fertilizer with an NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorous, Potassium) ratio of 3-1-2, which proves to be the best for Peperomia plants.

Practical Solutions

• You should feed Peperomia quadrangularis with balanced organic feed once every month during the growing season. 
• Feed your plants with Indoor Plant Food and Liquid Indoor Fertilizer to boost their growth.
• You can use materials like peat moss, compost, orchid bark, and some mulch to prepare a potting mix for this plant at home.
• If you want to feed chemical fertilizer, you should triple-dilute the fertilizer before feeding the plants.

4. Potting and Repotting

You can choose an orchid or terracotta pot at least 400mm wide for Peperomia quadrangularis. Repotting can be done once every 2-3 years.

Similarly, if the pot is too small, the plant will suffocate. Choosing the right-sized pot is very important for the better growth of the plant.

There is no need to repot frequently, but don’t forget to look over the rootbound condition.

Practical Solutions

• Choose a pot at least one size up from the current pot. Properly examine the size of the rootball and the size of the pot.
• Clean the pot by soaking it thoroughly for 30 minutes in bleach or vinegar solution. Clear the drainage hole of any obstacles.
• Gently remove the plant from the old pot and remove the soil from the side and bottom of the roots.
• Place the plant in the center of the new pot and fill the sides of the plant with potting mix. Leave some space for future fertilization.

5. Infrequent Pruning

Peperomia quadrangularis needs light pruning once a year during spring or summer. Remove any pest-infested leaves or stems by pinching or cutting them off.

They can attract pests like Mealybugs and Spider mites if not taken care of.

Mealybugs mostly attack the leaf and the foliage of this plant. They go for the sap from the leaves and leave them discolored and wilted.

Myrothesium stem rot, and Myrothesium leaf rot are the common fungal pathogens disturbing plant growth.

Steps to Prune Peperomia Quadrangularis

• First of all, choose the unwanted growth you want to prune. Sterilize your tools properly before the pruning process.
• Cut the stem you want to prune at an angle of 45°.
• If you need them for future propagation, you will keep the stem. Or, if you don’t want it, dispose of it properly.
• Pinch off the dead leaves by hand.
• Do not over-prune the plant, or it may go to stress. Prune only 20% of the plant.

Practical Solutions for Pests & Pathogens

• Wash the plant with insecticidal soap or soap water.
• Inspect all the plants thoroughly before clustering plants.
• According to research by Michigan State University, fungicides like Medallion (fludioxonil), Daconil (chlorothalonil), and Terraguard (triflumizole) can be used.
• Use fungicides rich in copper, Benomyl, and Mancozeb to treat fungal infections.

Propagation Methods

Generally, Peperomia quadrangularis can be propagated by leaf cuttings and stem nodes.

It would help if you considered the ideal time before the propagation process. Specifically, you should do the honors in early summer or June.

1. Propagation via Leaf Cuttings

Just follow these steps and get yourself a healthy quadrangularis.

• Choose a healthy, strong leaf from the mother plant and cut it, leaving an inch of petiole/stalk behind.
•  You can leave the leaf out to form callouses or dip that in the rooting hormone.
• Plant the leaf in the sterile moist potting mix you created.
• Keep it in shades in a well-lit area and keep the soil moist. Remember, moist, not soggy.

You can also use cinnamon powder as an alternative to rooting hormone.

2. Propagation via Stem Nodes

Stem nodes are always an alternative option for propagating Peperomia plants. And they are simpler than leaf cuttings.

• Choose a healthy stem from the mother plant and cut it below the stem’s node.
• Push it back into the soil, and hold it there with pins. Be careful not to break the stem.
• Applying a bit of rooting hormone on the nodes can help.

Growth Habits: Peperomia quadragularis

Peperomia qudrangularis is a perennial plant that can grow up to 12 inches long if all the optimal conditions are met.

The leaves are dark green and have goldish-yellow streaks on them.

The leaves are as long as one inch in length. The golden streaks in the leaves bring out the original charm of the plant. Plant enthusiasts love hanging this plant in baskets for this very reason.

The flowers have a thin, spiky, white stalks-like structure with no decorative value or fragrance.

Plant Toxicity 

Peperomia quadrangularis is completely non-toxic to pets and humans.

All varieties of Peperomia plants are considered non-toxic in the report of ASPCA (Animal Poison Control Center).

However, as the vines of this plant are long, you and your babies still have the risk of tripping over the vines.

If your pets and children overconsume the plant parts, immediately contact the following:

• ASPCA (Animal Poison Control Center), 888-426-4435.
• Pet Poison Helpline,  855-764-7661.