Leggy Peperomia Hope

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Peperomia Hope are a fast growing Peperomia plant that put out lots of new growth during the spring and summer and usually try to grow towards the light. These plants can look bushy and full with new leaves emerging every two inches along the stem. However, it’s also possible to get a leggy Peperomia Hope. When this happens you’ll notice the stems elongating and large gaps between leaves. You might find four inches between each new section of leaves making your plant lack volume and droop. Luckily there is a common cause for this and it’s very easy to fix

Lack Of Light Causes Leggy Peperomia Hope

The main reason you will get a leggy Peperomia Hope is that your plant isn’t receiving enough light. Although these plants don’t need to be in direct sunlight, they do like bright light and if they are placed in a dark spot they will grow towards the light, elongating their stems and becoming leggy. A clue that this is happening is that not only will the stems elongate but they will actually grow in the direction of the nearest and brightest light source.

Since we’ve identified the cause, it should come as no surprise that the solution is to move your plant to a brighter spot. Try to put your Peperomia Hope in as bright a spot as possible without being exposed to direct sunrays all day long. If you live in a place that is often overcast and doesn’t experience hours of intense sunlight then you can probably get away with placing your plant directly on a south facing windowsill (if you’re in the northern hemisphere.) If you live somewhere more sunny then try and get your plant as close to the light source as you can while still protecting its foliage. Once the plant is in a bright spot all new growth should come through nice and bushy and you should have gotten rid of your leggy problem.

What If I Don’t Have Lots Of Light In My Home?

If you live somewhere with very poor light or you don’t have a great option of windows in your home then a grow light may be what you need. Peperomia Hope will grow well under grow lights as well as natural light and it can be a great solution if you don’t have a lot of light in your home. You can find lots of good options for grow lights on amazon. And the majority of them will cast enough light for a few plants to live happily underneath them.

What To Do About The Leggy Stems That Are Already There

Moving your plant to a bright spot will prevent further elongated stems but it won’t do anything to fix the already leggy Peperomia Hope that you now have. You have two options here. You can either leaves the elongated stems, depending on how many there are and how leggy your plant is looking. Or you can cut them off. If you do decide to cut them off make sure you use a pair of sharp sterilised scissors to make clean cuts and make sure no dirt gets into the fresh wound.

You can then take these cuttings and propagate them to make more Peperomia Hopes. Simply take the cutting and place it in a glass of water. Make sure you change the water once a week and gradually over a few weeks you should see roots begin to grow. Once the roots are between one inch to two inches long plant your cutting in a well draining potting mix. This way what started as the problem of having a leggy Peperomia Hope has not only been resolved but you’ve gotten a new plant out of it as well.

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Article: Leggy Peperomia Hope