How to Propagate Cupid Peperomia
Learning how to propagate a cupid peperomia allows you to share this variegated plant with all your friends and family as well as provide yourself with more of this lovely trailing cream edged plant. This article can be your go-to guide for propagating peperomia cupid
How to propagate cupid peperomia:
- Select your growth medium (water or soil)
- Trim a stem with one leaf node
- Consider adding rooting hormone
- Place the cutting in the growth medium
- Provide bright, indirect light and moisture
- Allow three/four weeks for root development
Ahead, I’ll walk you through all the steps for cupid peperomia propagation in detail so you can begin growing many more new cupid peperomia from the single plant you’re starting with.
Propagating Cupid Peperomia – Follow These Steps
Without further ado, let’s get right into how to propagate a lovely cupid peperomia for your indoor garden or another lucky recipient.
Select Your Growth Medium
Some indoor plants can only be propagated in the soil while others have the additional option of water as well. This is the case for cupid peperomia.
Let’s look at the upsides and downsides of both options, beginning with water propagation.
The nice thing about water propagation is that it’s exceptionally easy. You don’t need to buy potting soil; all you need is a cup of water.
Further, you don’t have to worry about maintaining soil moisture because the growing conditions of your cupid peperomia are quite moist indeed.
The biggest benefit of propagating an indoor plant in water–especially for beginner indoor gardeners–is that you can see the roots of your cupid peperomia begin to take hold.
As the roots grow, you’ll be able to witness that as well. It’s a very satisfying and encouraging feeling!
I should note that although water is a suitable growth medium for your cupid peperomia cuttings, that’s not the case forever.
As the cutting begins to grow and mature in the water, the peperomia grows closer to the point where it will require soil.
So, while propagating in water makes it easier in the beginning of the growth process, you’re adding extra work to do later by choosing water as a growth medium now.
Now let’s shift gears and discuss what’s good versus not so good about using soil as a growth medium for a cupid peperomia cutting.
First, when you choose soil, you don’t have to worry about moving your cutting from one growth medium to another later.
Sure, your cupid peperomia won’t grow in the same pot forever and even the same soil, but you’re not making a radical transition like growing the cutting in water to soil.
I always say that growing a cutting in soil is useful for new indoor gardeners, as they can learn a lot of what it takes to keep a plant alive but on a micro-scale.
However, it’s impossible to track the root progress of your growing cupid peperomia. You can’t see into the soil, so if the plant’s roots don’t take hold (for whatever reason), it would be a while before you’d realize it.
Trim a Healthy Stem to Use for Propagation
Now that you’ve decided whether you want to grow your cupid peperomia cutting in water or soil, it’s time to select the right stem for propagation.
You can use the same stems regardless of the plant’s growth medium, which is good news! It keeps this process uncomplicated.
The stem should be healthy, i.e., strong, green, and sturdy. More so, it must have at least one leaf node.
I’ve talked about leaf nodes in my other propagation guides, so I’ll make this refresher brief. The leaf node is where the cupid peperomia will grow new leaves on its stem. The area looks like a swollen bump.
If your stem has only one leaf node, that’s fine. Should it contain more, this is better.
What about leaves? Are they required? You can keep the creamy leaves of the cupid peperomia attached to your cutting, but you may have to remove them as you go about the propagation process.
Once you’ve found the ideal stem, you must remove it from your indoor plant.
You’ll need gardening shears or scissors for this job. I recommend disinfecting the tools with bleach or isopropyl alcohol before and after trimming.
Line up your shears so they’re under the leaf node at a 45-degree angle, and then snip.
Why the 45-degree angle, you ask?
The angled cut widens the surface area of the stem so it can more easily drink in water, and later, nutrients.
Consider Adding Rooting Hormone
When propagating indoor plants such as the cupid peperomia, the question of rooting hormone always comes up. To add or not to add?
To answer that question, let me briefly describe rooting hormone.
Rooting hormone is a commercial product that contains hormones such as auxins, gibberellins, cytokinins, and abscisic acid.
I’ve written about rooting hormone in-depth in “The Essential Rooting Hormone Guide” in case you missed it!
Using rooting hormone is supposed to provide better growth uniformity, a strong root system, and accelerated growth.
It’s better for some plant species than others, as some plants grow so fast on their own when propagated that using rooting hormone isn’t necessary.
Plenty of indoor gardeners who propagate peperomia varieties will use rooting hormone though, and so you may wish to as well.
If you do, then take your fresh new cupid peperomia cutting, dip its trimmed end into the rooting hormone, and you’re done!
Place the Cutting in the Growth Medium of Choice
With your cupid peperomia cutting prepared, it’s time to set up its new home.
If you selected water as the growth medium, then fill a jar or glass with water. Use room-temperature or lukewarm water so you don’t shock the cutting when it enters the water.
Angle the cutting so one leaf node is submerged, ideally the one closest to the bottom.
None of the cupid peperomia cutting’s leaves should be in the water though. If any leaves on the stem are touching the water, go ahead and remove them now. Only leaves that will be above the water line can remain.
You wouldn’t plant a stem in soil that had leaves that would be buried beneath the soil, it’s exactly the same when propagating in water. Remove any leaves below your chosen medium line. “
Now you know why I mentioned earlier that “all the leaves on your cutting might not stay“.
If you’re using soil as your growth medium for the cupid peperomia, then fill a pot with potting mix.
You don’t need a large pot when propagating a new plant, as the more oversized the pot, the harder it is for an indoor plant to settle in and root into the soil.
Wet the soil so it’s moist but not soaking. Insert the cupid peperomia cutting into the soil, burying the bottommost leaf node. If any of the cutting’s leaves are trying to dig into the soil as well, remember to cut them off.
Provide Bright, Indirect Light + Moisture
Now it’s all about providing the right level of care for your growing cupid peperomia.
Maintain moist soil all along, providing some water likely every couple of days.
If your peperomia is already getting all the moisture it needs since it’s growing in a cup of water, watch the quality of the water as the days go by.
The water will likely begin to turn filmy and a little murky. That’s your sign that it’s time to dump the water and replace it.
Place your cupid peperomia cutting in a spot where it can receive bright, indirect sunlight. A northerly-facing curtained window is your best bet here.
I can’t stress enough that if your young cutting receives too much sun that it can burn to a crisp. You won’t be able to save it because there will be nothing left to save!
The cupid peperomia, in maturity, usually prefers high humidity. You can induce humidity by placing a large, clear plastic zippy bag over your growing plant whether you grow it in soil or water.
The zippy bag traps moisture around the cupid peperomia, creating humid conditions even when the rest of your home or office is not that moist.
You can’t leave the bag on indefinitely, though. Every day, give the cupid peperomia hours to air out or it could die.
Allow Three to Four Weeks for Root Development
Continue repeating the above care steps as follows for about a month.
At around the three-week mark (sometimes the four-week mark), your cupid peperomia cutting should have established strong enough roots.
The best way to tell is to give the growing plant a soft but firm pull. You don’t want to rip any leaves off or de-root the plant.
You’re simply trying to determine if the peperomia is giving you any resistance.
If you feel the cupid peperomia pulling back on you, then it’s successfully rooted.
Should you not feel that yet, then give it more time, at least a week. You may also want to double-check that you’re following the cutting’s care routine to the letter.
Now that your cupid peperomia has established roots, it can’t continue to grow in water. You’ll need to place it in a pot and grow it traditionally from there.
