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Peperomia prostrata ‘String of Turtles’

Peperomia is an evergreen plant native to South America, generally bushy but often also climbing and creeping, which can also be grown in suspended baskets giving a beautiful decorative effect.

Peperomia prostrata is a miniature succulent plant with small, fleshy leaves.

Peperomia prostrata usually measures a height of approximately 2.5 cm to 10 cm, and its width is about 10 cm.

The leaves are green. This is a hanging plant, so it is ideal to have them hanging in your house.

Peperomia prostrata has a delicate appearance, so much so that you might think that they are fragile. But their not.

The flowers are generally creamy yellow or white, very small, and usually grouped.

You may like: Peperomia Rosso

Peperomia prostrata ‘String of Turtles’ Care

Temperature:

Optimum cultivation temperatures are in summer around 24°C/75°F and even more if the plant is guaranteed a fair degree of humidity. The minimum winter temperatures should never drop below 13°C/55°F, the optimum is around 16°C/60°F.

Watering:

From spring and throughout the summer, the peperomia prostrata should be watered infrequently, allowing the substrate to dry well between irrigation and without leaving waterlogging.

During the winter it is watered even less.

It is best to water the plant when the soil is dry. It is very easy to overwater these types of plants, so you must be careful when watering your plant.

Don’t just look at the topsoil of the soil, insert a finger into the substrate, and check if the soil’s interior is dry.

If so, water the plant until water comes out of the drainage holes.

In case you want to have more specific days, in summer water the plant once a week, in winter you can water the plant every 15 days. But if the temperature is very low, it is best to water once a month.

Illumination:

Peperomia prostrata needs a lot of indirect light to stay healthy and strong. 

Choosing the right location is a great secret for the proper growth and development of Peperomia.

Finding the right location is essential for this plant to be healthy and happy.

If you have it inside, the ideal place is near a window where a lot of light enters.

You can place the succulent in the garden, patio, or terrace, just make sure you put it in a shady place, where the plant does not receive direct sunlight.

If the sun’s rays are direct, they can burn the plant and spoil its leaves. 

The peperomia prostrata can tolerate some hours of direct sunlight, preferably when the sun’s rays are weak, in the early morning or late afternoon.

Substratum:

Peperomia prostrata does not require a large substrate, with a simple mixture of: “universal mulch”, or garden soil mixed with 1/3 of acid soil and 1/3 of sand, this succulent can grow perfectly.

A good way to check if our soil has the right structure is to touch it after irrigation. 

If it does not dissolve easily, you will still have to add more inorganic matter to make it drain better.

It is also convenient to use a soil analysis test to know the soil’s pH for succulents.

Ideally, it should be slightly acidic. If it were in excess, it would have to be corrected with lime, and if instead, it is alkaline, we will add one tablespoon of white vinegar diluted in 20 liters of water.

Another good measure is to cover the soil with a light layer of gravel or boulders, thus protecting plants from humidity.

Plantation or transplant:

The peperomia prostrata is transplanted practically every year, in spring, using a good fertile substrate mixed with peat and a little sand to favor the drainage, they do not tolerate waterlogging.

Use a pot with large dimensions.

Then each year, the surface layer of the substrate is removed and replaced with a fresh substrate.

It is best to use a terracotta pot because, being a porous material, it allows the soil to transpire and, therefore, correct eventual watering errors.

Propagation:

This is how you do it.

1. Remove a leaf from the succulent you want to propagate. Be careful, if you mistreat and break it, surely it will not produce a new succulent.

2. Let the leaf heal once it’s removed; the end that was attached to the stem looks shiny; it’s an open wound. If we put that open wound in water (or in substrate), our leaf will become infected and very possibly rot.

You should put the leaf in a dry place and leave it there for a few days.

It depends on the conditions of your region, but between 3 and 6 days would be the ideal time.

Letting it heal is, without a doubt, the most important step to take into account to successfully carry out this type of propagation.

Many of the questions we get about leaf, generally, are regarding leaf rot; this is the consequence of not have waited for it to heal properly.

3. Put the leaf in water; the scarred end should be in contact with the water.

You can use different containers to spread your succulents in water. 

4. While breeding succulents in water are one of the fastest methods, it still takes time. Be patient, and you will see roots start to grow, and if you are lucky, the leaf will produce a new succulent.

That succulent baby will grow underwater, and she will seek to surface on her own. Don’t worry; it won’t die from being underwater.

Contrary to popular belief, water is not bad for succulents. 

The accumulation of excess water, for example, in the substrate, makes them vulnerable with respect to certain microorganisms and pathogens that can damage them.

5. Change the water; It is important to pay attention to the water you will use to propagate your succulent. If it ceases to be crystalline, it must be changed.

Over time, the water level decreases as a consequence of an evaporation process and, also, because the succulent feeds.

 Regarding the type of water used, you should only verify that it is drinking water. There is no need to use any kind of additional substance.

6. Transplant your succulent, its best to do so when the roots of the new plant are strong enough to continue growing.

This way, we avoid breaking the roots in the transplant process and spoiling all the work we have done.

Diseases:

Root rot, causing Pythium splendens. In this case, plants atrophy, acquire a pale green color. They end up dying.

Often rot also extends to the leaves. In this case, the leaf petiole acquires a glassy appearance at first and is layered.

Then starting from the insertion point on the petiole, a part of the limbus rots, taking a blackish gray coloration.

Leaf nematodes. Firstly, small brownish and somewhat sunken spots appear on the underside (top of the leaf). 

With time, they increase in size and number, finally becoming large spots of blackish-brown.

In severe cases, all the leaf blade is invaded, drying up and dying.

* Pruning:

Peperomia is generally not pruned. Simply remove the leaves that gradually dry up or spoil to prevent them from becoming a vehicle for parasitic diseases.

Take care that the utensil you use for cutting is clean and disinfected (preferably inflame), to avoid infecting the tissues.

Fertilizer:

To know when to fertilize your succulents, you need to know when their active growth.

Most succulents begin their annual growth in spring. Others grow in winter.

The ideal is to fertilize them as soon as their growth period begins. Never fertilize them when they are resting.

For example, if your succulent grows in spring and summer, only fertilize it in these months. Stop fertilizing in fall and winter.